HungryForever

PEAR, GOAT’S CHEESE AND WALNUT TARTINE

I spent three years working in Paris and it opened my eyes to how exciting an open sandwich could be. While friends back home were tucking into jam sandwiches for their tea, I was revelling in wonderful tartines like this. Don’t even think of spoiling your lovely goat’s cheese or ripe pears with cheap bread. Now is the time to splash out on a lovely sourdough or crusty French baguette.

Servings

Ingredients

1 baguette or small sourdough loaf
olive oilfor griddling
2 pearse.g. Williams, quartered, cored and thinly sliced
150g French goat’s cheesee.g. crottin, soft or ripe, cut into the same number of slices as the pears Freshly ground black pepper
4tbsp walnutsroughly chopped or crumbled

Instructions

Preheat the grill on its highest setting.
If using a baguette, slice it in half across the middle and trim off the very ends. Slice each half into 4 pieces to give 8 in total. If using a sourdough loaf, cut it into 8 slices about 2cm thick.
Place a griddle pan over a high heat. When hot, drizzle with a little oil and lower the heat. Add the bread and toast on either side until lightly crisp and golden.
Transfer the toasts to a baking sheet. Arrange the pear and cheese slices alternately on each one. Season with pepper and sprinkle with the walnuts. Grill for 1–2 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.