Last year when my mother-in-law returned from Paris, she brought back gifts for all. One of the many things she brought us was a pound of sea salt. Nice! I love sea salt. But what I didn't know at the time is that this is no ordinary sea salt. This is Fleur de sel de Guérande. And according to David Lebovitz, "there's no finer salt available anywhere." Fleur de sel de Guérande is the most highly-prized of all salts. Salt harvesting in salt marshes of the Guérande began in the year 868, and at that time only women were allowed to rake the fleur de sel. Men were thought to be too rough to do such delicate work.
After tasting Fleur de Sel de Guérande, you'll never be able to use ordinary table salt again. Table salt seems almost bitter in comparison. Fleur de sel is a 'finishing' salt. You don't cook with it, but sprinkle it over just before serving. I love it on green salads, roasted potatoes, caprese salad, atop rosemary and butter-topped rolls. And the most fabulous use I've found so far is on these dark chocolate little gems...
Dark Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel
this is a slightly modified version of Pioneer Woman's recipe (because there can never be too much dark chocolate in my life)
Ingredients:
8 oz semisweet chocolate
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla
8 oz meltable dark chocolate (I used Merckens)
Instructions:
Heat semisweet and bittersweet chocolates and condensed milk in a double boiler over medium low heat until chocolate is melted. Stir frequently. Mixture will have a slight marshmallow texture when chocolate is melted. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of vanilla. Remove from heat and refrigerate for two hours. Roll into balls, then roll in melted meltable dark chocolate, coating completely. Sprinkle with fleur de sel immediately. Pop one directly into your mouth. Mmmmmmm.
I did find a few different sources for Fleur de sel de Guérande when I did a Google search. Amazon has several choices, and so does ChefShop.com.
There is something very fine about dark chocolate and sea salt together.
Enjoy!