Savory Cream Cheese & Smoked Salmon Tartine w/Creamy Tomato Soup

2+ servings

Tip: Soup is really so easy to make from scratch and is especially convenient when made in a larger batch to freeze portions for future meals. This soup will adapt well for that purpose. The savory cream cheese will provide far more than you need for the two sandwiches described below. It will keep well in the fridge for at least a week and will be delicious on a bagel, spread on a wrap or a pre-baked crust for a larger party appetizer. Feel free to add ingredients such as capers, chopped olives, minced red onion, chopped toasted walnuts or any other creations you may enjoy. Bon appetit’!

Ingredients
Savory Cream Cheese + Tartine
8 oz cream cheese
Cloves from 1/2 head of slow-roasted garlic
6 slow-roasted tomato slices
2 Tbsp dried chives
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
Ciabatta bread
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
2-3 oz smoked wild salmon
1 Tbsp minced fresh chives

Prep & Directions
Savory Cream Cheese (can be made several days ahead)
Soften cream cheese to room temperature.
Remove cloves from roasted garlic head; smash on a cutting board and add to cream cheese.
Dice roasted tomato slices into small pieces and add to cream cheese.
Add dried chives plus 1/8 tsp each S&P and blend all ingredients together gently but completely with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
Refrigerate; remove from fridge 30 minutes ahead of using to allow for softening.

Tartine
Slice 2 thick slices from loaf of ciabatta.
Melt butter; whip together with mayonnaise; spread on one side of each slice of bread. Griddle or grill bread on buttered side until golden and crisp. Flip and lightly toast the other side.
Spread about 3-4 Tbsp savory cream cheese on the lightly toasted side of ciabatta slices. Warm under a broiler for 2-4 minutes. Watch closely so it doesn’t burn. Top with smoked salmon; garnish with minced fresh chives for a beautiful and delicious tartine.

Ingredients
Creamy Tomato Soup
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil + extra to drizzle
1 medium yellow onion
4 cloves fresh garlic
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
28 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine
6-8 fresh basil leaves (reserve 2 or 3 for garnish)
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Prep & Directions
Creamy Tomato Soup (can be made ahead and rewarmed to serve)
Chop onion.
Mince garlic.
Chiffonade 2-3 basil leaves; set aside for garnish. NOTE: There are online videos to demo this if you’re not familiar with the term. It’s really just a fancy term for thinly slicing across rolled up leaves.)
Heat butter and olive oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. When butter is melted, add onion and garlic and sauté until they begin to soften and turn lightly golden.
Stir in flour while cooking for 1 minute.
Add can of fire-roasted tomatoes, vegetable broth, cream, wine and whole basil leaves.
Bring to boil, then reduce heat and allow soup to simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are becoming very soft.
At this point you have a couple of options. My preference is to purée the soup with an immersion blender. If you don’t have one, purée in batches in a blender or food processor. Taste the soup and season to your liking with S&P.
Ladle into soup bowls; drizzle with a little olive oil and top with basil chiffonade. Serve immediately on a plate with the prepared tartine (also just a fancy term for an open face sandwich). 😉