Nothing goes better with a bowl of pasta quite like a side of bread. As Oprah once said, “I LOVE BREAD!” and let’s be honest, who doesn’t? I’m lucky enough to live within walking distance to a local bakery and I’ll stock up on all types of bread. I’ll bring it all home, slice it up and freeze it – take it out as needed. Highly recommend.
A traditional French tartine is simply a single slice of bread with a savory topping. With this particular tartine, we’ll use a mixture of red grapes, honey, salt, fresh thyme & rosemary, salted butter. The smell from your oven will be amazing and you’ll want to drink the juices from your baking pan. The herbs and natural sweetness from the grapes create the perfect savory spread.
The type of bread you use is important though. So far I have found sourdough and focaccia work great. Sourdough has that tangy flavor which goes well with the mild ricotta, sweet honey and grapes. Focaccia also works well if you’re using an olive-oil rich version that’s salted – salt will amplify the sweet. I tried a baguette and it was too mild of a bread for this tartine but think of other flavorful breads you could use – like a rosemary focaccia or some type of parmesan bread.
Red grapes work the best with this tartine as well because of their sweet and fruity flavor. With a green grape, you’d get more tart than savory. What really helps bump this tartine in flavor is a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a final pinch of salt on the finished product.
Check out the ingredients and directions below. Enjoy and let me know if you end up trying a different type of bread. Always love hearing new ideas.
If you need more ideas for your bread, check out one of my previous posts where I talk about an amazing side with honey, hazelnut and goat cheese. Link: https://thegaygourmand.com/2025/09/11/bread-ideas-for-am-pm/.
Ingredients:
- Sourdough or Focaccia Bread
- 8 oz Ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 2 cups Red, seedless grapes
- Sprinkle of Sea Salt
- Drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Salted Butter
- 2 sprigs of Fresh Rosemary
- 4 sprigs of Fresh Thyme
Directions
- Slice up the larger red grapes. Keep the smaller ones in tact.
- Place on a baking sheet and drizzle honey, slice up butter and sprinkle around on top of grapes, add sprigs of herbs and sprinkle with a little sea salt all over.
- Cook on 430° F for roughly 20-25 minutes until the grapes look shriveled and slightly toasted.
- While grapes are in oven, toast your bread slices and slather on the ricotta cheese.
- Once grapes are cooked, remove herbs and place grapes in a bowl.
- Before placing grapes on bread, drizzle honey on top of the ricotta cheese. I like to outline the bread first and then a little on the inside so you can’t visually see the honey.
- Then spoon the grapes on the bread, sprinkle a little salt and lastly drizzle some balsamic vinegar.
- Serve & enjoy!
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