PROVENCE TARTINE - recipe

It's always nice to come up with different menus

for afternoon tea. 

Open face sandwiches are a bit lighter with one less piece of bread

and offer a nice layering effect visually.

Picking the right bread for the filling

is another subtle aesthetic than can elevate the flavors.

There is a famous bakery (boulangerie) in Paris that locals flock to for their daily bread and many fine dining establishments serve throughout the city.  Poilâne bread differs from the usual baquettes found in most bakeries and stores because it is a sourdough bread made with stone-ground flour, sea salt from Guérande and a wood-fired oven.  Poilâne has a small range of breads to ensure their quality. Each bread was developed to satisfy a specific use.

Today's recipe is directly taken from Lionel Poilane's Favourite Savoury Tartines cookbook.  Tartines are the French version of open-faced sandwiches.  He calls it "borderless food." 

PROVENCE TARTINE (Serves 2)

Ingredients

• 12 oz / 350g  eggplant
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4t tomato paste
• 1T vinegar (not malt)
• 1 pinch of oregano or fresh coriander, according to preference
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

Grill the eggplant for around fifteen minutes, turning it occasionally

so that the skin chars all around.

Remove from oven, and peel while still hot.

Slice in half and cut into pieces.

Saute the onion slightly in a little olive oil,

then put into the food processor bowl with all the other ingredients.

Process until you have a paste, and then

add in olive oil slowly as if you were making mayonnaise.

Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Chill.

When ready to serve



Spread the mixture thickly on slices of warm toast, and enjoy.

If you would like to learn more about Poilâne,
here is their website:   www.poilane.fr