Cacao Pasta with Beef Ragu
Serves 4
Pasta:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 extra large eggs
4 tablespoons unsweetened Scharffen Berger cocoa powder
Sauce:
1 red onion, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, finely diced
4 ounces duck proscuitto (or pancetta), finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1-2 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine
1 cup of drained chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 ounces 62% Scharffen Berger semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Pasta:
1. Sift together cocoa and flour.
2. Mix together the eggs.
3. Put the flour cocoa mixture in a stand mixer.
4. Slowly add the eggs until the dough starts to form.
5. Form 3 small balls of dough and wrap each ball in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
6. In a pasta machine, roll the dough to a tagliatelle thickness and cut into thin strips.
Sauce:
1. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat.
2. Add ground beef and brown the meat.
3. Add the chopped red onions, celery, and carrot and cook for another 5 minutes on medium-low heat.
4. Add garlic and proscuitto and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Add wine and simmer until wine evaporates.
7. Add beef stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
8. In a bowl, combine vinegar, chocolate, pine nuts and raisins. After 30 minutes, add this mixture to the beef ragu.
9. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir well. Taste for salt and pepper.
To Serve:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Drain the pasta and toss with the warm beef ragu sauce.
Prepared by Chef Arnon Oren, Café Cacao, Berkeley, California, the in-house eatery at the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory at 914 Heinz Avenue.