Toasts with Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt

If you're anything like me, after spending a couple of hours in the kitchen lovingly cooking a big meal, no matter how much you're hankering after something sweet, the effort just doesn't seem worth it. Instead, you'll more likely find me firmly planted on the couch, cold glass of wine in hand, watching something good on TV. But I do tend to forget that desserts like this one exist.

The term "dessert" may even be a stretch for what this is, which is basically a square of excellent chocolate melted over toasted bread and sprinkled with the very best olive oil you can buy and some Maldon sea salt. Amanda Hesser ate it in Barcelona at a tapas bar and was so enamored with it, she promptly wrote about it in the New York Times when she was the food editor there. Lucky for us. This takes all of 10 minutes to put together, and hits the sweet spot every time. Recipe down below. All photos by Mark Iantosca. xo

Toasts with Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt
From Cooking for Mr. Latte, by Amanda Hesser
Ingredients:
8 1/4-inch baguette slices
8 thin 1-inch squares of best-quality bittersweet chocolate
Extra virgin olive oil, for sprinkling
Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay bread slices on a baking sheet. Lay a chocolate square on top of each. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and sea salt.

Bake until chocolate is molten but not seeping through bread, about 3 to 5 minutes. Bread should crisp slightly but not toast. Sprinkle with a little more olive oil and salt, and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.