Sourdough Tartine Beef Patties with Roasted Peppers & Artichoke

 

I’ll often eat a sandwich for lunch when I am working.  I thought I’d share the one I made today and it took some effort to photograph it, because all I wanted too do was eat it, but a photo of an empty plate wouldn’t inspire anything other than envy…

Whilst I am all for sandwiches, I particularly love an open sourdough sandwich. It gives you an opportunity to bridge the gap between cold ingredients and hot cooked toppings.  I grew up eating French style open Tartine sandwiches, which are especially good when the bread is roughly cut. The best Tartine sandwiches are made with sourdough that is a day old, with a light tang and a bouncy interior that soaks up all the rich juices from the pan, and a beautiful conker coloured chewy golden crumb. This one is heaped with all good, simple things; sweet roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes, wild rocket, and artichoke, with tangy balsamic vinegar and sour salty warm capers, and mustard. There’s no pretty way to eat this you need to just get in there and enjoy it. I suggest using a steak knife.

• 300g minced beef steak
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 shallot sliced
• 40g rocket
• 100g artichoke hearts
• 120g cherry tomatoes chopped
• 20g capers
• 1 roasted red pepper & 1 roasted yellow pepper sliced
• 2 slices of sourdough toasted lightly
• 20g pine nuts toasted
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dijon mustard

Season the meat with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pat the mince into two equal size patties.

Heat a separate frying pan with the oil on a medium-high heat and place the patties in the pan. Cook with the shallots until golden brown, 2-3 mins each side for medium rare or 4-5 mins each side for well done. Remove from the pan then add the cherry tomatoes, vinegar and capers and cook for another 3 mins then add the peppers.

To make the warm dressing remove the beef and leave on the side to rest; in the same frying pan that the vegetables were in, heat oil on a medium heat and cook for a minute. Arrange the rocket and beef on the sourdough on two warm plates, artichokes and steak strips. Spoon over the warm vinaigrette and vegetables dressing over the patties, add the mustard and sprinkle over the pine nuts.

Enjoy and if you can get away with it a glass of French house red, (the easy drinking 11% table wine) is the perfect accompaniment…