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Tartines are huge in France, and that’s where I fell in love with them. The name comes from tarte, and at the core, all a tartine is is an open faced sandwich. Simple, but genius. In America we put the bread on top and everything gets smooshed. With a tartine, not only can you make it beautiful, but you get the perfect ratio in every bite. Here are my favorite tartine recipes.
Table of contents
The Tartine Recipe Collection
Smoked Salmon Tartine
Marinated smoked salmon over whipped caper dill cream cheese on toasted baguette, with fried shallots for crunch. The salmon sits in a citrusy dijon honey marinade first, and then you spoon the leftover marinade back over the top at the end.
Mortadella Tartine with Stracciatella and Pistachio
Mortadella seared until golden and blistered, layered over stracciatella with a lemony, herby pistachio sauce. Salty, sweet, and a little spicy from the crushed red pepper.
Watch the Full Tartine Recipes Series
Grilled Peach and Stracciatella Tartine
Prosciutto-wrapped peaches grilled until golden, set on stracciatella with a chunky pistachio herb sauce. Pick firm-ripe peaches. Too soft and they fall apart on the grill.
Balsamic Fig and Stracciatella Tartine
Figs braised in balsamic and honey until the pan turns syrupy, spooned warm over cold stracciatella with crispy bacon underneath. A spoonful of salsa macha in the braise adds smoke, not heat.
Fig and Whipped Brie Tartine
Fresh figs pressed into a jammy layer on fried brioche, topped with whipped brie, a port balsamic reduction, honey, and crushed pistachios. Getting that fig layer clean takes a flip trick with two cutting boards, but it’s worth the extra step.
Frequently Asked Questions
A tartine is a French open-faced sandwich: one slice of bread, toppings on top, no lid. The name comes from tarte, meaning pastry, plus a diminutive suffix. It’s eaten with a knife and fork rather than picked up, which is part of why you can stack it higher than regular toast.
I use a baguette halved lengthwise for most of mine because it toasts to a crust that holds up under creamy toppings. The traditional French choice is actually thick-cut country bread like pain de campagne, and sourdough or ciabatta both work. For the fig toast I switch to brioche fried in olive oil, since that one leans sweeter.
Both. Cut into small squares, one baguette feeds a crowd as an appetizer. Left in bigger pieces, the smoked salmon tartine especially holds up as lunch or a light main.
