The Granny Smith Tartine
Open-faced toast with seared chicken thighs, melted swiss, a glossy red-wine shallot reduction, and sweet-tart Granny Smith matchsticks. Basil and scallion finish it bright.
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken thighs
- 4 slices Country bread
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 1 Apple (tart)
- 2 Shallot
- 200 ml Red wine
- 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Sugar (optional)
- 2 Scallions (optional)
- 10 g Basil (optional)
Method
- Pat the chicken thighs dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high until it shimmers.
- Sear the thighs, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Move them to a board to rest.
- While the chicken sears, thinly slice the shallots.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the shallots to the rendered fat and sweat until soft and translucent.
- Pour in the red wine and add the sugar. Simmer until reduced to a syrupy glaze that coats the back of a spoon.
- While the glaze reduces, melt the butter in a second pan over medium and toast the bread on both sides until golden.
- Julienne the apple into thin matchsticks. Tip them into a small bowl of cold water if you are waiting to plate, which keeps them crisp and stops browning.
- Thinly slice the scallions and pick the basil leaves.
- Slice the rested thighs.
- Top each toast with chicken and a slice of swiss so it melts over the warm chicken, then a spoonful of the shallot reduction and a tangle of apple matchsticks. Finish with scallion and basil.
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About The Granny Smith Tartine
The Granny Smith tartine is an open-faced sandwich in the French tartine style, dressed up with American deli sensibility and built around the sharp bite of green apple. A slice of country bread carries seared chicken thighs and melted Swiss, then gets the two things that lift it above a normal chicken melt: a glossy red-wine shallot reduction and a tangle of sweet-tart Granny Smith matchsticks. Basil and scallion finish it fresh. The shallot glaze is the star technique, built right in the chicken's rendered fat and simmered with red wine and a little sugar until it reduces to a syrup that coats the back of a spoon.
Eating it is an exercise in balance: rich, juicy chicken and gooey melted Swiss against the crisp acidity of raw apple and the deep, wine-sweet shallots, all on toasted country bread that holds up under the load. The Granny Smith is doing real work, cutting the richness so nothing feels heavy, its crunch a counterpoint to the soft cheese and tender meat. This is a knife-and-fork lunch or a relaxed dinner, the kind of open-faced plate that eats like something from a bistro but comes together in about half an hour. A green salad alongside is all it needs.
The Granny Smith Tartine: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in The Granny Smith Tartine?
A serving has about 562 calories — 29.3g protein, 27.3g carbs, 33.2g fat, 2.5g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 29.3g of protein, roughly 21% of its calories.
Is The Granny Smith Tartine gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Country bread. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is The Granny Smith Tartine dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Swiss cheese, Butter. Swapping those for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
Do I need every ingredient to make The Granny Smith Tartine?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out sugar, scallions, basil — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does The Granny Smith Tartine make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.