An open-faced tomato sandwich topped with crispy shallots and a vegan crème fraîche.
A friend of mine threw the best Kentucky Derby party in town a few years back, and told me in advance he’d be serving Hot Brown Sandwiches.
I was like, what the heck is a Hot Brown Sandwich?
Well, it’s an open-faced sandwich with turkey, bacon, mornay sauce (and probably a whole bunch of other things) and it was DELICIOUS. And there you have it, my first formal open-faced sandwich experience. And now I’m hooked.
I want to be transparent right off the bat – this is not a Hot Brown Sandwich.
But, it is an absolutely delicious open-faced sandwich that reminded me how much I loved that one from the Derby party. This one is also quite a bit healthier, but you didn’t hear that from me.
This open-faced tomato sandwich is actually one of my favorite recipes from A New Way to Food by Maggie Battista. Maggie’s a friend of mine from back home in Boston and her sophomore cookbook is the sweetest. Just refer to the excerpt from her site below to see what I mean:
Eat like you’re worthy of good health–recipes, heart-opening stories, and empowering lessons to help you let go of your struggles with eating and create a positive relationship with food.
Her cookbook is brimming with colorful, wholesome, and easy recipes for enjoying the food you’re using to fuel your body. She shares her kitchen staples and meal prep favorites, which have quickly become some of my favorites, too.
Most notably, her vegan crème fraîche which I now want to put on EVERYTHING. For now, let’s focus on this open-faced tomato sandwich, though! I used Maggie’s recipe and added fresh dill and cracked pepper because I realized I had SO much dill in my fridge and needed to use it up! The sandwich without the dill is just as divine though, so don’t feel like you need to go out and buy some if you don’t already have it on hand.
Open-Faced Tomato Sandwich Recipe
Have I convinced you yet to enjoy your own open-faced sandwich at home? Well, here’s the recipe for you!
Soak cashews in tap water for at least 4 hours or up to overnight in a jar or bowl. No need to refrigerate but cover with plastic wrap. Then, drain and rinse the cashews.
Add the cashews and about 1 cup of filtered water to a blender and whiz for 3 minutes, until well blitzed. Add the remaining 2 cups to the blender. Whiz for 1 minute, until smooth. Store in the fridge and use within 4 days. Shake well before each use.
Add grapeseed oil and shallot to a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until golden brown, then remove from pan and place on a plate covered with a paper towel. Sprinkle with sea salt and let cool.
Toast bread until golden brown. Slice tomato and sprinkle with sea salt. Top your bread with the vegan crème fraîche, sliced tomato, crispy shallots, fresh dill, and a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.
Ingredients
Directions
Soak cashews in tap water for at least 4 hours or up to overnight in a jar or bowl. No need to refrigerate but cover with plastic wrap. Then, drain and rinse the cashews.
Add the cashews and about 1 cup of filtered water to a blender and whiz for 3 minutes, until well blitzed. Add the remaining 2 cups to the blender. Whiz for 1 minute, until smooth. Store in the fridge and use within 4 days. Shake well before each use.
Add grapeseed oil and shallot to a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until golden brown, then remove from pan and place on a plate covered with a paper towel. Sprinkle with sea salt and let cool.
Toast bread until golden brown. Slice tomato and sprinkle with sea salt. Top your bread with the vegan crème fraîche, sliced tomato, crispy shallots, fresh dill, and a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.
Outside of the recipes used to make the sandwich, I also love Maggie’s tip for saving the shallot oil – let it cool and then jar it up to use later! I ended up using it for my loaded sweet potato brunch fries and it was a total hit!
Have you tried an open-faced sandwich that you really loved? Tell me what it was in the comments so I can make it, too!
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