Spiced Chocolate Salami Trail Snack

By Anna Brones

Chocolate salami is both a Portuguese and Italian dessert, a sweet treat made of chocolate that’s made to look like a piece of salami. The traditional recipes call for egg and butter, and is fairly sugary, but this one is a more simplified approach, using chocolate and peanut butter as the main ingredients, and letting the dried fruit bring the sweetness. It’s also gluten-free and vegan, so sure to suit pretty much all of your adventure mates.

The recipe is also easy to adapt depending on what ingredients you have at home. You can use whatever dried fruit and nuts you have on hand, as long as you stick to the same quantity. I prefer to toast the nuts before adding them to the chocolate, as it helps to bring out the flavor. You can easily do this in the oven, or in a dry cast iron pan on the stove.

Because it’s made for getting tossed in a backpack, this chocolate salami is firm. If the nuts you use are too coarsely chopped, it can get a little crumbly while cutting. But as far as I know, no one ever turned down chocolate crumbles.

Pack this “salami,” a small cutting board, a knife and you have one excellent winter trail treat.

 

Spiced Chocolate Salami

½ cup toasted and finely chopped hazelnuts

½ cup toasted and finely chopped almonds

½ cup finely chopped dried apricots

½ cup chopped dried figs

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Zest of one orange (optional)

4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 tablespoons peanut butter

 

Place the chopped nuts, dried fruit, spices and orange zest in a bowl. Mix together.

Melt the chocolate using the double boiler method. To do this, find a small saucepan or a heatproof bowl that will fit into a larger saucepan. Place the chocolate into the smaller saucepan or bowl. Bring a little bit of water to a boil in the larger saucepan. Reduce the heat so that the water comes to a gentle simmer, and place the bowl with the chocolate in the saucepan. Heat until the chocolate melts, stirring with a spatula to help break down the larger pieces. Make sure to not get any of the hot water in the chocolate.

Once the chocolate has melted, stir in the peanut butter, until well blended and smooth, then pour the melted chocolate and peanut butter into the rest of the ingredients and mix together.

Place a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap on the counter, and place the chocolate mix on top. Using a spatula or your hand, form into a log (this can be a bit difficult if the chocolate is very warm; you can make it a little easier by chilling the chocolate mixture for a few minutes in the refrigerator first). Roll the log tightly and twist the ends. I like to twist the ends and then fold them back towards the log.

Place the log in the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled, it’s ready to slice and eat, or ready to be put in a bag and taken on the trail.

Anna Brones is a writer, producer and artist. She is the author of several books including Hello, Bicycle and Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break. Find more of her work at annabrones.com or on Instagram @annabrones.