Ana Jones recipes: Whether the toppings are scavenged from the fridge or your local supermarket, a tartine is probably the simplest possible vehicle for flavour youll find try an egg, caper and herb combo, or English garden mix
Tartine. Such a nice word, isnt it? It also happens to be the name of one of my favourite restaurants, Bar Tartine in San Francisco. They make incredible, interesting breads (the sprouted rye is my favourite), and knockout homemade cultured buttermilk butter and little plates of food that are always on point. But thats by the by …
Bruschetta, open sandwiches, tartines whatever you choose to call them many a memorable meal can be made by piling simple things on to good bread. When I reach back into the culinary catalogue that is my memory, a few stand out: this years winter tomatoes, which I ate for several days straight with good-quality olive oil, plenty of sea salt and lemon zest on sourdough bread; salted, fried porcini piled on toast in a little Tuscan trattoria; just-picked, tiny yellow-and-green courgettes peeled into ribbons and piled on to toast with a slick of goats cheese, a scattering of lemon zest and topped with courgette flowers, in the midst of a friends vegetable garden …
This way of eating suits the season, which is all about spending more time outside, away from the kitchen. In summer, meals need to be less planned and considered and more born from whats at hand. I admit that some of the toppings I have scavenged from the fridge, and from the big bowls of lemons, avocados and fruit on our table, would not always suit this column, but on occasion they hit just the right note.