http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/dining/grilled-cheese-try-a-tartine-recipe-instead.html 2014-10-03 21:52:11 Grilled Cheese? Try a Tartine Recipe Instead The tartine is Paris’s gift to lunchtime. === Those old-fashioned neighborhood cafes and bistros in Paris — the sometimes charming, sometimes seriously funky ones that serve a single plat du jour, along with a few salads and sandwiches — are becoming harder and harder to find. Most of them have kitchens that are extremely small, often consisting of no more than a small wooden cutting board and a tiny wall-mounted electric oven. It’s ingenious how such a diminutive space can produce enough food to supply a bustling lunchtime trade. A popular menu choice is a hot open-faced tartine. But just to confuse the issue, sometimes a tartine is called a croque, and it can also mean buttered toast for breakfast. When in doubt, ask. For our purposes, a tartine is similar to a small pizza, constructed from a thick slice of rustic bread, lightly toasted. It is topped with savory vegetables and then some good French cheese, then undergoes a few minutes of browning under the broiler. The tartine emerges fragrant, bubbling and crisped. Accompanied by a green salad with a vinaigrette, it makes an extremely satisfying light meal, properly eaten with a fork and knife, and with a glass of wine. It’s just the thing for a quick lunch at home, too. As for those vegetable toppings, just about anything you can think of qualifies. I’ve given two examples here. In one, garlicky roasted pepper strips, a dab of sun-dried tomato purée (sliced fresh tomatoes in summer) and black olives make a perfect bed for a thick slice of goat cheese or Camembert. I use good quality jarred peppers when sweet peppers are out of season. For the other, suitable for cooler weather, there’s a light smear of Dijon mustard, wilted spinach, bacon lardons and the bold-flavored cheese called Raclette, which melts in a spectacular way. If you can’t get Raclette, substitute Gruyère or Emmenthaler. Of course, there’s also the always popular ham and cheese, whatever kinds you fancy; roasted onions, walnuts and Roquefort; sautéed mushrooms with Comté. And there’s no real reason to stick with French cheeses. How about spicy coppa with Taleggio? By the way, instead of making a meal of tartines, you can cut them into small wedges to serve with drinks. Sort of like a pizza party, but easily accomplished, even in a toaster oven, one after the other.