Blackcurrant and Chocolate Paste

Blackcurrant and Chocolate Paste

Prep Time: 20 mins Cooking Time: until set Serves: Makes 250ml

Somewhere between a spread and a savoury jam, this paste is lovely on bread or served as a condiment with a meaty game stew. It’s also wonderful made with blackberries picked from the hedgerows in autumn.

Ingredients

450g fresh blackcurrant purée, sieved

100g raw cane sugar

25ml good-quality balsamic vinegar

40g 100% cacao, coarsely grated or chopped. Suggestion, Madagascan Sambirano 100% cacao

(Alternatively, use 60g of a dark chocolate like Madagascan Sambirano 71 and reduce the sugar by 20g)

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Method

Heat the blackcurrant purée in a saucepan with the sugar and vinegar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Cook very gently until it has reached the setting stage – when a little left to cool on a cold plate rapidly forms a skin on top (or use a jam thermometer; the mixture is ready when it reaches 140˚C).
Remove from the heat and stir in the cacao until it has melted.
Pour into a warm, sterilized jam jar, allow to cool slightly, then seal. This paste should keep well for at least 3 months if stored in the fridge.