Goat cheese, bacon and Rata honey tartines with dried figues

You'll love this classic French and simple dinner. You just need some bread, bacon, and goat cheese. Any real French has goat cheese in his fridge! Then to make those goat cheese tartines look and taste more fancy, just add a little bit of honey - I used Rata Honey kindly offered by Airborne for me to experiment NZ honey -, thyme and dried figues. Serve with green salad with Rata honey dressing and don't forget a glass of Pinot Gris or Chardonnay.

Airborne Rata Honey suited these tartines to perfection: creamy, buttery and slightly salty, it brought a nice balance to the saltiness of the bacon and to the tang of the goat cheese. This honey revealed its whole potential in the dressing while it brings sweetness and softeness in to the sharpness of the mustard and vinegar mix. Nice!

Quick, easy and a touch of fancy - ideal for busy moms and for busy host!

In France, we often prepare such tartines for quick dinners or as a gourmet entry when hosting friends. One may like replacing the goat cheese with blue cheese or cream cheese and sprinkle with some nuts, but my preference goes to the goat cheese.

There are not limits to your creativity to make gourmet tartines! What would be your favourite topping?

Ingredients (3 servings - 2 tartines/serve)

- 6 thick slices of bread*
- 125 g of soft goat cheese (more or less to meet your greediness!)
- 3 slices of bacon, stripped
- 2 tbsp of honey, slightly heated (15-20 secs in the microwave)
- thyme
- 6 dried figues

Dressing:
- 1 tsp French mustard (generous)
- 1 tsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Rata honey
- 2 tsp warm water

Preparation (~ 20 mins)

1. Pre-heat the over, grill function, at 210C.
2. Toast the bread under the grill until slightly coloured - takes approx. 4 mins each side.
3. Take the bread out of the oven and crumble the cheese over and sprinkle the bacon strips. Drizzle the heated honey and sprinkle fresh thyme over the cheese..
4. Bake under the grill for 6-7 mins - but check the colouration.
5. Prepare the dressing: brisk together the mustard and the oil until smooth and well combined. Then gradually mix in the vinegar, the honey and the water. It's ready!
6. Serve the tartines on the top of greens and drizzle a little bit more honey.
7. Don't forget the figues! I forgot them on the pictures, but they definitively add a plus to the dish

Bon appétit!

Good to know...

* Here I used home-made cereal bread, but any rustic-ish bread would suit.