Tonight is Tu B'Shevat, and the almond trees are on the verge of blooming here in Northern Israel, so to celebrate I just prepared this chocolate almond cranberry bark to surprise the family. Plus I've used 60% cocoa dark chocolate, and raw almonds, so it's really verging on what one might call "healthy!"
I'll be serving the bark together with a nice spread of dried fruits, nuts and a few fruits that we haven't eaten this year, like coconut or maybe star fruit. I've purchased a nice assortment of olives to eat during the salad course, and even some preserved cherries to eat with ice cream or the apple cake we'll make shortly. Hopefully that's more than enough to help us celebrate this special holiday!
Ingredients:
- three regular sized (100g) dark chocolate bars, 60% cocoa (you can use more chocolate if you want a great ratio of nuts to chocolate, I just trying to keep the sugar content as low as possible!)
- 2 cups chopped almonds, I used raw, you can also roast them yourself, but roasted nuts are not as healthful
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Preparation:
Melt chocolate in a double boiler, and add 1 1/2 cups of almonds and about 3/4 cup of cranberries. Stir and pour onto parchment paper (placed in a 9x12 pan) Spread to about 1/4" thick, and sprinkle remainder of almonds and cranberries on top.. Set aside to cool and break up into smallish chunks. Note: It was devoured, and I must say, an amazing treat!
Enjoy, and wishing you all a very happy Tu B'Shevat! I'll be back next week with my yearly photos of the almond trees when they're just a tiny bit in bloom, my favorite!