Tartine Tuesday: Poitrine Fumée, Caramelized Onion Jam, Pumpkin, and Crispy Sage Tartines

Today was the first time in my life that I have ever used an umbrella to protect me from the snow!! It was beautiful, but absoutely freezing, and after walking around with numb, soggy feet because growing-up-in-Florida-means-I-don't-know-what-snow-weather-shoes-are, all I wanted to do was come home and make something yummy to warm me up... 

Since we were running errands in the 6eme, Quentin and I stopped at Eric Kayser to get a demi-boule (half-loaf of bread) and a loaf of my favorite, pain aux cereales. I originally heard about this place from our friend Romain, who's apartment (that we lived in for a month) is literally a two minute walk from Eric Kayser's front door. I later read about Eric Kayser's pain aux cereales on David Lebovitz's blog... so I gave it a try... and it is good. I mean, doesn't-need-anything-more-than-a-pad-of-butter-good (I'm doing that a lot today, aren't I?).

We stopped at the supermarket on the way home so I could get some inspiration for today's Tartine Tuesday... and inspired I got. I found some poitrine fumée, otherwise known as smoked slab bacon... thick-cut and just the inspiration I needed. A slight departure from the lovely little lardons that are my blog's namesake, but piggy and delicious nonetheless. 

I also grabbed a chunk of pumpkin from the produce section. I've been wanting to do a pumpkin-related tartine recently, but my previous attempts have been less than post-worthy. Too sweet, not the right texture, a little bleh... you get the picture. This time, instead of roasting the pumpkin like usually do, I gave it a different texture by cutting the pumpkin into thin strips, otherwise known as julienne, and sautéeing it. 

One of my favorite, yet most under-used kitchen tools, my mandoline, broke in transit during our flight over here. It was my go-to tool for making paper-thin slivers of cucumbers, potatoes, and sweet potatoes (mmm... sweet potato chips). Quentin, being the handyman that he is, fixed it the other day and it has been patiently waiting for it's initiation into my arsenal of Parisian kitchen tools. I haven't been able to use it since July, and now it's back in action! To bring it back to life, I used it to julienne the thick blocks of pumpkin into thin shoestrings. I paired that with some leftover caramelized onion jam from our Thanksgiving appetizers, and some crispy fried sage.

Poitrine Fumée, Caramelized Onion Jam, Pumpkin, and Crispy Sage Tartines 

4 slices of pain aux cereales, or any other multi-grain bread

4 slices of thick-cut poitrine fumée, or thick-cut bacon

2 tablespoons of butter, unsalted

about 1 cup of pumpkin, julienned

4 tablespoons of caramelized onion jam

4 large sage leaves

2 cups of vegetable oil

salt and pepper, to taste

*The loaf of bread I used to make these tartines is quite small (1 slice is about the size of my palm), so if you have larger slices of bread, you may want to double the other ingredients.*

Slice the poitrine fumée (or thick-cut bacon) in half and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Place into a cold oven, close the door, and turn the temperature to 350° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius). Let cook for about 20 minutes, then flip the bacon over for another 10 minutes or so, until both sides are brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and place onto paper towels to absorb any excess grease. 

Heat vegetable oil in a small pot over medium heat. Once the oil is heated (you can test this by dropping a sage leaf into the oil. If it bubbles/sizzles, the oil is hot enough) drop the sage leaves into the oil and fry until crispy, about 20-30 seconds. Remove the leaves from the oil and place onto a paper towel to absorb any excess grease.

 

Melt butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Once the butter starts to brown a bit, add the julienned pumpkin and sauté for a few minutes, until soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Toast the slices of bread in the already preheated oven (or toaster if you want) until browned, about 5 minutes. Spread about a tablespoon of the caramelized onion jam over each slice of toast. Top with the sautéed pumpkin, a slice of the poitrine fumée, and a crispy sage leaf. Serves 2.