I spent a very nice year in Denmark once upon a time. (Yes, I can still remember how to say about two things in Danish.) The country has many charming aspects, one of which is the fine tradition of making a meal out of good things piled on top of bread.
Recently, a similar movement seems to be gaining steam here in the U.S. as well, except that we toast our bread first. I think of the evolution this way: bruschetta (1980’s), crostini (1990’s), toasts (aughts), tartines (isn’t that what we call them now?). Or maybe there’s some other difference, I don’t know. Anyway, here’s a nice way to get away with eating melty cheese on toast for dinner. My friend Daisy at Coolcookstyle made it up by substituting radish greens for nettles in a Nigel Slater rarebit recipe, and I say it was a wise decision. You can swap the greens, swap the cheese, or vary the mustard, of course: the only two essential ingredients are bread and something delicious to put on top of it.
Green Tartine: Saute the leaves from one bunch of radishes with a pinch of salt. Set aside to drain, then chop finely. Mix chopped greens with 2 Tb. crème fraiche, ½ c. grated aged cheddar, a spoonful of grainy mustard and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Heap onto bread (I used baguette slices) and broil, watching closely, until lightly browned. We had these for dinner with a garden salad.
What fantastic little appetisers! They look yummy.
They’re great! I know I’m late in replying to these comments but hopefully this will bring these back up your list for your sake. :)
who knew you could use radish tops? I’m clueless sometimes, though I do use beet and turnip greens ;)
I didn’t know that either! These look delicious.
I’m going to have to post my radish top soup recipe soon. To be followed later in the summer by my favorite carrot top soup.
OK, I will be right over.
Please do come over! These are just the thing to share with a friend (with a glass of wine, of course).
Wow, that just looks REALLY darn good! YUM! (mouth watering!) :)
The original recipe calls for nettles, which I would definitely try if you’re brave enough!
Strangely enough I’ve never found nettles here. Nettles nerf when cooked so they don’t sting. Harvesting them can be a bit of fun though! :)
Those look gooey, cheesy and crunchy…some of my favorite combos!!
Those are the food groups, right? :)
Hahaha! yes!!!
Yummy in my tummy!
I love your evolution of things piled on bread. That sounds about right. You can’t beat melty, cheesy things piled on bread though.
That is so cool that you spent a year in Denmark. I bet it was an amazing experience filled with Vikings and smorrebrod! Did you have a favorite?
Toast topping . . . not Viking . . . although you can have a favorite Viking too ;-)
And thanks for the shout-out! Looks like it turned out great, Emmy!
My favorites smorrebrod combos were (1) a farmers-cheese-type spread with radishes and chives on brown bread and (2) butter and thin wafers of chocolate on white bread. Not necessarily together. :)
Oh, those sound very yummy. Butter and chocolate on white bread. Sounds trashy and gourmet all at the same time!
I totally support the good things on bread movement. A meal of “snacks” is my favorite kind. These looks really yummy!
I like that too. Bread rounds, a few chunky spreads, a pile of veggies, a cheese (just for me), and olives. Yum. :)
Was just discussing with Kyle the fact that a restaurant in town is now serving tartines … that look exactly like what they used to call bruschetta. Apparently they missed a few decades though :) We love eating the radish greens in salads, but this looks like a must-try. Tartines here are usually toast with avocado smashed on top and some salt and sometimes a poached egg, but that cheese looks really good …. Have you seen the blog 17bites? She had a “toast” recipe recently, with caramelized onions, that is sort of in a similar vein … here is a link: http://17bites.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/toast-all-dressed-up-garlic-toasts-with-caramelized-onions-sauteed-mustard-greens-and-goat-cheese/
Hey, I had your avocado-and-salt-tartine for breakfast this morning! That is one of my staples when there is a ripe avocado in the house. And thank you for the introduction to 17bites!
avocado + bread = perfect every time ;)
I wish I’d seen this before I went to a Memorial Day party last weekend! But my goat cheese, home made pesto and tomato crostinis went over well. Maybe I’ll just make these for myself. ;)
I actually like making something like this for myself! It makes me feel so elegant not to be just eating over the sink when I’m alone. :)
Just the name sounds elegant!
Oh my gosh, I’m making this tonight. I just bought some radishes and have been trying to decide how I want to use the tops (they’re not my favorite greens, so I have to “dress them up” a little). This looks perfect.
I’m also a big fan of the danish smørrebrød (that’s my one and only danish word!) technique. Who needs 2 slices of bread when you can just pile all the good stuff on one?
This is a very compelling way to hide radish greens, I’d say. Completely smothering anything in cheese is a pretty effective disguise. :)
These are genius! I’ve never thought about eating the radish greens before. There’s less and less going into the composter!
I love when I find a way to use something I used to throw away! Sometime soon I’ll post my radish top soup recipe. :)
YUM! Thanks for sharing. This is my kind of dinner (a.k.a, pre-dessert)!
That is hilarious. I’m going to start calling dinner “pre-dessert” to my kids, they’ll love it. :)
Mmmm…with the creme fresh and aged cheddar, that just might work with my kids. (All else fails, my husband and I will have LOTS of it! Really, it’s win-win as I see it.)
I do sometimes secretly like when my kids shun something delicious–more for us! :)