Avocado Asparagus Tartine
An excellent impromptu springtime lunch. Avocado smeared across toasted day-old slabs of sesame bread, layered with arugula and garlicky caraway asparagus + toasted pepitas.
Lunch on Monday was pretty great, and dead simple. I smeared avocado across toasted, day-old slabs of sesame bread, and started by layering a bit of arugula on top. Added a few stalks of garlicky caraway-sprinkled asparagus beyond that, and the final touch? A few toasted pepitas. Caraway is under-utilized, and I love it's distinctive earthiness here playing off the bright green asparagus notes.
When you're buying asparagus, whether it's thick or thin, look for vibrant, green asparagus, with structured stalks. No soft spots, or droopiness.
I very rarely bother peeling asparagus, but will trim the bottoms to get rid of the woody, tough base of the stalks.
These little open-faced tartines took less than ten minutes to pull together, and ended up being the epitome of spring. You can also cut each one into 4 or 5 pieces, in triangles, for little party / get-together bites.
Premium Ad-Free membership includes:
-Ad-free content
-Print-friendly recipes
-Spice / Herb / Flower / Zest recipe collection PDF
-Weeknight Express recipe collection PDF
-Surprise bonuses throughout the year
Avocado Asparagus Tartine
You can actually slice each tartine into four or five bite-sized pieces for a nice appetizer option as well.
- 4-6 toasted slabs of whole grain bread, rubbed with olive oil and a bit of garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 lb of asparagus stalks, trimmed roughly the length of your bread
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 avocado, pitted and smashed
- a couple handfuls of arugula, tossed in a bit of olive oil
- a handful of toasted pepitas, or almonds, or sunflower seeds, lemon zest
-
A few minutes before you want to eat heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot add the asparagus, and a pinch of salt and cook for about thirty seconds. Add the garlic and caraway, and cook another thirty seconds, or until the spears are a vibrant green. Remove from heat, and assembly the tartines.
-
Give each piece of bread a generous slather of mashed avocado. Top that with a bit of arugula, a few asparagus spears, and a generous sprinkling of pepitas or seeds.
-
Serves 2-4
Related Recipes
A Simple Asparagus Soup
A simple asparagus soup - fresh asparagus, new potatoes, a bit of green curry paste, and coconut milk are pureed to make this spring favorite.
10 Recipes That Teach You How To Cook Asparagus Like A Pro
Asparagus is the workhorse of the springtime kitchen. Here are a handful of asparagus winners that will teach you how to cook asparagus like a pro!
20 L.A. Restaurant Recipes to Cook Now
A collection of vibrant, inspiring, vegetarian recipes to cook from favorite Los Angeles restaurants.
Post Your Comment
Comments
Well Heidi you are so talented you even make my least favourite food (avocado) look tasty. Cannot wait to hear more about your project.
Thanks for sharing! My life is happier with your delicious dishes!
I made this tonight for dinner, but instead of putting it on bread, I used a whole wheat naan and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top. Delicious and so easy!
I love finger foods and that looks incredible. Every time I see these meals, I try to make them as soon as I can. Great job!
This is my idea of lunchtime heaven - creamy asparagus with a crunch of pepitas and those delicious asparagus stalks = bliss.
So delicious! And the good thing is that I got lots of asparagus two days ago. Thanks.
Your thrown together lunch looks amazing! So simple and to tasty! I am a huge fan of tartines - way more fun than a sandwich!
7:7 Seven out of seven loved it. Made tonight. Totally awesome. Again, Caraway? Aspargus? Avocado? YUM! Read a Heidi recipe...make it. You'll be delighted.
Oh, the suspense! These little tartines look delicious - maybe alongside some cheesy scrambled eggs.
This is a perfect lunch or snack, LOL. Healthy too. I love it.
Isn't it wonderful how the French manage to make everything sound sexy--even crusty toast with toppings? One day, when I open my very own bakery I'm definitely putting a tartine du jour on the menu. Super simple comfort food.
The simplicity of this is just flooring me :) Can't wait to try - I love tartines...I have wild leeks growing in my back yard I might add them!
Can't wait to hear more about your project! This sounds like the perfect little lunch. I made some avocado cilantro hummus yesterday, and have asparagus ready for me in the fridge.... Thank you for the inspiration!
Whetting my appetite, in more ways than one...
Hey me too I am in a rabbit hole AND I happen to have avocado and asparagus from last night. Done! PS: you are not going to put that out there and then not even give the slightest hint of what you are doing, are you?!
Wow, these are just beautiful!
I just found lunch! I have avocado, asparagus and arugula in my fridge right now. I wouldn't have thought to combine them all in this way! I can totally relate to getting swept up in a new project, it's exhilarating and a little bit scary. So eager to learn more!
i was so focused on putting together your recipe for saag paneer that I fogot to take the asparagus off the hot stove even though I turned off the flame. when I tended to the asparagus they were no longer standing. I pureed them and put them in the fridge. I always have avacados on hand, so this is our yummy lunch for tomorrow.! I had a few misses when I began using your recipes, but lately everything is delicious. thanks for sharing your cooking experiences with us!
I can't wait to read more about this project! The avocado-asparagus tartine looks like a lovely lunch for one.
Absolutely gorgeous photo!