Tartine in Reunion

Tartine à la Réunion from Rue Traversette with chayote, ginger, and chili

The Tartine à la Réunion by Rue Traversette is a vegan vegetable spread made from chayote, onion, and tomato, spiced with chili, ginger, and curry. Lime keeps it fresh, raisins give it a dark sweetness, and the producer describes it as being similar to a rougail.

Tartine à la Réunion from Rue Traversette is the spread that brings the Creole cuisine of the Indian Ocean to your table. Chayote makes up 36 percent of the main ingredients, joined by onion, tomato, bell pepper, and ginger, while lime, raisins, and a spoonful of rum round out the heat.

Spicy, lime-fresh, with a hint of raisin

Chunky rather than creamy, the 105g jar contains recognizable, hand-cut pieces of vegetable. Chayote has a mild flavor on its own, somewhere between a potato and a zucchini, and readily absorbs any seasoning. Lime keeps the mixture bright, while curry and turmeric provide earthy warmth. The raisins temper the pepper with a dark sweetness.

Chili, ginger, and black pepper provide a heat that only truly arrives after swallowing and then lingers for a while. Rue Traversette warns of this on the label, and it is meant to be taken seriously. There is only a spoonful of rum in the jar, just enough for a caramelly undertone behind the heat.

On baguette, with fish, and stirred into rice

Among our vegetable spreads and creams, the Tartine à la Réunion is the only one that tells a story from beyond the European mainland.

Served on toasted baguette as an apéritif, it is the quickest route to flavor, paired with a cold beer. With grilled fish, it becomes a sauce that no one needs to cook, and alongside pan-seared chicken, it can replace any chutney. A spoonful stirred into warm rice turns it into a small Creole side dish, and it pairs just as well with pickled vegetables. All ingredients are plant-based, so it is perfectly suited for a vegan diet.

Chouchou, the island's favorite vegetable

The chayote is a type of squash related to the cucumber, zucchini, and melon, and it originally comes from Central America. As a climbing plant, it grows on trellises you can walk under, bearing pear-shaped, pale green fruits with a single soft seed. On La Réunion, it is called "chouchou," is considered the island's favorite vegetable, and comes almost entirely from the Salazie cirque, where it rains more than almost anywhere else in the world.

A piece of France in the Indian Ocean

The island was uninhabited east of Madagascar when France took possession of it in the 17th century and named it Île Bourbon; it did not receive its current name until the Revolution. Since 1946, La Réunion has been a French overseas department, with the euro as its currency and a coastline that serves as an external border of the European Union. Anyone flying from Paris to Saint-Denis remains in the same country for eleven hours.

The people there originate from Europe, East Africa, Madagascar, India, and China, and it is exactly this mix that ends up on the plate. "Rougail" is the term on the island for the spicy preparations of tomato, onion, and spices served with almost every dish.

Nine thousand kilometers to the Hérault

Despite this, the tartine is cooked in Saint-André-de-Sangonis, hand-cut and simmered in a kettle, then gently pasteurized. Rue Traversette consciously avoids artificial flavorings, preservatives, and dyes. At room temperature, the ginger and chili stand out more clearly; when cold, the lime stays at the forefront. Store in a cool place after opening and consume within a few days. If you prefer things milder, you will find what you are looking for in the other regions of the Rue Traversette range.