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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Serves 2-4
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Comments
yes the tartines look nice, but am far more interested in the project! Sounds intriguing....and possibly life enhancing... And Ioved the line "a happenstance chat"....never heard of that word before....
I LOVE tartines!! These look delicious. Can't wait to hear what your new project is!!
What a lovely idea! I do love avocado on toast and can't wait until asparagus comes in to season here in the UK so I can try this out :)
oh, fun, fun. happy meandering! until then, yum. smeared avocados + toast are already an ace dish, but add asparagus, and we've an ace in the hole. i imagine a good squeeze of lemon would sit nicely, plus perhaps a crumble of minced hard-boiled egg. only if within eight feet of arms reach, of course.
Heidi, these are lovely. I'm really excited about cooking springtime meals again, and I can't wait to give these a go. I eagerly await more details about this mysterious project of yours. Cooking show? (I really hope so!)
I'm all for dead simple lunches. I frequently reach for avocado for that reason.
I too often use the scavenging method for throwing together a meal, as well. Hey, sometimes it does work great - like this one! Keen to hear more about this new project when you're ready to share.
your recipes are always so simple yet there is so much flavor going on, i love it. this sounds absolutely delicious.
I have all these ingredients! I know what I'l be eating for lunch tomorrow. Thanks!
I love the elegant simplicity of this.
Oh, I can't wait until spring is here in the Northeast. What I wouldn't give for some fresh asparagus!
They look wonderful..love the green/brown contrast and the pattern underneath them on the cookie sheet is so cool. Beautiful photography showcasing simple yet elegant food!
A simple and beautiful lunch. Asparagus does taste best when cooked to "vibrant green"!
Green on green - like it. I can't wait to hear/see what you have become interested in!
I've never thought to pair avocado with asparagus -- looks delish!
Looks delicious! Asparagus is one of my favorite things about spring.
I have to locate my caraway seeds; this sounds so tasty! I've never had asparagus with avocado but I imagine it's fantastic. Must try sometime.
Hello, friend. This looks simple and delicious and will surely be made around here, soon. Along similar lines, I'm thinking of fava beans cooked in olive oil until tender, coarsely mashed. That paired with asparagus and a few slivers of parmesan to top it all off. Lovely, right?
So mysterious! Can't wait to see what you're up to. Best of luck with manifesting whatever vision it is you're holding.
Thanks! Nice and easy recipe!