Ham, Cherry Tomatoes and Creamy Cheese Tartine.

This is a very simple Snack but with good ingredients, you can end up with a right smile upon your face. In the middle of the night when you crave a little something, this could be right upon your sleeve: One Tartine/Bruschetta of goodness.

Putting it all Together

Timing

Preptime: 5 to 10 minutes.
Cooktime: 3 minutes
Servings: 1 to 2

Ingredients

Ciabatta Bread, sliced. The slice can be called a Bruschetta or a Tartine. You can have the slice as it is or toast it a little which is the only cooking involved to prepare that Snack. But one trick is to rub the slice with a little Olive Oil and a Clove of Garlic to bring about some more flavour to it.

Cream Cheese. I use Philadelphia because it has a great range of products with different flavours: Garlic and Herbs, or the Chive one for example which suit this Snack well. Other spreadable Cheeses are the Boursin, and if you like your Blue Cheeses, try the Créme de Saint Agur which is mild and delicious.

Season the Cream Cheese to your liking. Salt and Pepper, herbs...

Ham is another important part of this Snack. I tend to go for cured and/or smoked Ham: Proscuitto, Serrano, Jamon Iberico, Jambon de Bayonne, sliced smoked Ham Hock. 2 slices to 4.

Cherry Tomatoes, 4 or 6 to cut in half.

Lamb's Lettuce or Pea Shoots, a handful.

Steps

The first step is to slice the Ciabatta Bread. Depending if you are doing the Snack for yourself or for many, slice accordingly. This Tartine can work well as an Appetizer during a Summer afternoon between friends, a BBQ party of some sort. But it can also be a little treat in the middle of the night in Spring or Summer.

The slices of Bread can be brushed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, then rubbed with a Garlic Clove to enhance the overall flavours. The choice is then yours to toast them, grill them, griddle them or eat the Bread as it is with its toppings. But this part is the only one when you have to cook or toast if you decide to do so.

Then comes the building up of the Snack as per say: spreading the Cream Cheese. I always have a Cream Cheese at home because I do find them so handy when I have like the French say 'Un petit creux.' It means really to eat something when you are feeling a little peckish. Therefore a slice of Bread, a bit of Cheese and a slice of Ham can become very welcome for the stomach as a Snack.

As I said in the ingredients section the choice of Cream Cheese is up to your own taste. My personal choice is usually Philadelphia, either the one with Garlic and Herbs or the one with Chives. My other choice in Autumn is the Créme de Saint Agur, which is a spreadable Blue Cream Cheese which is mild but onctuous.

Now a tiny bit of Seasoning like Salt and cracked Black Peppercorns do not go amiss and can help with flavours, so does Chilli Flakes if so inclined to use them at that stage of the process. Fresh Herbs like chopped Chive could be a good addition as well.

Then it the time to put the slices of Ham upon the Ciabatta Bread. Rolling them a little makes a presentation but also you can put two slices rather than one neatly on the Appetizer. The choice of Ham to use is entirely yours. My preference is Prosciutto Ham for its texture.

Another step is to add Tomatoes to the Tartine. You can slice them or quarter them if they are of medium size or large but just cut them in half if you use Cherry Tomatoes. The Tomatoes add a sweet acidity to this Snack.

Last but not least a little green is not bad for you, nor for the Tartine as it provide more taste. Lamb's Lettuce or Pea Shoots are small enough to fit the space of the slice of Ciabatta. upon the Ham and with the Tomatoes it also provide an appetising contrast.

The rest is just to enjoy the little Tartine and to relax.

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