Chocolate Toast

3/30/2010

“The Spanish equivalent of Nutella is called Nocilla,” writes Jose Pizarro. “My routine after school was to go home via my grandmother Gregoria, who would make me chocolate spread toast. This is the grown-up equivalent, developed with my friend Enric Rovira — a well-known chocolatier in Spain.

“The salt and floral extra virgin olive oil bring out the flavor of the plain chocolate. Try to use top-quality extra virgin olive oil, such as an Arbequina from Catalonia, and dark chocolate that contains at least 70 percent cocoa solids; make sure you choose a thin not chunky bar, because you want the chocolate to melt quickly. We made it with Enric's beautiful dark chocolate, which has a pattern on it that replicates the street tiles used to pave the sidewalks in Barcelona. This dish goes wonderfully with orange sorbet.”

4 thin slices of good-quality white bread

16 squares of plain chocolate (70 percent cocoa solids)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon top-quality extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the bread. Arrange 4 squares of chocolate on each slice, place on a baking tray, and bake for 30 seconds, until the chocolate starts to melt.

Remove and sprinkle with a few crystals of sea salt and some drops of olive oil.

Yield: 4 servings