Dried apricots are a popular dressing for beggars.
Mendiante is the French word for “beggar” and can also refer to a type of dessert or treat made from chocolate. Most often, a mendiant is a disc of chocolate containing dried fruit, candied fruit, or nuts applied to the surface or mixed with melted chocolate before hardening. The term sometimes refers to the chocolate shell, a mixture of chocolate, dried fruit, and nuts that are mixed together, formed into a sheet, solidified, and broken into pieces. The confection was originally made as part of the 13th Christmas tradition. desserts seen in the Provence region of France, with four specific dried fruits and nuts placed on top of the chocolate medallion to represent the color of the robes worn by each of the four Christian mendicant monastic orders of the time.
The most important part of preparing the mendiant is the process of melting the chocolate and allowing it to harden into its final shape. While there are several ways to melt chocolate, one of the most reliable ways—the one that prevents it from burning, separating, and unwanted sugar crystals from forming—is to use a double boiler. This means placing the chocolate in a metal container or saucepan that sits on top of another saucepan containing water that is kept simmering. This allows the heat of the water to evenly and slowly melt the chocolate in the upper bowl.
The mendiant chocolate is melted in a bain-marie and then removed from the heat to stir, returning to the heat if it begins to thicken too much. Once the chocolate has a smooth, shiny surface, it can be poured to form the chocolate base. Alternatively, any added fruit and nuts can be mixed into the melted chocolate before pouring.
The melted chocolate is poured onto a surface such as a sheet of parchment or a reusable silicone baking sheet that will easily release the chocolate, where it will settle and harden. Individual circles can be made like cookies, or the whole batch can be made into a sheet of chocolate to make the topping. Once the chocolate is down, the toppings are added quickly so that they stick firmly to the mendiant when the chocolate hardens.
Some common ingredients for mendiant are hazelnuts, walnuts, candied papaya, raisins or dried apricots. The original four elements used to represent the different monastic orders are raisins, almonds, hazelnuts and dried figs. The nuts used can be crushed, used raw, or roasted in the oven before being added to the chocolate.
Chocolate can be dried for several hours to solidify. This step should be done at room temperature, as placing the chocolate in the fridge or freezer can change the texture and allow sugar crystals to form. The finished mendiant can be served on a plate or wrapped and given as a gift.