Tartines (i.e., open faced sandwiches) are so much fun for entertaining and for little snacks or lunches. My mom used to make them in very mini versions for parties. They looked like little squared crackers with lots of fun toppings, but they were actually pieces of bread cut into bite sized pieces. They were perfect little bites with tons of flavor that just made my mouth happy. Although they look and taste heavenly, preparation can be a bit more time consuming. I found new (to me) version of tartines at Le Pain Quotidien – the Belgian take on the sandwich. I absolutely love this place! Everything I’ve tried there has been super delicious. This place proves the adage that healthy can be yummy. Most of the ingredients that they use are organic and seasonal. The food is fresh, elegant and at the same time so simple that you really can’t resist but to just bite into it and feel the sensation. I have no affiliation with this place and this is not advertisement. Rather it’s my honest opinion about the place and as inspired some of my own takes on their dishes.
One Saturday afternoon, my husband and I (at that time my ‘fiancée’) were in Manhattan to order our wedding bands and decided to get lunch in the neighborhood. Our 4 month old baby was with us and we needed to find baby friendly place. We found Le Pain Quatidien and couldn’t be happier. Not only were they ‘baby friendly,’ but as I said above the food was outstanding. We had tartines and salad. I don’t exactly remember what was on this particular tartine, but I do remember that there was chorizo and hard-boiled egg. This is where the inspiration came from for this post. I decided to make an herbed egg salad, toped with Spanish chorizo, manchego cheese, arugula, pickle and a little tab of spicy mayo on healthy multigrain rustic bread. I encourage you to try this recipe. You won’t regret it. As for the salad we ordered smoked salmon with roasted beets, arugula and goat cheese dressing which I tried to re-create and will be a subject for another post. Come back if you’d like to see it. In a meantime enjoy this tartine. 🙂
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