Rajma Tartines
I had this idea going on for some time and finally decided to try it out when we had some leftover rajma exactly the amount, I needed to make enough for two of us for lunch.
My husband was so skeptical of how this would taste, but alas when he tried it he loved it. What is not to like in leftover rajma turned into Tartines.
Tartines are open faced sandwiches, that easy and versatile to make with any type of toppings. You can either make them savory or sweet. They make such a good appetizer, but also a light lunch or even dinner. They are so many varieties of Tartines I can share with you. Throw in some side of salad and you are good to go.
Just make sure you follow the instructions well. In France, this toasted bread is served with jam and butter with morning coffee, often for smeared with what I think is duck liver pate. When we traveled to France, I wanted simple breakfast one of the days we were in Nice, so I ordered coffee with bread, and it came with jam and butter more so like a baguette. I also saw someone dipping theirs’s in coffee.
Bread is the most important part of a tartines. I love buying these half boules of French bread or sourdough you find a lot of bakeries or whole foods. Those make best carrier for the toppings. The regular soft bread won’t cut the deal.
Hearty and dense bread is the best. Baguettes cut diagonally also work fine.
Pre -cut bread is best, so you save yourself the trouble of slicing bread in all different thickness.
Toasting gives bread the structure we need to build sandwiches. They must be toasted crusty, so it won’t get soggy under the toppings. This is the only important step of making tartines, toasty bread. Specially, rajma also has some sauce. It won’t take time to get the bread soggy.
Try these Tartines, that give spotlight to the toppings and taste so delicious.
There are many ways to toast the bread, oven, stove top, or broiler method. If you use broiler or oven method, do not move away from it or put a timer.
Rajma recipe is linked here. I used rajma that was left in refrigerator so it thickened up and there was very little sauce in it. So, whatever you do make sure the sauce is thick not runny. Runny sauce, will make your bread soggy. If its too runny, just simmer it down until its thickened.
Rajma Tartines
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bread sourdough or french boule, toasted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¾ cup leftover Rajma
- ½ cup shredded cheese I used swiss
- ¼ cup pickled onions
- 1 green chili optional
- Cilantro or spring onions chopped
- Arugula or mix greens optional
Instructions
- Brush olive oil on the bread slicesand toast the bread either in a preheated oven at 450 F for 5-7 mins until its cripsy and slightly golden or toast in cast iron pan, until crispy.
- Warm up the leftover rajma in microwave quickly if it has been sitting the refriegerator.
- Add about a tbsp and ½ on the sliced bread, add the cheese on top. Put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Once, the cheese melts simply take it out.
- Add some pickled onions, green chilies and garnish it with your choice of herb either cilantro or green onions.
- We ate it with a side of arugula salad, just simply tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and black pepper.
- You can toast bread anyway you prefer. Oven comes handy if you are making for couple of people.
- If you cut the tartines into slices once you have assembled them, you can serve it as appetizer too. Or use smaller bread slice like a baguette.
- You can also drizzle some hot sauce, cilantro chutney etc.
XO, Devangi