Enjoy an Easter brunch with tartines
With any luck, Easter Sunday, although early this year, will be as beautiful as this first day of spring, March 20. With weather this lovely, a backyard Easter brunch seems like the perfect way to appreciate the day and each other while maintaining our masks and social distance in honor of little Teddy who’s a rambunctious one and a half.
Sitting down together at a table is out, so I’m thinking a buffet table on the lawn with Easter eggs hidden in the garden, croquet, beanbag toss and horseshoes. We can all roam around, play, give Teddy wagon rides and circle back to the table for DIY tartines, deviled eggs, sliced ham, asparagus, and fruit salad. Is it warm enough for iced tea? Maybe Bloody Marys are more in order.
Carrot Orange Punch
If you want to celebrate Peter Rabbit-style, try this Carrot Orange Punch. Combine everything in a large pitcher with ice and serve. For an alcoholic version add 1 cup vodka or rum.
Ingredients:
• 1 1⁄2 cups carrot juice, use Odwalla or juice your own
• 1 1⁄2 cups orange juice
• 3 cups lemon-lime soda
• 1 orange, sliced, 1 lime, sliced, 1 lemon, sliced
• Mint for garnish
Tartine is a French word for an open-faced sandwich featuring interesting spreadable foodstuffs. They can be simple or complicated, but they all have a few things in common, according to the “7 Commandments of Making Tartines” by Heath Goldman. Tartines need sturdy bread — something dense, nutty, multigrain or hearty that can stand up to toppings. I used Hearth & Stone’s Whole Wheat Berry and Tin Roof’s Ciabatta slab, sliced between ½” and ¾” thick. It’s important to toast the bread — this gives some crunch and prevents sogginess. In addition, (much bread talk) dress the bread with a drizzle of olive oil, a smear of butter, mayonnaise, pesto, hummus, tapenade — whatever you like and if you’re making a savory tartine, add some salt and pepper to the bread.
Be dainty with toppings — thin-slice vegetables on a mandolin, use a peeler for chocolate or cucumber curls; don’t over-chunk the presentation. If you are topping with thinly sliced vegetables, toss them in a bit of lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.
“Small roll-y ingredients like capers or diced onion should go right against the bread — they’ll stick to the spread instead of falling off. When layering, alternate textured ingredients like lettuce with slippery ones like sliced tomato.”
And don’t cover up your beautiful stack — let the layers
show. Garnish with a dash of hot sauce, a sprig of mint or parsley, or cracked black pepper.
A few spring tartine ideas follow, but they are simply to inspire you to create your own. Place little pots of spreadables like good European butter, Greek yogurt, cream cheese, goat cheese or guacamole out on a table interspersed with fresh strawberries, raspberries, jam, chocolate shavings, fresh blanched asparagus, egg salad, bacon crumbles and baskets of toasted bread. If you group the ingredients you plan to be used together, you’ll give your guests a hint of how to proceed.
First, some savory ideas for tartines.
Green Harissa
Green Harissa Tartine with Bacon and Avocado by Gaby Dalkin.
Ingredients:
• 6thick-cut slices of bread, toasted
• 3 avocados, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 6to 12bacon strips cooked until crispy and broken into smaller pieces
• 1recipe Green Harissa (below)
Green Harissa:
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1cup fresh spinach
• ½ cup almonds
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 1½ teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Water as needed.
Instructions for Green Harissa: Combine everything in a food processor and whirl for 2 minutes until smooth. Add a few teaspoons of water if you need to smooth it out.
It should be pesto consistency.
Slather a few tablespoons of the Green Harissa on each piece of bread. Top with ½ avocado thinly sliced and fanned out — finish with equal amounts of crumbled cooked bacon and herbs.
You can skip the Green Harissa and go directly to avocado toast with bits of crumbled bacon. Mix the smooshed avocado with the juice of at least half a lemon to prevent browning.
Basque Tartine
Ingredients:
• 3.5 ounces goat cheese
• 1⁄8 teaspoon sweet paprika or Espelette pepper
• ½ teaspoon chives, finely chopped
• 2slices crusty bread like sourdough, toasted
• 4 ounces roasted red bell pepper cut into thick strips.
• 2slices Jamon Serrano, Prosciutto or thin shavings of Easter ham
Instructions: In a small bowl, mix goat cheese, sweet paprika and chives with a fork. Spread cheese mixture on toasted bread, top with roasted pepper then ham — serve immediately.
Deviled Egg Salad and Asparagus Tartines
Ingredients:
• 6 hard-cooked eggs peeled
• 3tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
• 2 scallions finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons dill pickle brine or fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1-pound asparagus
• 3 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
• 8rustic white bread slices, toasted
Instructions: Using a fork, finely crush eggs in a medium bowl. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, dill, chives, scallions, brine, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil over high. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Cut tip ends of asparagus spears into 4-inch lengths (the same length as bread slices); discard remaining asparagus spears or reserve for another use. Cook asparagus tips in boiling water until tendercrisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute; drain. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain and pat dry.
Spread butter evenly on toasted bread slices; cut bread slices in half lengthwise. Spread egg mixture evenly over butter; top with 2 or 3 asparagus tips. Serve immediately, or cover with damp paper towels, and chill up to 1 hour. Recipe came from Southern Living Magazine.
Smoked Salmon Tartine
Ingredients:
• 6 slices bread
• 1 cup goat cheese or cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons horseradish, (more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• 4 ounces smoked salmon
• Lemon zest
• Capers
• Fresh tarragon or dill Instructions: Toast bread slices. Combine goat cheese, horseradish, chives and yogurt. Divide goat cheese spread on toasts. Top with smoked salmon. Garnish with lemon zest, capers, and dill. Serve at one or cover and refrigerate for later.
Sweet Tartine ideas
Serve these sweet tartines on toasted bread:
• Cream cheese topped with Mountain Fruit’s Rhubarb Raspberry jam and fresh raspberries.
• Greek yogurt or burrata cheese topped with fresh strawberries. Garnish with mint or basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
• Spread a smear of good butter, top with sliced banana and grated chocolate.
• Top a smear of peanut butter with thin slices of apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
No limits — only your imagination and the contents of your pantry/refrigerator. If you’re thinking beyond Easter, tartines are fun for Mother’s Day, baby and wedding showers.
Enjoy slightly crawling out from the oppressive cover of COVID-19 and facing the beautiful sun which continues to rise every morning — cause for celebration in itself!