Groundswell Café’s Tomato Tartines
These easy-to-make tomato tartines are a great example of the food at Groundswell Café in Tiverton, Rhode Island, where seasonal flavors are served with French flair.
By Yankee Magazine|Feb 20 2026|
Groundswell Café’s Tomato Tartines
Photo Credit: Styled and photographed by Liz NeilyImagine the perfect Parisian café plunked down in a Victorian building in coastal Rhode Island, and you have Groundswell, a bakery-café where chef Amanda Geisler and her team turn out beautiful croissants, baguettes, salads, sandwiches, and lattes. These easy-to-make tomato tartines are a great example of the food, which emphasizes seasonality, big flavors, and that French je ne sais quoi.
This recipe was originally published in “Best in Show” by Amy Traverso in the March/April 2026 issue of Yankee.
Yield:
12 tartines
Ingredients
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 medium garlic cloves, smashed
7 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
Zest of ½ lemon
12 slices sourdough or olive bread, toasted
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the tomatoes, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Let the tomatoes cook until slightly soft but not fully broken down, 3 to 5 minutes. When the tomatoes are done, add salt and pepper to taste and let them cool with the herbs and garlic for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.
In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta and lemon zest. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, spread the ricotta mixture on a slice of toasted bread. Spoon the marinated cherry tomatoes onto the ricotta, removing the garlic cloves, and garnish with basil.
