Tag: tartine

Sunday tartine: golden turnip, Gorgonzola, chives & ruccola

As life seems to be coming back to normal, I feel relieved and happy to pick-up my quirky habits…morning Sunday tartines being one of them. We went to the farmers market yesterday and I’m thrilled to report spring is finally here! We were already stumbling under the weight of tons of greens and fresh veggies & fruits, when I spotted something peculiar: the golden turnip. I’ve been devouring purple turnips the whole winter long, but never the golden ones: something needed to be done! I bought the above-mentioned turnips, headed back home and start planning the next dish in my head. Truth be told, turnips are amazing both cooked and raw, but this time, I decided to go for my favorite way of eating turnips: cooked in butter (really, how expected is this?). Here’s how to achieve turnip perfection and start your day with a mouthwatering sandwich. Read More

Game on: smoked deer & grapes tartine

smoked-cerf

Did you really think I stopped eating tartines? Not at all and with the game season in full swing in Belgium, my tartines have become more…interesting. I absolutely love game & wildfowl: having lived in Montana, I should know a thing or two about this. You may have different opinions on the topic, but the truth is in some parts of the world this is simply a surviving method. Not in modern-day Brussels, that’s for sure, but one may as well indulge in the pleasures of life.

How exactly? Pumpkin bio bread smeared with butter, smoked deer and white grapes. A bit of freshly ground pepper and that’s it. Beautiful simplicity!

Sunday tartine: jambon de langue de cochon/ pork’s tongue ham

pork-ham-tartine

After the Taste of Brussels event yesterday (more to come on that soon), I just felt the need to come back to reality, where us, mere-mortals still enjoy the pleasure of the flesh, with impunity. What better place to surround myself with beautiful pieces of pork, veal, beef, ham, sausages & co. than my lovely butcher, M. Gaston? My week-end shopping list included 200gr préparé and a 800gr roti de porc/ pork shoulder (a wonderfully-fatty piece, now marinating in olive oil, smoked paprika, fresh rosemary & crushed garlic). To my surprise, something caught my eye: next to the tête préssée, a bit lonely and distinct: the pork’s tongue ham. I immediately asked M. Didier about it and he confirmed, then I proceeded to tell him about my love affair with pig’s tongue (while my man was telling him about pigs slaughtering in Romania). We ate the fresh préparé yesterday and I saved the best for last.

My Sunday tartine: dark bread + whole grain mustard + tongue ham + green & red pepper + home-grown ruccola. 

For that kind of days: canned mackerel & sardines two ways

mackerel-and-asrdines-tartine

There are days when you can dismember and cook a whole chicken, make pizza or moussaka and there are days when all you can do is open a can of fish. Lately, most of my evenings were like that. I told you how I gradually started to embrace fish...well, I recently discovered canned mackerel and canned sardines. Fish full of good stuff and really, really tasty. I always buy the ones in (olive) oil, I get them from Aldi for less than 1 EUR a piece. Still, I did not resign to just cracking the can open and proceed to eating: a bit of sparkle is always welcome. In this case, the sparkle took the shape of onion, tomatoes, capers, red pepper and ruccola. Easy-peasy tartines!

Bio pumpkin bread + butter + canned mackerel fillets + raw onion + capers + ruccola. Sprinkled with spicy olive oil and freshly ground pepper.

Bio pumpkin bread + spicy olive oil + canned sardines + chopped home-grown tomatoes + charred red pepper + onion + ruccola. Salt & pepper

That’s it guys! Absolutely yummy, healthy and easy to make. The dream of any person that comes home from the office after seven PM and still wants to have a good meal.

The week-end tartine strikes back: raw meat at its best

Rosbif and tartar tartine.JPG

If you’ve been here before, you are probably familiar with my week-end tartine ritual. And my love of raw meet. Pictured above (in very bad lighting, but have you looked outside? We live in Belgium!!!) is raw meat at its best. I only swear by meat bought from my lovely butcher, M. Gaston, all his products are amazing and fresh and delicious…OK, OK, I stop here. This time, my man went for filet américain nature and I opted for rosbif. We collected these goodies and fantasized about the tartines-to-come on our way home. Back in the kitchen, my man started opening a bottle of wine (yes, it’s OK to drink wine before lunch…we’re Eastern Europeans, after all!) and I was getting busy on the assembly line. Read More

Gorgonzola two ways: week-end tartines

Gorgonzola tartine

Simply perfect for the week-end: Gorgonzola tartines!

  1. Multigrain toasted bread + Gorgonzola + preserved artichoke in olive oil + ruccola
  2. Multigrain toasted bread + cherry tomatoes + basil (we grow a quirky variety called lemon basil)

That’s it, enjoy the week-end!

Breakfast avocado tartine

Avocado toast

My love affair with tartines continues. Here’s the latest one, from this morning: dark bread, avocado, olive oil, salt & pepper, one cherry tomato, some pepper that was dying in the fridge and some of my beautiful home-grown ruccola. Simple, delicious and incidentally, very healthy. Enjoy the week-end!

Not in the mood for food (wait, whaaa..?)

sandwich

Today I’m not in the mood for food. No, I have not fallen on my head, I’m just down with a very annoying cold. Fever, running nose and sneezing…a delight! I’m working from home, so all I managed to whip out is this guy over here: dark bread, cream cheese, 2 large spoons of  heated poulet basquaise, fresh cherry tomatoes and home-grown ruccola. Not that it matters it’s home grown, but I just wanted to brag. I think I’ll call it a day, make tea and hop into bed.

A beacon of hope: Gorgonzola tartine

gorg

Not a good start of the week-end, guys! My beloved Diables Rouges are out (couldn’t help mentioning it, I’m heartbroken), there’s heavy rain falling down (and I need to get out of the house for the week-end’s errands), the max temperature announced for today is 18’C (but if feels like 16’C)…..argh, what’s happening to this world?

But among all these, a beacon of hope. Morning tartine: toast, Gorgonzola, cherry tomatoes, ruccola & a splash of olive oil. I couldn’t wait any-longer (also suspected my man will attack these goodies without warning) so I just snapped a crappy picture. No biggie, we’ll all live.