serves
4-6
prep
10 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Ace
serves
4-6
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Ace
level
The origin of this dish comes from Shannon’s childhood and her grandad. Shannon has great memories of her Puppy, her father’s father, going to the Preston market and buying slabs of dark chocolate in bulk. Once home, he’d use a hammer to break the chocolate into bits and put it between bread with olive oil and salt and that would be lunch. He never made it into pâté, and Shannon didn’t realise it was a Spanish thing. She just thought it a bit of an eccentric Puppy thing to do, but then, after cooking and travelling in Spain, she tasted the real deal and realised Puppy had obviously had it before and just made a weird ghetto Aussie version for her. It’s really a shame he's not alive to see this book or recipe come to life. This one’s for you, Puppy.
Ingredients
- 125 ml (½ cup) chickpea water (the juice that chickpeas share the tin with; strain the chickpeas and save them for another use)
- pinch of citric acid
- 200 g caster sugar
- 200 g dark chocolate (at least 60 per cent cacao)
- 50 g Nuttelex or other dairy-free margarine (see Note)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- fennel seed baguette or regular baguette, sliced and toasted to serve, optional
- strong-flavoured extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt flakes
- fennel seeds, toasted and crushed (optional)
Chilling time: 1 hour
Instructions
Place the chickpea water and citric acid in the bowl of a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment and whisk until firm peaks form. This may take up to 5 minutes, so be patient. Slowly add the sugar in a steady stream and whisk until the meringue mixture becomes stiff and glossy.
There are two ways you can melt the chocolate: either place in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 10 second intervals until melted; or put the chocolate in a bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water in the saucepan. Once fully melted, add the butter and cinnamon and stir well to combine. Using a spatula or metal spoon, gently fold the melted chocolate through the meringue until evenly mixed through, then pour into individual ramekins or a large serving dish. Set aside in the fridge for at least 1 hour until set.
Serve the pâté with a side of toasted bread and drizzle with a strong extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt flakes. At Smith & Daughters, we use a beautiful fennel seed baguette, which goes really well with the chocolate, so feel free to sprinkle a little toasted crushed fennel seeds over the pâté along with the salt if using plain bread.
Note
• Butter can be used for those who eat dairy.
Recipe and image from by Shannon Martinez & Mo Wyse (Hardie Grant Books, hbk, RRP $48), is available in stores nationally. Read our article on the authors and find more recipes .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
The origin of this dish comes from Shannon’s childhood and her grandad. Shannon has great memories of her Puppy, her father’s father, going to the Preston market and buying slabs of dark chocolate in bulk. Once home, he’d use a hammer to break the chocolate into bits and put it between bread with olive oil and salt and that would be lunch. He never made it into pâté, and Shannon didn’t realise it was a Spanish thing. She just thought it a bit of an eccentric Puppy thing to do, but then, after cooking and travelling in Spain, she tasted the real deal and realised Puppy had obviously had it before and just made a weird ghetto Aussie version for her. It’s really a shame he's not alive to see this book or recipe come to life. This one’s for you, Puppy.
