Essentially a fancy name for “things on toast”, a tartine is a topless sandwich that can be piled high with delicious things with no threat of being squished together. I love the simplicity and elegance of this recipe: it is the perfect balance of sweet and sour, spicy and salty, and it feels special at the same time. Griddle and marinate the peaches ahead of time, if you like, and feel free to switch them for nectarines, apricots or whatever you have to hand that looks good for griddling.
Grilled peach, gorgonzola and thyme tartines
Prep 5 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2
2 peaches (about 200g)
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
A few sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp honey
1 pinch red chilli flakes
1 small ciabatta, or half a large one
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
150g gorgonzola
A handful of rocket leaves
Put a griddle pan on a high heat. Halve the peaches, remove the stones and cut the fruit into wedges. Put the wedges in a small bowl, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and season generously. Add the leaves from the thyme sprigs, toss to coat, then griddle the peach slices for a minute or two on each side, until they take on dark char lines and soften slightly. Return them to the bowl, add the honey and chilli flakes, toss again and set aside.
Heat the grill to high. Cut the ciabatta in half horizontally and toast under the hot grill for a couple of minutes, until golden and very lightly toasted. Drizzle each slice with olive oil and rub with the cut side of the halved garlic clove.
Cut the gorgonzola into ½cm-thick slices and lay these over one side of the ciabatta halves. Return to the grill for just a minute, until oozy, then top with the dressed peaches. Toss the rocket with any remaining dressing in the peach bowl, arrange on top of the tartines and tuck in.
