Sometimes, a sandwich taste better with one slice of bread. I think that’s why open-faced sandwiches are perfect for when you want to pile a bunch of tasty ingredients on top of each other and use bread like a platter to shove those ingredients into your mouth.
I’m hoping that’s an appealing image in your head right now.
My caramelized onion, high protein, open-faced sandwich is smothered with decadent onions, creamy cottage cheese, and peppery greens. It’s simple, tasty, and rememberable, even if it only has one slice of bread. I mean, I love this recipe so much that I make several open-faced sandwiches at a time for lunch, so I’m pretty sure I’m actually eating about two sandwiches, but who’s really counting?
What are open-faced sandwiches?
The Danes adore opened-faced sandwiches. In Denmark, smørrebrød is a beloved part of Danish cuisine and it’s the country’s national dish. A traditional recipe uses a slice of rye bread that is topped with meat or fish, and then it’s garnished with vegetables, pickles, or other toppings that help accentuate the flavors of the sandwich. Alternative names for the open-faced sandwich include bread baser, bread platter, and tartine, which is a French word that means “a slice of bread” and it’s typically topped with savory ingredients.
Recipe Information: Caramelized onions high protein tartine
- Yield: 1 cup of caramelized onions | 2 open-faced sandwiches
- Cooking time for caramelized onions: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Cooking time for tartine: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Caramelized onion recipe
- 3 large purple onions (you can substitute with yellow onions)
- 2 tablespoons of ghee (substitute butter or olive oil)
Onion and cottage cheese tartine recipe (open-faced sandwich)
- 2 slices of sourdough bread (increase to your liking)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil (to toast the bread)
- 4 to 6 tablespoons of low-fat cottage cheese (2 to 3 tablespoons per slice, can substitute for ricotta cheese)
- ½ cup of arugula (substitute for mixed greens)
- 1 teaspoon of fresh oregano or parsley (for garnish)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Slice up 3 large purple onions, set aside.2. Heat cast iron or stone pan to medium heat. Once the pan is properly heated, add 2 tablespoons of ghee to the pan or butter.
3. Then add the onions to the pan. This will cause the onions to sizzle slightly. If there is too much steam, lower the heat to medium-low, stir the onions, and then cover the pan for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, stir the onions again and check the coloring. The onions should look soft, slightly brown, and translucent. Make sure the heat is on medium-low and then cover the pan for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the cover from the pan and stir the onions, they should appear darker in color. Leave the cover off the pan and let the onions cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the onions don’t burn. If your pan is looking to dry, add a little bit of olive oil or butter.
6. After an hour of cooking, the onions should look caramelized and jammy. Turn off the heat and transfer to a heat-proof container.
7. In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat the pan to medium heat.
8. Add sourdough slices to the pan, I can usually fit two at a time. Toast each side for 3 to 5 minutes, this will depend on the strength of your stovetop.
9. Once the bread is nice and toasted on both sides, transfer the slices to a cutting board and start assembling your tartine (open-faced sandwich).
10. To assemble, top your bread off with several tablespoons of cottage cheese or ricotta.
11. Add arugula on top of the cottage cheese.
12. Add the caramelized onions on top of the arugula.
13. Salt and pepper to taste.
14. I like to garnish with some fresh herbs, if you want to add more flavor, you can drizzle some olive oil on top, and then eat right away while the bread is nice and toasty.
15. The caramelized onions will last in the refrigerator for about 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months and use the onions for soup.