So before you start to misjudge the rather un-unique title of this very special (take my word on this) column, let me share a bang-on-the-point quote by the famous British actor Jo Brand where she says, rather matter-of-factly, ‘Anything is good, if it’s made of chocolate’.

While I couldn’t agree more with her, based on the sum of all anecdotal evidence at my disposal, there is now enough scientific data to support the claim that chocolate, perhaps, is really the world’s most perfect food. While I am discounting that many of the readers of all ages will highlight this sentence wherever they are reading it and take it to the person that gets or can get them chocolates with an ‘I always told you so’ expression, please do not believe me alone on this.

According to a report on science20.com, there are at least 10 sound scientific reasons that corroborate the fact that chocolate indeed is among the most ‘perfect’ food in the world. Apart from containing psychoactive chemicals such as tryptophan, which produces a feeling of elation, and phenyl ethylamine, which produces the feelings of pleasure and excitement, chocolate is also nutritionally rich in various essential minerals, is a viable energy source and, if had in moderation, is good for the heart and general well being.

In a study carried out by Harvard University, it was found that people that ate chocolates lived longer than the ones that didn’t. So there you have it, now that we have rather conclusively argued that chocolate might be one food ingredient that has the inherent capacity to make most people happy most of the time, is good for our health and well being, and is something widely available, the question that begs to be asked is why do we see chocolates as desserts or confections only.

A part of this reasoning has certainly to do with the fact that chocolate compounds do get well enhanced with sweeter and creamier additions, it also might be true that we have been conditioned to think of chocolates only as sweetmeats. In my village, all sweet confectioneries, candies, etc., still are generically called ‘chocolate’.

So this Valentine’s Day, how about we celebrate this ‘food of the Gods’ and create a four-course menu where each course contains chocolate! Interested much? Read up. Truth is, in its purest form, cocoa is not sweet at all. It is rather bitter, so bitter that the Mayans and the Aztecs, who are said to have discovered edible uses of chocolate, used to call it ‘Xocolatl’, the origin of the word chocolate and literally meaning ‘bitter water’.

Chefs around the world have been experimenting with creating non-dessert dishes out of chocolate and many have been quite successful. The only problem is that we, as consumers of chocolate, are not generally open to the idea of ‘wasting’ precious chocolate in dishes that might not do complete justice, in our view, to the luscious ingredient. Let us break that myth.

This Valentine’s Day, make that special someone feel really special, and nothing says that better than some great food. Say it even better this year, say it with chocolate.

Here’s wishing all the readers a Very Happy Valentine’s Day. The past year has taught us that there is nothing in the world which is more precious than love and loved ones and days like this remind us of all that is there to love and is not constrained to romantic relationships. Do try and make these simple but unique recipes and delight your loved ones. Let’s celebrate the day of love with the food of the Gods, after all, a very famous saying goes ‘God gave angels wings, he gave humans chocolate”.

Aperitif: Chocolate And Orange Collins

Let us set the mood of this delectable four-course chocolate menu with a rather gorgeous cocktail made with a chocolate concoction, that is admittedly a bit time consuming, but well worth it. Normally, chocolate cocktails are creamy, desserty but we don’t really want all that sweetness at the beginning of a meal. Chocolate and oranges are a classic combination and I have leveraged the marriage of these two compatible flavours in this drink. So here goes:

• Dark chocolate: 50g
• Fresh orange: 1
• Vodka: 120ml
• Cocoa nibs: 50g
• Orange liqueur: 30ml
• Soda water: 200ml

• So the main ‘pressure point’ here is to infuse the vodka. Pour the vodka over toasted cocoa nibs and leave it for a few days, at least overnight. The vodka will have an intense but mellow chocolate flavour while still remaining clear, this is what we are looking at.

• For assembling, rub the rim of Collins glasses with the cut orange and roll in grated chocolate.

• Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the chocolate flavoured vodka and the orange liqueur, shake vigorously. Pour it in the glass and top with the soda water.

• Serve immediately with a garnish of orange and maybe a small piece of chocolate. Enjoy.

So the main ‘pressure point’ here is to infuse the vodka. Pour the vodka over toasted cocoa nibs and leave it for a few days, at least overnight. The vodka will have an intense but mellow chocolate flavour while still remaining clear, this is what we are looking at.

For assembling, rub the rim of Collins glasses with the cut orange and roll in grated chocolate.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the chocolate flavoured vodka and the orange liqueur, shake vigorously. Pour it in the glass and top with the soda water.

Serve immediately with a garnish of orange and maybe a small piece of chocolate. Enjoy.

Appetiser: Chocolate, Pear, Feta & Arugula Salad

When using chocolate in savoury dishes, specially non-cooked ones, one should be careful not to use it too much but rather to use it to just intensify and complement the ingredients. This beautifully light salad takes due cognisance of that and uses dark chocolate in the dressing that brings the whole recipe together.

• Arugula leaves: 100g

• Fresh pear: 1 no

• Feta cheese: 50g

• Dry cranberries: 20g

• Melted dark chocolate (bitter): 50g

• Olive oil: 50ml

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Slice the pear into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together.

• For the dressing, mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and melted chocolate in a blender, ensure that the chocolate is warm while making the dressing.

• Toss it together with the salad, sprinkle with cranberries and crumbled feta.

Arugula leaves: 100g

Fresh pear: 1 no

Feta cheese: 50g

Dry cranberries: 20g

Melted dark chocolate (bitter): 50g

Olive oil: 50ml

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the pear into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together.

For the dressing, mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and melted chocolate in a blender, ensure that the chocolate is warm while making the dressing.

Toss it together with the salad, sprinkle with cranberries and crumbled feta.

• Serve immediately.

The sharp pungency of the arugula and the slightly salty, creamy feta goes great with the mellowness of the chocolate dressing and the tart bite of dry cranberries, a perfect balance of flavours and textures.

Main Course: Cocoa Rubbed Baby Back Ribs With Mole Sauce

‘Mole’ sauce is inarguably the most famous non-sweet chocolate preparation that is being used mainly in Mexican cuisine for ages. In fact, the word ‘molli’, from which the name of the sauce comes, simply means ‘sauce’ in the Aztec language, the same culture which is said to have discovered the culinary uses of chocolate. I have used pork here since sweet flavours go very well with pork, but it can also be substituted with chicken, duck or even veal.

• Pork baby back ribs: 2 racks

For the rub

• Unsweetened cocoa powder: 50g

• Chilli powder: 10g

• Salt and pepper: 5g each

• Dried oregano, garlic and onion: 20g each
• Dried powdered mustard: 10g
• Mix all these together and generously rub the pork racks with the mix.
• Wrap in a plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
• Take out two hours before cooking.
• To cook the racks, bake in a hot oven around 200°C for 40 minutes, increase the heat to 220°C, turn the racks curved side up and bake another 15-20 minutes.
• Keep covered with an aluminium foil and cut into smaller pieces just before serving.

Unsweetened cocoa powder: 50g

Chilli powder: 10g

Salt and pepper: 5g each

The sauce

• Dark chocolate: 100g
• Whole red chillies: 50g
• Whole Kashmiri chillies: 50g
• Tomatoes: 50g
• Onion: 50g
• Garlic: 20g
• Peanuts: 50g
• Thyme, oregano: 5g each
• Chicken stock: 100ml
• Toasted bread: 50g
• Toast the two chillies and keep separate.
• Saute the onion, garlic add the tomatoes and peanuts and cook over high heat.
• Puree all the ingredients with the chicken stock. Add the melted chocolate and blend well. If too thin, some pieces of toasted bread can be added for thickening.

To serve

• Pile the back ribs on a plate, ladle the mole sauce generously, serve with a fresh salad or some freshly cooked pasta. Mole sauce is among the most flavourful and complex sauces, but goes extremely well with the fragrant long-cooked pork and is remarkably similar to barbecue sauce, only better and more intense.

Dessert: Ruby Chocolate Shortbread With Dark Chocolate Sauce

This one should have been easy, only it’s not. With the plethora of chocolate desserts that I love to make and occasionally to eat, it wasn’t easy for me to choose one. In any case, in the spirit of the occasion, and with so much of chocolate going around, I have selected a different kind of chocolate for the dessert — the beautifully tart and flavoursome ‘ruby’ chocolate. Ruby chocolate has been relatively recently discovered, is a hot global trend now and basically the fourth kind of chocolate other than dark, milk and white and is easily available in speciality shops and online these days. The dessert is a burst of textures and flavours with a crisp cookie base, luxuriously creamy ruby chocolate and is served with dark chocolate sauce and fresh strawberries. In essence, if I were to choose one dessert that I’d think will do complete justice to Valentine ’s Day, I would rather choose this, and so should you.

The shortbread

• Butter: 100g
• Sugar: 50g
• Flour: 150g
• Melted Ruby Chocolate: 50g

Mix the butter and sugar, add the flour and the melted chocolate. Lightly knead it into dough. Chill for an hour. Roll the dough into 2mm thickness and cut out with heart-shaped cookie cutters. Bake in a moderately hot oven 180°C until golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool.

The filling

• Mascarpone cheese: 100g
• Melted ruby chocolate: 100g
• Whipped cream: 100g
• Castor sugar: 50g
• Whip the cream and the sugar till light.
• Add the mascarpone cheese and whip till stiff
• Add the melted ruby chocolate to incorporate. Do not whip or overmix after the addition of chocolate.

Assembling

Pipe the mascarpone ruby cream on one shortbread and cover with the other, like a sandwich. Cover the top and sides of this sandwich with more cream and roll in crushed and sieved shortbread crumbs. Chill for a couple of hours. Serve on a bed of chocolate sauce, some fresh fruits and anything else that catches your lovey-dovey fancy. This dessert is more or less a cookie sandwich and should be eaten without cutlery. Some argue that it can get messy, but on Valentine’s Day, I guess that’s the whole point.

Vikas Kumar is the executive chef of Flurys. You can reach him at vkumar@flurys.com