Vegetable Tartines

People magazine = brain candy for me. I used to treat myself when I traveled for work. Now I enjoy it while at the dentist's office - probably the only thing I enjoy there (no offense, Dr. Jones). I like to think that People is classier and more accurate than Us or the National Enquirer. I am good at justifying lots of guilty pleasures. People has added recipes. Note to self: discuss with accountant to determine if annual subscription can be deducted as a business expense: research.

This week there is recipe by Alain Ducasse for spring tartines. A tartine is an open faced sandwich that is popular in France.  I have taken some liberties and removed a few items that didn't sound so delectable to me: peas, radishes and fennel. Add them back in if you have more sophisticated tastes.  This recipe was adapted from his cookbook "Nature: Simple, Healthy, and Good".

The Baker's Mann will be assuming summer hours with two (vs 3) posts each week.

Ingredients:

Vegetable Tartines

1.      4 slices of multigrain or whole-wheat bread, toasted on one side

2.      16 asparagus, blanched and cut off tips at a length of 2 ½ inches

3.      3-4 oz ricotta or cream cheese

4.      15-20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

5.      1 ½ oz shaved Parmesan or Parmesan-Reggiano

6.      1 ½ C baby arugula

7.      Ground Black Pepper

Blanch the asparagus.  Boil water and drop asparagus in the boiling water for 1 minute.  Remove and place immediately in a bowl of ice cubes and water at hand. Let cool for 2 minutes, remove and place on a paper towel to drain. 

Toast one side of the bread.  Spread the ricotta or cream cheese on the toasted side of the bread.  Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place on top of the cheese.  Arrange the asparagus tips (you can slice the tips lengthwise first if you choose), top with arugula and then the shaved Parmesan cheese on top.  Finally, some fresh ground black pepper to taste.