Image: Lara Ferroni
IF THERE IS a takeaway lesson from the past year, it’s that money doesn’t grow on trees. But chocolate does. Cacao beans, from which chocolate is made, mature in football-shaped pods that dangle from the branches of a shortish, fussy little tree, most dependably in humid third-world countries with delicate political climates. Cacao is hard to grow well and expensive to ship, and the machinery needed to turn it into actual chocolate—a winnower for shelling the beans, conches that reduce moisture and coat chocolate particles with cocoa butter before it’s tempered and molded—requires serious financial commitment. It’s not immediately obvious why anyone would want to make chocolate.
Not many do. In the last few years, Seattle has welcomed a bloom of new chocolatiers, but most of them start with something that already looks like what we know as chocolate, and compose confections from there. Only Theo Chocolate (theochocolate.com), our local superstar and the nation’s only fair-trade, organic (read: extra expensive to make) producer, actually starts from beans.
But here’s the thing: People really, really like it. And they buy it, even when the metaphorical money tree is bearing little fruit. And compared to life’s other luxuries, it’s cheap, even at the high end. “Chocolate isn’t necessarily a staple, but I think people will still buy things at the low end of their price scale, and we qualify,” says Debra Music, vice president of Theo.
In fact a growing tendency to savor a few dark squares on the sofa in lieu of ordering dessert at restaurants may help account for steady sales this year at Theo and among upscale chocolate manufacturers worldwide. But don’t count out the dark delicacy when it comes to the main dish either: Autumn Martin—who until recently served as Theo’s chocolatier—incorporates cocoa into her corn tortillas and melts Theo’s orange chocolate in her citrusy demi-glace. She says her guests gobble it right up. “I’ve never had trouble convincing people to eat chocolate,” says Martin.
Savory Chocolate Corn Tacos with Pomegranate-Tangerine Pulled Chicken
Recipe courtesy Autumn Martin, Theo Chocolate
Makes: 6 servings
Total Time: 1 hour
Store-bought rotisserie chicken makes for quick tacos, but home-roasted chicken, pulled pork, or duck confit (Martin’s favorite) are also good options.
Ingredients:
DEMI–GLACE
4 cups beef stock
¼ cup pomegranate juice
1 tbsp tangerine juice
1½ tsp honey
8 grams Theo Orange Chocolate (about 1/10 of a bar)
½ tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp butter
Salt
TORTILLAS (makes 18)
2 cups masa harina
10 tsp cocoa powder
About 1⅓ cups warm water
Pinch salt
4 tsp sugar
TACO FILLING
White and dark meat from store-bought rotisserie chicken, shredded
3 cups mixed baby greens
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
1 cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese
Directions:
Make the demi-glace: Simmer stock in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup. Add the pomegranate and tangerine juices, honey, chocolate, and chili powder, and whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Decrease heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced by ¼. Remove from heat, whisk in butter, and season to taste with salt.
Make the tortillas: Combine all five ingredients in a bowl and mix together with your hands until a smooth dough forms. Add a bit more water, if necessary, a tiny bit at a time—the dough should be roughly the consistency of Play-Doh. Cover the dough until you’re ready to work with it.
To prepare tortillas, preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Tear off a golf ball–size piece of dough, roll into a ball, and flatten into a roughly 5-inch circle, using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands. Cook the tortilla for about a minute on each side, until cooked through and lightly browned in spots. Repeat with the remaining dough, wrapping the finished tortillas in a dish towel until they’re all cooked.
Toss the shredded chicken meat with the demi-glace and rewarm, if necessary, over low heat in a small saucepan.
Moisten greens with a bit of olive oil, to taste. Serve warm tortillas topped with greens, chicken, and crumbled cheese.
Published in the 26 Perfect Saturdays issue of Seattle Met.
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