Some things are more than the sum of their parts. Bogart and Bacall. Chocolate and peanut butter. John, Paul, George, and Ringo. This sandwich is like that. When we read the recipe in Lynn Kaspar-Rosetto and Sally Swift's new book How to Eat Supper, we didn't immediately think "delicious." We thought, "simple." Then when our first CSA farm share from Ploughshare Community Farm arrived with some beautiful radishes and spring onions - the die was cast.
I walked down to our local wine store to buy the rest of what we needed--some Billy Bread, a bottle of Chimay, and some cheese. They didn't have any of the soft, tangy cheeses called for in the recipe, so I bought some farmhouse cheddar and hoped for the best.
Here's how you make our version of the Belgian Beer Bar Tartine. Slice some good rustic bread, spread a slice with a good layer of butter, sprinkle liberally with salt. Add a light layer of spring onions, then a heavier layer of thinly sliced radish (we sliced them with our mandoline). Give one more good sprinkle of salt. Then top with a layer of the farmhouse cheddar and serve open faced.
It is a surprisingly wonderful mix of flavors. Chewy bread, peppery radish and onion, creamy butter, tangy cheese. Since we're now in love with this sandwich and since radishes have made a couple more appearances in our CSA box - this sandwich, along side a large green salad, has been a regular simple and delicious dinner around here.
