We go together- like Olive Oil and Chocolate

One of the best parts about scouring and surfing the web is stumbling across peoples' blogs, who I knew from an earlier life, who I haven't seen or talked to in years and years. One such person- who shall remain nameless- has a lovely blog, from which I sometimes steal recipes and food ideas, only for the safe quarters of my tummy or for entertaining my friends. I stole one such recipe from her last weekend, when I made Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse. I know- why would anyone make such a ghastly concoction? But there is a wonderful saying in the language that my family speaks- called kanna ruchi, which translates to "tasting with the ear. Basically, it means that you hear something, you think it sounds gross, and therefore you miss out on many a yummy thing because of it. I hate the idea that I, a foodie, has kanna ruchi, ever. I'll draw the line on a few things:

1. horse
2. dog
3. any other creature that I've ridden or kept as a pet, except bunny, because sometimes rabbit is just that good
4. any live creature, other than shellfish
5. insects
6. genitalia

Anyway, back to Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse: very simple to make, very simple to keep, very very simple to eat. I made two portions, one for me and one for my mommy, which we consumed after a late night out at a wine bar. I ate too much of mine and ended up feeling like I drank a straight vat of olive oil the next morning, but I soaked it up when I ate some bread. Yes, bread and olive oil are a good combination too. I used some of the really good Olive Oil that Rohit found at Fairway, but also used up what was in the canister by the stove, which I have a feeling wasn't nearly as good as the Spanish stuff that we pretty much inhale when it's spread on a plate.

I love the taste of salty and sweet together, which is precisely what this is. But it's funny because many people go on Olive Oil tastings, much like wine tastings so I am sure had I used all of the good Spanish stuff, the dessert would have tasted rather different.

Here's the recipe. And don't do kanna ruchi:

2 large eggs, separated
3 ounces baker's chocolate- I think I used a little more and I used 90% of Lindt chocholate
10 tsp sugar
6 tsp olive oil- I recommend using a really good extra virgin one

1. Melt chocolate with the olive oil in a double boiler
2. Beat egg yolks with 7 tsp sugar until light. Temper the egg mixture with a TB of hot chocolate & olive oil, mixing thoroughly, then add in the rest, mixing constantly
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar, whisking until stiff
5. Fold whites into chocolate mixture thoroughly but try not to totally deflate it.
6. Distribute into small little ramekins (this should make 2 servings) and refrigerate.
7. Even if you want more, try not to eat all of it in one sitting- it's really rich!