Small Plates
Ingredients
- 3 radish
- 1 yellow beet, small
- 1 red beet, small
- 1 carrot
- 1 zucchini, small
- 1 handful english peas, fresh or frozen
- 2 stems broccolini or rabe
- Zest of a lemon
- Zest of a lime
- Cultured butter
- 4 ounces ricotta or soft goat cheese
- 1 boule or other artisanal loaf, sliced 1/2
- Sea salt flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Fresh mint, thyme, dill, parsley, chives, optional
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut several slices of bread into halves (they should be easy to pick up and hold in the hand) and brush with olive oil. Bake until lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Using a handheld mandoline (use a glove to protect your hand!), or with a very sharp paring knife, slice the radish and beets into as thin rounds as possible.
- Use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons of the zucchini and carrots.
- Use a knife to cut the top flowering parts of the broccolini and the thin parts of their stems into 2" to 3" long pieces in which the stems are whittled to be no more than 1/4" thick.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Turn down to a rolling simmer and drop the yellow beets in for 2 minutes. Remove to a large bowl of ice water. Add the zucchini, carrots, and English peas to the simmering water. Blanch for 2 minutes and remove to the ice bath. Lift these vegetables from the bath onto a towel to dry.
- Add the broccolini to the simmering pot. Blanch for 2 minutes, and remove to the ice bath. When cool, lift from the bath and leave to dry on a towel.
- Finally, add the red beet slices to the pot, blanch for 2 minutes, and remove them to the ice bath. When cool, remove to dry on a paper towel.
- Slather the bread with your spread of choice.
- Begin topping the tartines with the prepared veg: radishes are awesome with the butter, goat cheese with beets, ricotta with everything but especially peas and mint. Anything goes.
- Add the zest to the tops of the veg: lime for the beets and radish, lemon for the peas, zucchini, carrots, and broccolini.
- Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and if desired a grind of black pepper.
- Finish with some tiny fresh herbs. Place the tartines on a pattern and serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
Big pot blanching refers to using a large 8 quart pot to boil water quickly, for 2 minutes or less, cook vegetables, and then plunge them into an ice bath to set the color and intensify the flavor. Always blanch red beets last as their color bleeds and will ruin the colors of the other vegetables. The vegetables may be blanched and stored in separate containers several hours in advance of serving. The bread may be toasted in the oven up to three hours in advance. Tzatziki, pesto, or hummus also make nice beds of spreads for the veg. To dress up this recipe even more, use different types of breads and spreads together. Use only seasonal vegetables for the most intense flavors. Zaatar, chili flakes, and other spices add a bit of moxie and verve when fresh herbs are unavailable. A glass of rosé or minerally sancerre are light wines perfect for serving alongside these tartines.