Think about all of the ways you can use chocolate sauce, and then flip it on its head with this wine-syrup.
There’s more to wine than sips by the glass. We’re partnering with Ashley Rodriguez of Not Without Salt to share tips, insights and recipes featuring wine as the main ingredient.
Who doesn’t enjoy a fine piece of dark chocolate alongside a glass of sturdy red wine? Well this sauce takes those two simple pleasures and marries them even more intimately.
Or, perhaps you’re feeling less sweet and more savory. Thanks to wine’s ability to play both sides of the culinary equation, it’s just as easy to skip the sugar and spike it with spices, some salt and maybe a hit of umami.
But for now, let’s stick to sweet.
In the same form as the classic method for making a ganache (cream plus chocolate), warm the red wine with a cinnamon stick and star anise and then add it to bittersweet chocolate. With a bit of whisking, you’ll have a luxurious sauce that pours over ice cream and is the perfect end to an indulgent meal.
As the holidays approach, this sauce makes a lovely hostess gift in lieu of a bottle of wine. Encourage your recipients to refrigerate the sauce, and if they listen to your instruction, it will keep for at least two weeks.
The Art of Reduction
Master delicate sauces and reductions on our range with the precise heat of the min-2-max burner.
Red Wine and Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
“For this recipe, use a wine that is fruit forward. Bold, but not too much so. Merlot is nice here.” – Ashley
SERVINGS: 2 CUPS
Ingredients
1 cup of red wine, such as Merlot
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 cups bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips
Vanilla ice cream
Vanilla salt, to finish (optional)
Instructions
Bring wine, sugar, salt and spices to a simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in chocolate.
Serve over ice cream.