Photo: SteveR-/Flickr

Kathy Gunst
Resident Chef, Here & Now
Cookbook author, blogger

You can make reservations. Many will. But why do so many people think that sitting in a restaurant on one of the busiest days of the year, eating from a set-priced (read: overpriced) menu is the way to spell L.O.V.E.?

Don’t get me wrong. I love going out to eat and exploring menus and seeing what chefs are cooking. But there are two days of the year when I just won’t go out — New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day.

I know that Valentine’s Day is a great day for restaurants to generate business in an otherwise slow February. But all those tables for two with red roses and hearts everywhere just doesn’t appeal. Not to mention all that über-rich food and overpriced chocolate desserts. No thanks. I prefer to stay home and cook for the one I love.

Light a fire. Light a candle. Forget about cream sauces and wild mushrooms. Serve a delicious winter salad made of spicy greens, arugula, tiny sweet, juicy sections of tangerine and winter nuts glazed with maple syrup. Pan sear local fish or roast a chicken stuffed with lemon and herbs. Mash some winter root vegetables like celery root or parsnips (with a touch of crème fraiche). Keep it simple.

Photo: Kathy Gunst

But when it comes to dessert you really don’t have much choice. Valentine’s Day and chocolate go hand in hand like St. Patrick’s Day and corned beef and cabbage, Passover and matzoh, Thanksgiving and turkey. It’s just the way things need to be.

When it comes to chocolate, let’s just say there is no better way to celebrate than with chocolate and sea salt.

I promise: you don’t have to be an accomplished baker to pull off a tart combining these two ingredients.

Go ahead, eat this tart. And tell me you’re not in love. (Recipe after the jump.)

Rich Dark Chocolate Tart with Sea Salt
(from Notes from a Maine Kitchen by Kathy Gunst, Down East Books)

Chocolate and sea salt are good friends. Like a good couple, they bring out the best in each other. For this tart you make a simple crust by crushing Amaretti cookies (or gingersnaps, or chocolate or vanilla wafers) and mixing them with a touch of sugar and melted butter and lining a French tart pan. The filling is like a chocolate mousse—good bittersweet chocolate, cream, eggs, vanilla and sea salt. What I love about the tart is that the filling has no sugar — it’s all about honoring the chocolate and the balance of the sea salt.

Photo: Kathy Gunst

Serve the tart in thin slices with hot chocolate (sure, why not, it’s still February), dark coffee, or top it with vanilla-scented whipped cream, frozen yogurt or crème fraiche.

Plan on letting the tart cool for at least one hour and up to 12 hours. You’ll need a 9-inch French-style round tart pan with a removable bottom for this tart. You can use a regular pie plate, but it’s never quite as special.

The Crust:
1 1/4 cups ground Amaretti cookies*
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar**

The Chocolate and Sea Salt Filling:
1 ½ cups heavy cream
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (65% cocoa), well chopped, or 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon good sea salt, plus some for sprinkling on top
2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes, optional***

*You’ll need about 20 cookies, depending on the brand and the size. Place the cookies in a food processor or blender and blend until finely ground. You can also place them in a tightly sealed plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin until finely ground. You could also substitute with ginger snaps graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or chocolate graham crackers; 20 gingersnaps= 1/1 2 cups ground cookies. And you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes (unsweetened) instead of, or in addition to, the sugar.

**I don’t like the pie too sweet. If you like a sweeter crust you can add another tablespoon or two of sugar, but the cookies are awfully sweet.

***Toasted coconut flakes are found in specialty food shops. But you can easily make them: place unsweetened coconut flakes on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until the flakes just begin to turn a golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove and cool.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the crust: in a bowl mix the crushed cookies, the melted butter and sugar. Press the crust into a 9-inch round fluted tart pan. (You can also make this in a regular pie plate but it’s never quite as good!) Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Place the tart pan on a baking or cookie sheet and bake on the middle shelf for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

Make the chocolate filling: place the cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.

Place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot cream on top and stir steadily until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt until frothy. Add the whisked egg mixture to the chocolate mixture. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake on the middle shelf for about 25 to 28 minutes.

To test for doneness: gently shake the tart. If the middle wobbles a little (and still appears undercooked) but the sides seems solid, it is perfect. The tart will continue to cook when it’s removed from the oven and will firm up while cooling.

Remove from the oven. While the tart is still warm, sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon of the salt and, if using, the coconut flakes. (Press very gently into the chocolate if not quite adhering.)

Let the tart cool for 1 hour. Some claim the tart is best served after an hour of cooling, but I like it best after it’s been covered and placed in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight.

Serves 2 or 6. Or, serves 2 for breakfast, lunch and dinner.