Sanguinaccio dolce (Blood & Chocolate)
Blood and chocolate make unusual partners in this dessert. Sanguinaccio dolce is found in regions of Italy, including Naples, where it’s a special treat during the Carnival. Italians make a bloody delicious chocolate pudding. Before industrial farming, children across Southern Italy grew up watching their town butcher kill livestock. Neighbors convened for small “pig festivals” in the local piazza, where the butcher drained and collected the animal’s warm, rich blood. In Naples, the sweet pudding became a Carnevale classic, which celebrants scooped up using (strips of fried dough covered in powdered sugar). In other regions, fans dipped savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers) into the bowl. Some even fashioned decorative logs out of the blood-and-chocolate mixture. Though this Southern Italian signature was once widely adored, the delicacy is now difficult to find. Because blood has a short shelf life (it must be cooked or frozen within 24 hours), regions across Italy banned its sale in 1992. Suddenly, accessing fresh blood required slaughtering one’s own livestock. Those who grew up with the dessert still revere it, but the days of neighborhood snout-to-tail celebrations are long gone.
Sanguinaccio Dolce is pure chocolate indulgence, so dark and rich you’ll probably just want to drift off into a chocolate coma afterwards. Serve it in a bowl with lady fingers for dipping or recreate Hannibal’s plate for an elegant presentation in a hollowed-out orange half with fresh berries. Throughout southern Italy, particularly Basilicata, Calabria, Abruzzo and Campania, the tradition of blood and chocolate can be found. There’s even a version from southern Tuscany’s Porto Santo Stefano where a sweet “sausage” is made from pig’s blood, almonds, walnuts, raisins, orange rind, bread, sugar and pig fat, stuffed into pig’s casings and cooked in boiling water. Campania’s Naples is famous for its Carnevale delicacy, sanguinaccio dolce (sanguinaccio is also the common name for blood sausage, sangue, the Italian word for “blood,” indicating its main ingredient. The word dolce confirms that this is a sweet version), traditionally eaten with savoiardi biscuits for dunking.
This creamy, rich dessert has a salty, slightly metallic tang to it from the pig’s blood, which brings out the flavor of the cocoa – highly recommend to anyone who likes this sort of salty-sweet combination (think salted caramel or dark or white chocolate with sea salt). I should note that I added a considerable amount of chocolate to the traditional recipe and used a dark chocolate of 72% cocoa. The amount of sugar seems very high, but you will need it to balance the saltiness of the blood. Cinnamon and grated orange rind add some traditional (but optional) aromas to this delicacy.
Ingredients
1 liter of fresh milk1 liter of fresh pig’s blood500 grams of dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)500 grams of sugarCinnamon, optionalGrated rind of 1 orange, optional
Preparation
In a large pot, heat the milk and the blood together over a low heat. When it is warm, add the sugar and stir to dissolve, then the dark chocolate, broken into pieces. The mixture shouldn’t boil but heat and cook steadily, while you stir constantly. As the chocolate melts and the blood cooks, the mixture will begin to get thick and heavy like a custard. Add the cinnamon and orange (if using), take off the heat and serve warm in cups with savoiardi biscuits.
NotesThis pudding is delicious warm and at room temperature, but as it cools, the surface may begin to look dull. Don’t worry. Just give it a good stir right before serving to return its luster. DO NOT skip sifting where the recipe calls for it. If there are lumps in your cocoa powder, there will be lumps in your pudding and you will not be able to get rid of them!
Blood and chocolate make unusual partners in this dessert. Sanguinaccio dolce is found in regions of Italy, including Naples, where it’s a special treat during the Carnival. Italians make a bloody delicious chocolate pudding. Before industrial farming, children across Southern Italy grew up watching their town butcher kill livestock. Neighbors convened for small “pig festivals” in the local piazza, where the butcher drained and collected the animal’s warm, rich blood. In Naples, the sweet pudding became a Carnevale classic, which celebrants scooped up using (strips of fried dough covered in powdered sugar). In other regions, fans dipped savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers) into the bowl. Some even fashioned decorative logs out of the blood-and-chocolate mixture. Though this Southern Italian signature was once widely adored, the delicacy is now difficult to find. Because blood has a short shelf life (it must be cooked or frozen within 24 hours), regions across Italy banned its sale in 1992. Suddenly, accessing fresh blood required slaughtering one’s own livestock. Those who grew up with the dessert still revere it, but the days of neighborhood snout-to-tail celebrations are long gone.
Sanguinaccio Dolce is pure chocolate indulgence, so dark and rich you’ll probably just want to drift off into a chocolate coma afterwards. Serve it in a bowl with lady fingers for dipping or recreate Hannibal’s plate for an elegant presentation in a hollowed-out orange half with fresh berries. Throughout southern Italy, particularly Basilicata, Calabria, Abruzzo and Campania, the tradition of blood and chocolate can be found. There’s even a version from southern Tuscany’s Porto Santo Stefano where a sweet “sausage” is made from pig’s blood, almonds, walnuts, raisins, orange rind, bread, sugar and pig fat, stuffed into pig’s casings and cooked in boiling water. Campania’s Naples is famous for its Carnevale delicacy, sanguinaccio dolce (sanguinaccio is also the common name for blood sausage, sangue, the Italian word for “blood,” indicating its main ingredient. The word dolce confirms that this is a sweet version), traditionally eaten with savoiardi biscuits for dunking.
This creamy, rich dessert has a salty, slightly metallic tang to it from the pig’s blood, which brings out the flavor of the cocoa – highly recommend to anyone who likes this sort of salty-sweet combination (think salted caramel or dark or white chocolate with sea salt). I should note that I added a considerable amount of chocolate to the traditional recipe and used a dark chocolate of 72% cocoa. The amount of sugar seems very high, but you will need it to balance the saltiness of the blood. Cinnamon and grated orange rind add some traditional (but optional) aromas to this delicacy.
Ingredients
1 liter of fresh milk
1 liter of fresh pig’s blood
500 grams of dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
500 grams of sugar
Cinnamon, optional
Grated rind of 1 orange, optional
Preparation
In a large pot, heat the milk and the blood together over a low heat. When it is warm, add the sugar and stir to dissolve, then the dark chocolate, broken into pieces. The mixture shouldn’t boil but heat and cook steadily, while you stir constantly. As the chocolate melts and the blood cooks, the mixture will begin to get thick and heavy like a custard. Add the cinnamon and orange (if using), take off the heat and serve warm in cups with savoiardi biscuits.
Notes
This pudding is delicious warm and at room temperature, but as it cools, the surface may begin to look dull. Don’t worry. Just give it a good stir right before serving to return its luster. DO NOT skip sifting where the recipe calls for it. If there are lumps in your cocoa powder, there will be lumps in your pudding and you will not be able to get rid of them!
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