Savory Chocolate Barbecue Sauce???

Dedicated to my best friend of almost 13 years who immigrated to New Zealand, i would like to share her farewell lunch….. just the way she loves it, FILLED WITH CHOCOLATE.

Taking into consideration her very bad chocolate addiction, I decided on a Chocolate three course meal.  Strangely enough it was absolutely delicious and will recommend it to anyone wanting to make something different.  For starters we served Maple Chocolate Sauce with Bacon spoons.  For main course Grilled Rump Steak served with a Savory Chocolate Barbecue Sauce and garden salad and dessert, a chocolate buffet consisting out of Baked Chocolate Mousse, Bar One sauce with wafers and marshmallows and Minty Chocolate Samoosas.  The most impressive dish was the Savory Chocolate Barbecue Sauce.

 It was absolutely delicious!

MAKES ABOUT 400 ML

 INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon butter, soft
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ onion, small dice
• 2 tomatoes, stem removed, small dice
• 50 g dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 120 ml apple cider vinegar
• 240 ml barbeque sauce
• 415 ml vegetable stock
• ¼ teaspoon cumin, ground
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1 ml cloves, ground
• 60 g  82% dark chocolate (Lindt or Beyers)
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, fresh, chopped – if you cannot find cilantro, use celery leaves instead.
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper, fresh ground

METHOD:

• Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium heat.
• Add garlic and onion, sauté 5 minutes until golden brown.
• Add tomatoes, stir, and sauté an additional 5 minutes.
• Add sugar and chilli powder, mix well, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add vinegar, reduce for 5 minutes, mixture should have a paste consistency.
• Add sauce, stock, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper.
• Mix well.
• Bring to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add dark chocolate and cilantro.
• Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove sauce from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Puree sauce, transfer to a clean container.
• Serve over a perfectly grilled rump steak or fillet or even over your favorite pork ribs or kebabs.
• For best results, refrigerate for 12 hours before using.

Tried and tested and tastes absolutely amazing!!