Blue Cheese and Pan-Roasted Grape Tartine
There is something about open faced sandwiches that make me pile them high with food and garnish them to my heart's content. After all, I don't need to squash them with another slice of bread on top. Open faced sandwiches come in different names around Europe like perhaps I can also call these crostini in Italy. But let's leave that one for now and call these delicious sandwiches the French way, tartine.
Ever since I was a kid, I had been strange because I
liked blue cheese. At least that's what my siblings would tell me. When
my father would come home from Europe, he would take home a slab of blue
cheese (don't know from which country and what kind) and while everyone
pinched their noses and refused to eat it, I would take a piece one at a
time. And ever since I moved to Italy and traveled around Europe, I would
make sure that I try the local blue cheese. I like everything that I
have tried although some are really sharp but the flavor that I love is always there.
For this recipe, I skipped the gorgonzola (which I always use) and used instead a slab of roquefort, the French version. To enjoy it more, I toned down its sharpness with ricotta cheese. You can also substitute the ricotta with mascarpone or cream cheese. That way, you only have a subtle and lingering taste of roquefort, not something that invades your taste buds. For the grapes, I quickly roasted them with Port wine. You can substitute it with similar fortified wines like Marsala, Sherry, or Madeira if you can't find it or even omit it but Port lends an interesting flavor to the grapes.
If you are interested in this Blue Cheese and Pan-Roasted Grape Tartine recipe, you can get it at She Knows, a site where I create recipes. Check out my Profile Page there and see the other recipes that I have already created for them. Enjoy your week!
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