Chocolate Salami Recipe by Chef Mica Talmor

Dice the prunes to ¼” dice (6-9 pieces per prune). Soak in brandy overnight.

Crush graham crackers with your hands, or by rolling over them with a rolling pin. You should end up with uneven pieces from ½” to tiny crumbs. Place in a three-quart size bowl.

Add the soaked prunes with extra brandy to the crumbs. Add the lemon zest, orange zest, and nuts.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, and microwave for 20 – 30 seconds more. Stir again. You should have a lump-free, smooth mixture. 

Add the chocolate-butter mixture to the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

To shape: 

Place half of the mix on a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll into a log using the plastic wrap. Then hold the plastic wrap at both ends with each hand and twirl the log in the air. It will tighten around the mix and create a salami shape. Repeat with the other half of the mix. Refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight. 

For the full salami effect, tie with kitchen twine and/or dust with powdered sugar.

Other ingredient options:

• Cookies: You can use any kind of crunchy cookie to make chocolate salami (graham crackers, as in the recipe, or butter cookies or ginger snaps). 
• Alcohol: We use a nice apple brandy, but you can use any flavorful alcohol: bourbon, orange liqueur or no alcohol at all. Instead of alcohol, you can soak the prunes overnight in milk, water or prune juice in the fridge. If you like the flavor of alcohol but don’t want any alchol in the finished chocolate salami, cook the alcohol out before soaking.
• Nuts: You can use any nuts you like: coconut, almonds, etc.

Our friend Jerry James Stone developed this creative recipe for savory Peppered Vegan Salami – try that too!