This month’s We Should Cocoa, sponsored by both Chocolate Teapot and Chocolate Log Blog, has a theme of SUGAR-FREE. The challenge is to make a dish using chocolate but leaving out the ever loved sugar as a sweetener. Originally I had decided I was going to make a sweet dish (mousse actually.) I had bought some Stevia to use instead of sugar. I made the mousse and it turned out okay, but I was really put off by the aftertaste of the Stevia. I’ve used it as a sweetener before so I’m not sure why it bothered me so much this time. But I couldn’t stand it to the point that I threw all my mousse in the trash.
I reevaluated the cocoa challenge and decided I’d take a savory route instead. While it may seem like I copped out because I picked a dish which inherently doesn’t use sugar, this actually was a huge stretch for me as I’ve never used chocolate in a savory dish before.
The chicken was delicious and I served it with rice and vegetable pilaf.
I’m glad this We Should Cocoa challenge pushed me into a different track to try something new!
Cocoa and Curry Rubbed Chicken
(source)
Ingredients
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 chicken breasts, pounded thin and cut in half
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 350. In a small bowl combine the cumin, curry, salt, pepper, and cocoa powder.
2. Rub the chicken with canola oil. Sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon of the spice mixture onto each breast. Rub in the spice mixture with your hands. Place the chicken on a greased baking dish.
3. Bake for 25 minutes or until the juices run clear.
* serves 2
* Besides We Should Cocoa, this dish is shared with Tasteful Tuesday Party, Tasty Tuesdays, & Tempt My Tummy
This looks really good. I also made my first savoury dish using cocoa powder. I think I’m going to try and experiment more now with using cocoa in savoury cooking.
This looks and sounds wonderful! I think it might be a real hit with chicken wings!
Yes, stevia is an acquired taste. I can cope with it in small quantities, but I’m not convinced it really works as a sugar substitute. Sorry you ended up chucking the mousse away – I’m lucky, I live with a hoover! But pleased We Should Cocoa inspired you to try some savoury use of cocoa, I think it can work really well giving added richness and depth of flavour. Thanks for joining in.
Mmmm – this looks fantastic, so 2nd time lucky!