Tartine is the French word for stuff on toast, as I like to call it. A slice of lightly toasted bread topped with whatever suits your fancy. Really. The combinations are endless. This has a soft cheese (ricotta or goat cheese), sweet seasonal fresh strawberries and a drizzle of thick balsamic vinegar, the good kind. It's fresh, easy, very satisfying and great for warm weather.
I had big plans for today's post, as big as a three course meal ending in a dazzling dessert with berries and mascarpone. By the time I finished with the appetizer, this strawberry tartine, I had no more energy for another round of cooking and photographing. It takes time you guys, and planning and je ne sai quoi, don't you agree? I need to feel it before it can translate into something blog worthy.
At least I managed to make stuff on toast, similar to a bruschetta recipe, and we all know how good that is.
Ingredients
This recipe is more a list of ingredients than not. They type you mix and match to your liking, changing this or that depending on what you have on hand.
But, well, being a strawberry goat cheese tartine, let's get into the ingredients needed.
Bread slices
Make sure you use a soft but rustic bread, the type you buy at a good bakery with a good crust and great flavor. I use the Semolina bread recipe, one of the most popular (by far) in this blog. And sometimes the No-knead French Bread recipe.
I don't recommend packaged supermarket bread that is too soft, the sandwich bread used for pb jelly sandwiches for example. You need a sturdier base.
Fresh strawberries
This is a recipe to make when fresh, juicy, seasonal strawberries appear.
Using frozen ones won't really work. They have too much water and lack flavor after thawed. You can lightly roast them before adding them to the tartine, and that can make the flavor better, especially if you sprinkle some brown sugar on top before baking.
It's almost winter here, so I'm very baffled by the fresh strawberries in the market the past couple of weeks. They are good tasting. Very good tasting. And all red, which is usually summer strawberry territory. I distrust strawberries that are too big and too red, they usually taste like unsweetened strawberry tea, a mix of acid and bitter.
Well, who knew I would be popping strawberries like candy in the middle of winter?
Ricotta or Goat cheese
- Chevre, that fabulous soft cheese, is the best goat cheese for this tartine. It has character but is not overpowering and lets other ingredients shine. I find it very hard to find sometimes, so sometimes end up using goat's feta cheese. Not the same but still good.
- Ricotta: it's a creamy but grainy cheese from Italy, slightly sweet, that pairs well with so many other ingredients. You can use it as it comes or process it to make whipped ricotta, smoother and easier to spread. Drain it if it's too watery.
I'm a big fan of ricotta since forever, and you can find several other recipes here that call for it, like the Pizza Rustica (a savory pie) or the sweet Ricotta Pie, one of my favorite desserts ever.
The first goat cheese I used was of the pungent kind, with a bitter aftertaste. I do like it a lot, especially in a quiche I make with caramelized onions, but for this tartine, it was too much.
So round number two included a milder cheese and less of it. I couldn't find chevre, which is the ultimate soft goat cheese in my opinion, so I used chevrotin. I think feta would've been good too.
Balsamic vinegar
What about the balsamic vinegar? It adds a good touch, and though it's not mandatory, but I suggest you don't miss it.
The original balsamic vinegar is heated and reduced to a syrup, and it is a revelation. It concentrates and each drop is magic, adding so much flavor and uniqueness to this tartine. It's just so darn amazing. The sweet acrid waft as it cooks is similar to the way my kitchen smells when I make my favorite chutney recipe.
This is a great appetizer and very simple to put together.
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Strawberry Tartine
Ingredients
- 4 bread slices
- olive oil
- 4 tablespoons ricotta cheese, or soft goat cheese
- black pepper, freshly ground
- 12 fresh strawberries, washed, dried, hulled, and sliced
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, regular balsamic vinegar or the concentrated balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- If you want to use whipped ricotta (as opposed to using it as it comes, more grainy), process 4 tablespoons ricotta cheese until smooth.
To make the syrup:
- Put 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and let reduce over low heat. You can double the amount and keep it to use for salads or other dishes. It keeps almost indefinitely.
- Check constantly until it's syrupy and thick. It might take 5 minutes or 15, depending on the balsamic vinegar's water content.
- Remove from heat, let cool completely, and keep in a glass jar.
To assemble:
- Drizzle lightly 4 bread slices with olive oil and toast in a medium oven (325°F/170°C) until it begins to color.
- Spread the soft cheese on each bread slice, dividing equally.
- Sprinkle with black pepper.
- Top with 12 fresh strawberries, sliced.
- Drizzle with half a teaspoon or so of balsamic syrup.
- Eat immediately.
Notes
Make sure you use a soft but rustic bread, the type you buy at a good bakery with a good crust and great flavor. I use the Semolina bread recipe, one of the most popular (by far) in this blog. And sometimes the No-knead French Bread recipe. I don't recommend packaged supermarket bread that is too soft, like sandwich bread. You need a sturdier base. Cheese:
Chevre, that fabulous soft cheese, is the best goat cheese for this tartine. It has character but is not overpowering and lets other ingredients shine. I find it very hard to find sometimes, so sometimes end up using goat's feta cheese. Not the same but still good.
Substitution: this strawberry tartine also works using a good brie cheese or thick ricotta. Strawberries: using fresh ones is the best and I recommend you make this tartine during strawberry season. That said, you can also roast them first. This is a good idea if the berries are lacking in flavor or you only have frozen and you want to make this recipe anyway. Bake in a 350°F/180°C oven for 15-20 minutes, until they start to shrivel. You can add a teaspoon or two of brown sugar before roasting them for a sweeter flavor.
Inspired from the cookbook Around my French Table, by Dorie Greenspan
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
You're adorable Paula. I love your equation above:
Tartine (french) = bruschetta (italian) = tostas (spanish) = stuff on toast (for me!) jaja!
Your stuff on toast looks so good. I think it would be great with a grind of black pepper too.
laurasmess says
I am in love with strawberries and syrupy aged balsamic. Such a beautiful winning combination... I've even eaten them over good vanilla ice cream with a touch of black pepper! This tartine sounds gorgeous Paula. Beautiful photos, beautiful flavours. Lovely xx
Karen @ Lemon Grove Cake Diaries says
I love "stuff on toast" and this is no exception. Great flavour combination!
e / dig in says
what an amazingly simple but delicious looking treat. i'm not a fan of goat's cheese so ricotta would be my choice. and of course, good strawberries would be key.
isn't it sad when we eat a strawberry and get surprised at how good it it. it's liek we are used to flavourless ones.
Cher Rockwell says
I have been mixing goat cheese with honey lately - and really have been enjoying that.
And yes, I have no idea where time keeps flying off to. I am certainly not catching up...
Laura Dembowski says
Oh yes, I definitely wonder where both summer and life have gone. But making these for dinner will save time so I can do other things 🙂 Balsamic is a great addition.
Mary Hirsch says
I'm with you on the "Where does time go?" question. We're all multi-tasking like crazy and there are not enough hours in the day. In some ways, that's a good thing. Life is full and busy. I made this tartine when I was unpacking all my moving boxes a few months ago. I nibbled on them all day and loved the taste. I didn't reduce the balsamic like you did - in fact, I was a little heavy handed with it as it was. So, I will go back to this again. I like the strawberries/goat cheese with honey combo. That's about as adventerous as I get. Look forward to catching up with you via your Posts and e-mails.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
I est this for breakfast only with my strawberry balsamic jam. Totally love it and it is a great way to start the morning. Beautiful pictures, Paula!
acookingmizer says
I loved this one! 🙂 I'm glad you are finding some cheese you like better - I've noticed with the peach tartine that I'm posting on later today that seasoning the goat cheese with herbs, salt and pepper make it an entirely different cheese all together - maybe worth trying? I'll leave you the post on the FFWD FB page!
Ei says
I love make-up weeks b/c it reminds me of things that I really liked and never think to make. Beautiful pics!
Adriana says
I still have to make up for this one... roasted strawberries do sound too good to pass up. Since we get all non-tropical fruits flown in, I am also wary of the too perfect looking berries. 🙂
Cocoa and Lavender says
And - I am sad to tell you - life really speeds up as you get older! But, at least as we are all speeding by, we will have great food to eat! I have to do some research on tartines... is this really an old French tradition? I just started hearing about them recently in the blog world. While I never think of sweet things like this as an hors d'oeuvre, I might need to try it - especially with the balsamic syrup! ~ David