One down, eight to go ...

… of the tabs that is! Here's the first recipe from The Little Book of Chocolat :

Peanut Chocolate Brittle

200g peanuts, unsalted*

200g granulated sugar

100g chocolate, in small even pieces

Heat your oven to 130fan/150c/Gas 2.

Place the peanuts on a baking tray and cook for 10 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool.

Put the sugar in a heavy-based non-stick saucepan over a medium heat and shake** until all the sugar has melted evenly into a golden coloured caramel. Do not leave it as it burns very quickly. Add the peanuts and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. Pour on to a sheet of baking parchment, flatten and leave to cool.

When the brittle is completely cool, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and spread over the top of the brittle. Leave to set. Or, if you prefer, melt a small amount of contrasting chocolate as well and then quickly drizzle both of them “Jackson Pollock-style” over the top and leave to set. Cut into small chunks using a sharp knife. This works well on its own or with ice cream.***

Hints, tips and notes

*I used salted peanuts. It's personal choice – the book mentions that you could try either.

**I used a non-stick frying pan. The sugar has a larger area in which to melt evenly – resist the urge to mess with it and do not prod! The process takes 10/15 minutes.

***I blitzed some of the brittle for a few seconds to give a large “crumb-like” consistency – you don't want dust – to sprinkle over your ice cream.

Fold the crumb-like brittle into home-made vanilla ice cream.

With apologies to our dentists!