What to do with Cocoa Pasta [closed]

Question

I have recently bought, on a whim, a package of Cocoa Pasta ("barilotti al cacao"). Is it sweet? What sauce goes with it well?

Answer 1

I have bough pasta that contained cocoa, here in Italy, and it was not that sweet.
The pasta package suggested to use red pepper in the sauce (e.g. olive oil and red pepper).

Answer 2

On the one hand we might be bumping up against a language barrier, as there are times where Cacao and Cocoa can be use interchangeably (99% of the time), and there are time where they cannot. I am curious if you could provide more details on the pasta, by way of detailed ingredients or maybe a description (if extant) of how the pasta is made. Some use cacao interchangeably, since cocoa is from cacao; but as cacao has other uses and forms that would be like saying I am eating a Bhut Jolokia Belladonna.

Cacao, in raw, pod form is not going to present the same characteristics of cocoa powder (i.e. try a smoothie with cacao and one with cocoa, they're quite different). Yes it is still bitter and earthy, but there is a brightness and the eathiness is more "green" (sort of like grassy, less of the "roasted" flavor). That said, this gap may be bridged depending on processing. Getting the cacao into a pasta form, I am inclined to assume that the cacao will need to be ground to varying degree. As a paste it would still bear the marks of cacao. Per a thread on cheftalk, I am inclined to guess that if it is ground further and past a powder, possibly powdered with butter etc, it would be more akin to cocoa (bitter and unsweetened presumably, though this would change with process).

• If it has the earthier components, but not quite chocolate-y, from processing, I would encourage you to pursue light sauce and things pairing with asparagus or that otherwise border on "grassy" when over cooked. Typically a good counterpoint for cacao smoothies is banana (I mean, bananas are a Swiss Army knife in smoothies, anyway) as opposed to berries. You might consider plaintains and aleppo in some form. Or to push in a different direction I am inclined to think milder shellfish would bear well.
• You can just google results for chocolate-y pasta if it is just basically chocolate pasta.

As a tangent: Some people ascribe health and nutrient benefits to so-called "raw" cacao, if this is up your alley you would likely want to avoid high heat cooking/preparation. That said, after preserving and sitting, it's likely that the benefits are moot.