I was in the mood for an open-faced sandwich of Shrimp and Grits. Maybe I’d put an egg on it and call it a tartine. Or so I thought. However, I didn’t have grits and I didn’t have eggs. I did have beans and hutzpah (I mean harissa). So now you’re looking at Harissa Shrimp and Beans on a thick slab of toast. It’s not the elegant plate of food I’d imagined. It couldn’t possibly shoulder the shining title of tartine, but it’s hardy, flavorful, and has a nice jolt from harissa paste. I dare you not to like it.
That doesn’t mean that you won’t have a few questions about this open-faced shrimp and beans sandwich. Is it a meal or a snack? Breakfast or lunch? Healthy or decadent? Do you pick it up with two hands or eat it with a fork and knife? Heck. Is it even a sandwich?
Harissa Shrimp and Beans
I’ve said this before – but as a kid, nothing was as glorious to me as an open-faced sandwich. I may not have yet had the word tartine in my vocabulary, but to this 6‑year-old food nerd, an open-faced sandwich was the height of elegance. Regular kids ate sandwiches with two pieces of bread. Regular kids ate sandwiches with the crusts cut off by their mommies. But I liked to pull sandwiches apart, open them up, and serve them to myself open-faced while I watched my mother do her French homework and play Cat Stevens on the guitar.
I don’t know how I discovered the open-faced sandwich. But I do know that my love of the genre came from my mother, Cat Stevens, and the romance of conjugated verbs. Looking back it’s easy to see that the word tartine may have been there all along.
Harissa Shrimp and Beans Tartine. I’m starting to like the sound of that. GREG
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
- 3 clove garlic (peeled, minced, and divided)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cup canned diced tomatoes (with its liquid)
- kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper (as needed)
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste (or more to taste)
- 2 (15-oz) cans white beans (such as cannellini, rinsed and drained)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 pound large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 4 slice rustic bread (thickly sliced and toasted or grilled)
Directions
Preheat broiler. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 minced garlic clove, and bay leaf and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, 1–2 minutes (do not allow garlic to burn). Add tomato with juices; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and smashing tomato with the back of a wooden spoon, until tomato is broken down and thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and add harissa paste and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. You’ll notice the mixture will have darkened in color. Stir in beans and broth. Bring to a brisk simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until juices are slightly reduced and thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine remaining 2 minced garlic cloves, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, shrimp, and paprika in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat shrimp. Scatter shrimp over beans in an even layer.
Broil until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Garnish with parsley. Serve on toasted bread.
Is “tartine” a newly made up thing? I never learned about tartines from my French classes (and I was a French major for a while), nor did my French grandmother use the term. She might have actually said “un sandwich ouvert.” (Sawnd-weesh ooo-vair… can you hear it?)
Okay, all that aside, this looks absolutely super. (And I love “super” as a French word… it means so much more…) You don’t have ot dare me — I will love this with my homemade harissa!
I think tartine just means toast! GREG
My mouth is watering. I’m def going to make this! Thanks!!
I’m going to vote for the knife and fork.
I cant resist the temptation of the combination between bean and shrimp!
Shrimp — or almost any seafood — and white beans go together remarkably well. I’ve never added harissa to that particular mix, though — really inspired idea. This sounds like a dish for me. Just as long as you don’t make me conjugate French verbs. 🙂
Your posts are always so entertaining. Love your tartine or open face sandwich. Of course, I love harissa anything and everything.
We used to frequent a lovely little Swiss restaurant who made the best open face sandwiches ever, they called them toasts! Beautiful slices of homemade brioche slathered with saucy little stews and such! I’d forgotten about them until now, thank you. your open faced sandwich looks delicious, and the colour is spectacular! Definitely will be trying this recipe soon