The supermarket’s chocolate and mascarpone-filled girasoli has been met with a decidedly mixxed reaction – is the criticism fair?
As soon as I heard about the chocolate girasoli, I knew I had to try them…
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s caused quite the stir when it announced its new Taste the Difference chocolate and mascarpone-filled girasoli pasta. ‘Devastating,” was one shopper’s reaction on Instagram, while another described it as ‘blasphemy to pasta’.
I’ll be honest, that was my reaction too. I mean, what on earth were they thinking – chocolate and pasta? Coming from someone who makes their own pasta on a semi-regular basis, it felt like nothing short of a travesty. In fact, I need to know who authorised it because I am still shocked that they decided to sell it.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realised I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I had to try it – but would there be any left to try? After a decidedly mixed reaction to its launch, Sainsbury’s released a social media post apparently showing it sold out at one of its stores.
I wondered if it was just a clever marketing ploy until I ventured down to my local store and found – to my astonishment – that there was only one packet left. Unbelievably, I even heard two girls talking about it as they headed towards the fresh pasta section, blissfully unaware that I had snaffled the final pack.
How to eat it
Sainsbury’s describes it as ‘free range egg pasta with an indulgent milk chocolate & creamy mascarpone filling’. And if you are wondering what a girasoli is, Google tells me that it means ‘sunflowers’ in Italian. It is a reference to its circular shape and crimped finish, which replicates the sun’s rays.
It differs to more traditional ravioli thanks to its shape, and fillings such as ricotta and lemon zest, artichokes, or pumpkin are all popular.
“Our Taste the Difference filled pasta is crafted in Northern Italy by one of the country’s oldest producers of filled pasta, a specialist in fresh pasta since 1882. The pasta dough is prepared with care using wheat flour, eggs and a touch of semolina. Each filling is made in small batches and gently blended before being enclosed in the pasta,” the supermarket continues.
It is all part of the growing ‘swavoury’ food trend, where sweet and savoury offerings are combined in weird and wonderful combinations. Think sweet potato ice cream, cheesecake with carrot compote, or chocolate bars with salty potato chips.
Chocolate with savoury food is not as bonkers as it sounds though. Gordon Ramsay does a red wine and chocolate sauce with venison, while chocolate with ravioli and pumpkin is also a thing, apparently.
But how do you eat it? Sainsbury’s suggests serving the girasoli as a sweet sharing treat, with fresh strawberries, chopped pistachios, and vanilla ice cream. First, I wanted to try it unadulterated though.
What did it taste like?
The pack offered two cooking options – boiling water or air fryer. I’m sorry, but I like Italy as a holiday destination, and there is no way I can show my face there again if they knew I cooked chocolate and mascarpone girasoli in an air fryer. Boiling water it was, then.
Sainsbury’s does not specify whether you should salt the water or not but it felt wrong not to so I did add a healthy pinch. Many chefs advocate a touch of salt to bring out the flavour when using chocolate, even in desserts, so I was pretty sure this was a wise move.
The suggested cooking time was four minutes, but I gave them 30 seconds less and made sure I gave them a couple of minutes to cool. I spent a childhood incinerating the inside of my mouth on McDonald’s apple pies, so it was a wise move given that the chocolate was as hot as lava inside.
I tried a few plain and, I have to say, they were tasty – very tasty. Perhaps moreish is a better word to use than tasty, and the melted chocolate gives it a very unctuous, satisfying finish.
Two things in particular make it work. Firstly, the savoury taste of the pasta meant this was not devastatingly sweet and that really helped balance out the flavour.
Secondly, disappointing chocolate is everywhere these days (I’m looking at you, Cadbury). I’m not going to say this is ridiculously high-quality chocolate – it is ‘minimum’ 37 per cent cocoa solids – but it is not just a cheap, sugary, brown paste either. The chocolate actually has some depth to it, which really elevates the girasoli.
It basically melts into a gooey, fudgy chocolate sauce inside a savoury pasta. I mean, what’s not to like? I did experiment with some yoghurt, and even some olive oil – olive oil and chocolate is a known combo – but found that really I just preferred them on their own.
I’m not sure if I am going to buy them again though. They are a great novelty treat to try, but I am not sure they really pass off as either a snack or a dessert. I can’t help but think you would get some strange looks serving them for pudding at a dinner party.
Secondly, and more importantly, I’m not sure Sainsbury’s has any left on the shelves.
