Ham and Cheese Tartines with Cherokee Purple Tomato Salad

Ham and Cheese Tartines with Cherokee Purple Tomato Salad

A tartine is an open-faced sandwich. Manchego, a sheep's-milk cheese, and serrano ham give this tasty salad a Spanish flair.

Tartines:
4 (1 1/2-ounce) slices ciabatta bread, toasted
1 ounce serrano ham, cut into 4 thin slices
3 ounces Manchego cheese, cut into 4 thin slices
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Salad:
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups torn Boston lettuce
3 cups thinly sliced honeydew melon
3 medium Cherokee Purple tomatoes, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1. Preheat broiler.

2. To prepare tartines, place bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Arrange 1 ham slice and 1 cheese slice on each bread slice. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon oregano.

3. To prepare salad, combine 1 tablespoon oregano and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Arrange 1 cup lettuce on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 3/4 cup honeydew and 1/2 cup tomato slices. Drizzle each serving with about 1 tablespoon dressing. Place 1 tartine on each plate.


Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 269 (34% from fat); FAT 10.3g (sat 3.9g,mono 4.5g,poly 0.8g); IRON 2.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 135mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.4g; SODIUM 730mg; PROTEIN 11.2g; FIBER 2.2g

Cooking Light, AUGUST 2008