Hubby and I have moved to a Mediterranean Diet for our New Year’s Resolution. We definitely are feeling better since we cut out sugar and saturated fats. Treats though are always a challenge to find-especially ones that actually taste good. Add a night where you need to treat dinner guests to a tasty dessert, and staying on the diet could be very challenging!
We tried a Nigella Lawson olive oil mousse one night, and though it was too grainy with the monk fruit sweetener and very stiff, but we thought it could be adapted to a tart filling pretty easily. All we needed to do was use a refined sugar substitute like Swerve powdered sugar. It turned out pretty darn good! My guests enjoyed it, too. They kept asking if there were really no saturated fats and sugar in it! I want to point out that this specific diet would not approve of processed sugar sweeteners, but my husband and one of our guests are diabetic. So we need to adapt the diet to work with diabetic needs.
SO before the diet police pile on, we all need to adapt things to work for our own health needs and lifestyles. WE all do the best we can!
Lightly coat a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan with cooking spray.
Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add flour, almond flour,
sweetener and salt and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Mix egg and olive oil in a small bowl and then add to the food processor. Pulse until combined and a smooth dough forms. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Using floured fingertips, press it firmly over the bottom and up the sides. Prick a few times with a fork. Freeze the crust for 15
minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with parchment paper or foil with a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights (or dried beans). Bake until the edges start to turn slightly golden brown, about 15 minutes. Lift out the paper (or foil) and pie weights. Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes minutes more until evenly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium power, in 30 second stints. Heat it until almost all melted, but stop before it is completely melted. Stir it gently so that the last little pieces of chocolate dissolve. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the oil to combine and set aside.
Whisk the egg whites and a pinch of sea salt flakes in a grease-free bowl until you have firm peaks. Set aside for the moment.
In another bowl, large enough to take everything later, whisk the yolks, sugar, almond extract, and ¼ teaspoon of sea salt flakes until pale, thick and about doubled in volume. You don’t need to clean the beaters when going from whites to yolks.
Gradually pour the chocolate-oil mixture into the beaten yolks and fold to mix completely. Add a third of the beaten egg whites and fold in vigorously to lighten the mixture; no need to be delicate at this stage. Now gently fold in another third of the egg whites and, when that second lot is incorporated, fold in the final third leaving behind any liquid at the bottom of the bowl of whites. No white streaks should be visible.
Spoon the filling into your prepared crust and spread it out evenly. Refrigerate it until ready to serve. Take it out to come to room temperature for 40 minutes before eating. Dust it with some of the powdered sugar substitute before serving. I also like to serve it with vanilla whipping cream, sweetened lightly with sugar substitute.
Ingredients
Directions
Lightly coat a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan with cooking spray.
Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add flour, almond flour,
sweetener and salt and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Mix egg and olive oil in a small bowl and then add to the food processor. Pulse until combined and a smooth dough forms. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Using floured fingertips, press it firmly over the bottom and up the sides. Prick a few times with a fork. Freeze the crust for 15
minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with parchment paper or foil with a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights (or dried beans). Bake until the edges start to turn slightly golden brown, about 15 minutes. Lift out the paper (or foil) and pie weights. Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes minutes more until evenly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium power, in 30 second stints. Heat it until almost all melted, but stop before it is completely melted. Stir it gently so that the last little pieces of chocolate dissolve. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the oil to combine and set aside.
Whisk the egg whites and a pinch of sea salt flakes in a grease-free bowl until you have firm peaks. Set aside for the moment.
In another bowl, large enough to take everything later, whisk the yolks, sugar, almond extract, and ¼ teaspoon of sea salt flakes until pale, thick and about doubled in volume. You don’t need to clean the beaters when going from whites to yolks.
Gradually pour the chocolate-oil mixture into the beaten yolks and fold to mix completely. Add a third of the beaten egg whites and fold in vigorously to lighten the mixture; no need to be delicate at this stage. Now gently fold in another third of the egg whites and, when that second lot is incorporated, fold in the final third leaving behind any liquid at the bottom of the bowl of whites. No white streaks should be visible.
Spoon the filling into your prepared crust and spread it out evenly. Refrigerate it until ready to serve. Take it out to come to room temperature for 40 minutes before eating. Dust it with some of the powdered sugar substitute before serving. I also like to serve it with vanilla whipping cream, sweetened lightly with sugar substitute.
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