Lunch on Monday was pretty great, and dead simple. I smeared avocado across toasted, day-old slabs of sesame bread, and started by layering a bit of arugula on top. Added a few stalks of garlicky caraway-sprinkled asparagus beyond that, and the final touch? A few toasted pepitas. Caraway is under-utilized, and I love it’s distinctive earthiness here playing off the bright green asparagus notes.

When you’re buying asparagus, whether it’s thick or thin, look for vibrant, green asparagus, with structured stalks. No soft spots, or droopiness.

I very rarely bother peeling asparagus, but will trim the bottoms to get rid of the woody, tough base of the stalks.

These little open-faced tartines took less than ten minutes to pull together, and ended up being the epitome of spring. You can also cut each one into 4 or 5 pieces, in triangles, for little party / get-together bites.

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