Chocolate & Sea-Salt Bagel Bruschetta

  
  
(A photo from a trip we took to Boulogne a few years back.)

We can't really afford a holiday this year so we are having a bit of a "Stay-cation."  I hear it's very much in vogue this year . . . lots of people are doing it.  Today we decided to go to France, and so I served something very Continental-esque for our breakfast.

 

Chocolate and Sea-salt Bruchetta with Sea-salt.   So easy to make and they went down a real treat.   You quite simply slice plain bagels in thin slices, spritz with some low fat cooking spray, and then oven toast them until they are golden brown and nicely crisped . . .

 

I actually like mine crisper than Todd does.  He likes his softer than this . . . but if you love crunch, go for it.   You can take them out sooner if you are not fond of crunch . . .



Once toasted you sprinkle them with some lovely dark chocolate that you have grated . . . as little or as much as you want.  It starts to melt right away pretty much, but if it doesn't, then just pop them back in for a few seconds and Bob's your Uncle.



Sprinkle with a few flakes of sea-salt and served up with a nice hot cup of chocolate, served out on the back patio beneath our sun umbrella and we could have been sitting in a street Cafe in Paris . . . well, almost . . . nearly.



Crisp, chocolatey and slightly salty.   These were fab!!   Perfect for dunking in our hot chocolates.  I am thinking that thinly sliced croissants might work well too  . . . as would thin slices of a French boule . . . not quite Cafe Rouge . . . but close enough!

  


*Chocolate and Sea-salt Bagel Bruschetta*

Serves 2
Printable Recipe

This is so simple and yet so delicious.   With just a few ingredients you can have a romantic weekend breakfast au deux on the table in no time at all.  I like this with steamy cups of hot chocolate for dunking.

2 plain bagels, sliced thinly horizontally 

(You should get about 4 slices from each one)

olive oil cooking spray

100g (3 1/2oz) dark plain chocolate, (I use Green and Blacks organic)

(at least 70% cocoa solids)

sea-salt flakes (I use Malden)

You will want to make sure your chocolate is quite cold.   I keep mine in the fridge.   Using a medium grated micro-plane grater, grated all of your chocolate into a cold bowl.  Set aside.

Slice your Bagels as thin as you can.  I find this easiest to do with a sharp bread knife, slicing it first in half, working my way slowly around the bagel, and then cutting each half  horizontally in half again, using the same method.  Place the slices onto a large baking sheet.  Spray with the cooking spray.  Place the baking sheet into the oven and turn it on to 190*C/327*F/ gas mark 5.  By the time the bell buzzes to let you know the oven has reached this temperature, your bagels should be toasted.  Remove them from the oven and turn the oven off.   Sprinkle immediately and evenly with the grated chocolate using a teaspoon.  Pop back into the heat of the oven for a few seconds to melt the chocolate thoroughly.   Remove and sprinkle sparingly with a few flakes of the sea-salt.   You don't want to make it salty.  You just want to bring out the flavour of that lovely dark chocolate.   

Serve immediately.