Chocolate Agnolotti

Only a few days left before I leave and things are getting hectic. As soon as I finish this I'm going to run some last minute errands and then figure out how I'm going to manage the Little Humble's entertainment on one of the longest flights we've taken her on to date.

I see from the poll I posted a few days ago that most folks are okay with me blogging about my trip so I'll do that in addition to posting the pies for the NSHP pie contest. I'll try to keep things fairly food oriented, just so things don't deviate too far from the food-blogger norm.

To those who answered "Trip?" on the poll: Mr. Humble, the Little Humble and I be visiting my mother in London for a couple weeks. My family and I will also be taking a few brief side trips with my mother and her husband to Scotland and Morocco.

Yes, there will be haggis.

I see one person selected the option indicating that regardless of what I post, they want to stab me with a butter knife... interesting. Well, I'm surprised it was just one out of a hundred. I really thought I was more irritating than that.



So today's treat is quick and simple. I would tag it as "easy" but it does involve frying which I realize terrifies some folks.

I have always been a fan of fried ravioli (agnolotti is simply a half moon shaped ravioli), and they only get better when the savory filling is swapped for something sweet.

These chocolate agnolotti remind me a little of a warm adult version of Hostess Pudding pies. I've not seen them for years, but I was very fond of them as a kid (yes, I'm a child of the '80s). They make a sinful breakfast, or an impressive yet easy dessert. They would be lovely dunked into, or drizzled with, some sort of decadent sauce. Something I considered whipping up this morning, but I'm a bit crunched for time and I desperately need to de-chocolate the little Humble, who went to town on these little pastries.





Not So Humble Chocolate Agnolotti
filling
1/2 cup (82g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream

pastry
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
pinch salt
1/2 cup cold water

oil for frying

To make the filling, combine the chocolate, cream and butter in a heat-safe bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until smooth and combined.

Place the chocolate mixture into the refrigerator to chill until firm. This makes it easier to work with. It isn't absolutely necessary though, being in a rush this morning I allowed mine to cool for 30 minutes (until it had thickened) and then filled my pastry.

To make the pastry, combine the flour, sugar, salt and melted butter in a bowl. Use your hands to mix the butter with the dry ingredients, then add the water. Use just enough to make the dough come together in a ball (if it is crumbly, you may need more than half a cup, so feel free to add a little more). Kneed the dough with your hands in the bowl for 3-4 minutes until smooth.

Allow the dough to rest lightly covered for 10 minutes.

Roll the dough out into a thin (1/8" thick) sheet and then cut 5-6" wide ribbons from the dough.

Fold each ribbon in half, to create a crease along the length of the dough.

Using this crease as your guide, drop teaspoons of the chocolate filling on one side of the crease (you'll be folding the other side over to cover the chocolate), leaving about 1.5-2" of space in between.

Fold the dough over to cover the filling and press firmly to seal. Using a round cutter, cut out the agnolotti from the ribbon. Set aside in a single layer to await frying. Repeat with all the remaining dough and filling.

(The agnolotti can be frozen at this point and stored for future use. Simply arrange them in a single layer on a sheet pan and pop into the freezer until frozen, then toss them into a ziplock bag. No need to defrost before frying.)



When ready to fry, pour roughly one and a half inches of oil into a heavy bottomed pan and place over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the agnolotti in batches until golden brown, draining on paper towels.

Serve warm with a generous dusting of powdered sugar.