Your Meat Lasagna Is Missing One Secret (And Sweet) Ingredient

There are all kinds of interesting ingredients you can use when making lasagna, from miso paste to espresso. But have you ever tried incorporating some chocolate? In case you're thinking that this is some sort of late-night culinary experiment involving raiding the fridge after a drink or two, it's actually a classic Italian dish known as sciabbó, which is traditionally served on Christmas Day in Sicily.

You only need to think about how cocoa powder is a secret ingredient for better chili to see how the sweet ingredient can enhance meaty creations, adding depth and complexity. Adding chocolate to savory dishes has been documented in Italian recipes as far back as the 1680s, featuring a variety of different meats from rabbit to liver. In the case of sciabbó, the cacao is mixed into a hearty ragu made with ground pork and enriched with red wine and cinnamon for a truly festive feel.

It's best to use dark chocolate as opposed to milk for the Sicilian dish, as it adds richness and a velvety quality without being overly sweet. Alternatively, you could try a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, along with the same amount of sugar if you find the taste too bitter. The lasagna-style dish is traditionally made with frilly pasta noodles, which are also called sciabbó – though you could also serve the ragu with other long pasta noodles such as pappardelle or tagliatelle.

If you want to experiment with more pasta dishes, chocolate makes a great secret ingredient to add to spaghetti sauce, bringing a delicate acidity and an appealing shininess. Try adding an ounce of the chopped dark variety to your next marinara sauce. You could also use it in a bolognese, or add some to slow-cooked red wine-braised short ribs served with rigatoni — garnish it with an extra teaspoon of dark chocolate shavings to really amplify the flavor. It goes well in sauces made with game meats such as venison, wild boar, or rabbit, too.

Another way to incorporate chocolate is to add it to the pasta itself. Just add unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour mixture when you're making fresh egg pasta for a richly flavored and appetizingly dark-colored result – all you need is a quarter-cup of cocoa, 1 ¾ cups of flour, and a couple of eggs. It works great with noodles of varying thickness, from tagliatelle or fettuccine to pappardelle ribbons.

The mild bitterness that the chocolate adds to the pasta pairs perfectly with creamy sauces as well as earthy mushrooms or nutty pesto. Try it with cheeses such as homemade pasta with Gorgonzola or with a classic parmesan and butter sauce. Or if you prefer a sweeter option, serve chocolate pasta for dessert rather than as a savory dish. Simply dress it with butterscotch or caramel sauce and crunchy toasted pecans.