Chocolate Salami
There seems to be a real trend of taking traditionally savory food and giving them a sweet twist.
Chocolate salami was first created by Frasca pastry chef, Alberto Hernandez, it features nuts and a bunch of other goodies suspended in dark chocolate, formed into a log, then coated in powdered sugar to give a similar look to salami.
Not only is it incredibly easy to make, but the taste of it is out of this world, and could also make for a sweet charcuterie board.
Before showing you how to make chocolate salami, there are a few key ingredients I’d like to go over and describe how they make this dish what it is.
Nuts
Nuts are an incredibly important component to chocolate salami as they add a wonderful crunchy texture and some flavor.
For this version of chocolate salami, I’ll be working with two of my favorites, hazelnuts, and pistachios, both of which bring their own level of flavor and color to the finished salami.
By the way, classic recipes for chocolate salami will call for using Sicilian pistachios, which are smaller and sweeter than…non-Sicilian pistachios (I couldn’t come up with a better way to say that.). You could buy them online, but I’m going to save the trouble by using regular pistachios.
Chocolate
I think it goes without saying that good chocolate is incredibly important when making chocolate salami.
I’m not saying you need to beg a local French pâtissier or fine-dining pastry chef to let you have some of their chocolate, but do know that the better the chocolate, the better the salami.
I love using Ghirardelli chocolate, I actually went to their factory in San Francisco once, but any bittersweet chocolate that you like will work fine.
Amaro Nonino
A very unique but delicious addition to this chocolate salami is an Italian digestive herbal liquor called Amaro Nonino.
Amaro is made with a blend of herbs, spices, and roots such as licorice, rhubarb, sweet and bitter orange, tamarind, saffron, and quassia bark.
Amaro Nonino can be found in big liquor stores, you can likely order it online as well, but any herbal liquor such as Benedictine liquor will work fine for this.
(Of course, if you’re making this chocolate salami for kids, then I’d strongly suggest leaving it out entirely.)
Biscotti crumbs
This might sound odd, but classic recipes for chocolate salami call for folding crumbled biscotti cookies into the chocolate with the nuts and other stuff. What the biscotti crumbs do is they give little crunchy bits, which are pleasant to eat in the final salami, and they have a bit of flour to help the salami keep its shape.
I’ll be using some leftover biscotti that I made for a previous article, but any biscotti that you have (homemade or store-bought) will work fine.
Ok, now that we’ve gone over those components, let’s get to the actual recipe!
Chocolate Salami
Makes two 7-8 inch salami
1/4 cup of hazelnuts
1/4 cup of shelled pistachios
1 cup of chopped bittersweet chocolate
6 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons of Amaro Nonino (see above)
1/2 cup of biscotti crumbs
Grated zest of 1/2 and orange
Powdered sugar, for coating
Step 1: toast the nuts
In a dry pan over medium-low heat, toast the hazelnuts and pistachios until they are golden all around, shaking the pan occasionally so they can toast evenly.
You can also do this in a 350-degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes.
Step 2: Melt the chocolate
In a heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave at 15-second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is fully melted.
Set aside to cool slightly.
Step 3: Make the chocolate salami mix
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until it’s light, airy, and pale. (Photo 1)
Add the egg, and beat again until fully combined. (Photo 2)
Add the melted chocolate and amaro and gently mix until combined. (Photo 3)
Add the toasted nuts, biscotti crumbs, and orange zest, then gently fold to combine. (Photo 4)
Step 4: Shape and chill the salami
Lay out two large squares of plastic wrap onto a work surface then evenly divide the chocolate mixture among the two sheets of wrap, placing each half into the center.
Use a spatula to spread half of the chocolate mixture into a 4-5 inch log-ish shape. Pick up two sides of the plastic wrap, wrap around either end of the mixture, and use your hands to tighten the log into an even shape and spread it out to a 7-8 inch length and 1 1/2 inches thick.
Twist the ends of the plastic wrap, like with a candy wrapper, to tighten. Repeat with the other half of the mixture.
Transfer both chocolate logs into the fridge and let it chill for 2 hours, or up to overnight, to fully set.
Step 5: Coat the logs
Dump powdered sugar onto a plate or other shallow vessel, unwrap the chocolate logs, then roll each log in the sugar until fully coated. Dust off any sugar.
(If you want to feel fancy, then you can also wrap the salami in twine.
Also, just because it doesn’t look like a perfectly round log does not mean it’s not going to taste good.)
Let the chocolate salami come up to room temperature before slicing and serving!
You get the rich chocolate flavor backed up by a hint of the orange zest and amaro, plus the crunch of the nuts for a perfect experience.
This chocolate salami is both incredibly simple to make, but the results are mind-blowing.
