Chocolate Pasta?

Ever have chocolate pasta before? We bought a bag of Chocoholics chocolate radiatore pasta a while back, on a whim. It sat in the cupboard for a long time; we weren't quite sure what to do with it. Then, as I was trying to decide on what to make for dinner tonight, that pasta caught my eye. I was feeling somewhat Tex-Mex today, and as we still have some of that yummy Trader Joe's mole sauce in the fridge, I thought I could make something interesting with the pasta.

I added a few tablespoons of the mole to 2 cups of chicken stock and brought it to a boil. Turning the heat down, I added a handful of chopped cilantro and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, I sauteed 1/2 onion, chopped, in some olive oil until transluscent, then tossed in about 6 oz each of bay scallops and raw shrimp. And cooked the pasta. I took the thickened sauce off the heat and whisked in 3 oz of sour cream, then added the onion mixture.

The sauce went over the pasta and was garnished with shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheeses, chopped cilantro, and chopped fresh tomato. It was tasty; the pasta had a definite cocoa flavor. And suprisingly, the whole dish was deceptively light yet extremely flavorful. The sauce on its own would have made an excellent soup, and I may just try that again sometime, sans pasta.

Yeah, it was interesting, but really just a novelty. The world really doesn't need chocolate pasta. Brownies, on the other hand, are a necessity!