I often feel at a loss when it comes to making vegetarian meals for my niece when she comes for dinner. Tofu is bland (and please, don't even mention tofurkey!) and pasta, while delicious, gets repetitive. This Saturday I met a friend for lunch and then thought I wanted to shop, but soon discovered my heart wasn't into it. And yet, I also didn't want to go home right away. So I wandered, and ended up at Chapters bookstore on Robson street. I like to pick out a bunch of books and just settle down and flip through them. Maybe one of these days I'll actually buy one. Anyway, in one of the books was a bunch of recipes for 'tartine'; essentially, these are open-faced sandwiches. This one is spinach and pear topped with brie. The salt at the end is important to bring out all the flavours.
1 bunch spinach
2 very ripe pears
1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter
250g ripe brie
4 slices of my home-made
Commons Bread or similar peasant-type bread
A pinch of salt per sandwich
Fresh-ground pepper
- Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
- Peel pears and cut into matchsticks. Heat butter in sauté pan and cook pears until browned.
- Prepare ice bath for spinach - wash the leaves and blanch in salted water - quickly draining and dumping them into the ice bath. Dry leaves on paper towels.
- Arrange bread slices on a cookie sheet. Combine pear and spinach, and divide equally among bread slices, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Pop in the hot oven for a few minutes (2 to 4), or until the cheese has obtained the desired amount of runniness, and serve immediately.
