The word 'mendiant' comes from the French word for 'beggar' or 'mendicament'. These little beggars are disks of dark, milk or white chocolate topped with a selection of mixed nuts, dried fruit and seeds. They are also sometimes called 'chocolate bark'. I thought I would have a go at making some as a hostess gift for a dinner party I am going to tomorrow evening. I always think homemade gifts are nice to receive: the fact that someone has gone to the trouble to actually make something special, rather than nip down to M&S for a box of chocs. Sometimes, I take a freshly-baked loaf of bread or foccaccia, still warm from the oven. Or a box of chocolate macaroons or amaretti biscuits. I will never forget Nigella, on one of her TV programmes, making 'honeycomb' (like the inside of Crunchie bars) as a hostess gift, and then gobbling most of it in the taxi on the way to her friend's house.This recipe will make 20-25 small mendiants. And they should be small - think petit fours to have with coffee.
150g of mixed nuts, seeds and dried fruits of your choice (e.g. flaked, toasted almonds, pistachios, crystallised ginger, crystallised violets/rose petals, candied orange peel)
Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt gently in a bain-marie. Stir from time to time to keep it smooth. Chop the nuts and fruits. Cover 2 large baking sheets with baking parchment, and using a tablespoon, spoon the melted chocolate onto the parchment, making 20-25 fairly thin rounds. Sprinkle with fruit and nuts as you go along. Refrigerate the mendiants until set, then peel off the parchment. They will keep for 4-5 days in an airtight container - but they won't last that long in my house!
COOK'S NOTE: I melted the chocolate in the microwave - Nigella's method - but beware if using white chocolate as the low cocoa content means it is liable to catch and burn. I ended up chucking an entire bar of melted Green & Black's white chocolate down the sink on the first attempt. Otherwise, these are dead easy to make!
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