Yes, this is a dessert recipe, and yes, it’s a bit out there.
Chocolate pasta! Chocolate is beautiful. Orange brings refreshing acid and mild sweetness. Beets are packed with sugar. We have ourselves a dessert salad! They exist.
Pasta brings that satisfying chew we all know and love, and the use of orange and beet bring sophisticated flavor and gorgeous colors to this decadent, cocoa-rich dish.
Notes for Chocolate Pasta Salad with Beet and Orange
- There’s something about a warm dessert that hits harder than something cold, don’t you agree? Well, whichever way you prefer, you can eat this right away warm, or chill your components in the fridge and serve chilled. If you prefer the latter method, grate and add your beet right before eating so it is colorful and crunchy in the final product!
- A pasta roller isn’t necessary, but you do want to roll the dough out as thinly as you can before cutting into strips. Pasta that is too thick won’t cook through and you’ll have a raw flour taste in the final dish which is very unpleasant.
- Our Chocolate Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe also uses this chocolate sauce! We need only a light drizzle for this recipe, but I must emphasize, feel free to scale up to Tablespoons instead of teaspoons, or even more to have some extra in your fridge to make chocolate milk or to top ice cream. A healthy life includes occasional treats!
Ingredients
Method
Make pasta dough
- Mix all ingredients for pasta thoroughly, and dump onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add more flour if dough gets tacky and starts to stick. It may take a decent amount more flour here.
- Rest dough in air-tight container in fridge for 30 minutes.
While Dough is resting, make Dressing and Chocolate Sauce
- Dressing: Combine Orange Juice and Honey. Whisk rapidly while drizzling in oil. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Chocolate Sauce: Add all ingredients to a small pot, heat over medium-low heat until just warm. Stir until you have a homogenous mixture. Once you have a smooth sauce, you can take it off the heat.
Cut and Cook Pasta
- If you have a pasta roller, feel free to use it here. If not, don't fear! Fancy equipment not necessary. Simply roll out the dough with a rolling pin as thin as you can get it, and use a knife to cut into strips. Use plenty of flour here to make sure your dough doesn't stick too much. The extra flour is fine as it will be removed once it hits the boiling water. Also, be mindful that the pasta will puff up a bit once it cooks.
- Confession time: a lot of fresh pasta recipes say to cook until the pasta floats. But sometimes it seems to float right away when it goes in the water! I don't like this rule. For simplicity, I don't bother with it and always simply boil fresh pasta for about 3-4 minutes without overthinking it. If you're unsure, take out a piece and test its texture. Keep in mind that the size you cut your pasta into will affect cooking time, but again, don't overthink it. And please salt your cooking water! It's a dessert, but we still need flavor.
Assemble the Dish
- Drain cooked pasta and add to dressing. The dressing is thin and may seem watery at first, but given a few minutes it will start to soak into the pasta. Mix in your beet, and serve with the chocolate sauce drizzled over. An optional garnish is orange zest and more of your beet.
