The story
Pan con tomate, known in Catalan as pa amb tomàquet, is closely associated with Catalonia and neighbouring parts of eastern Spain. Written references appear from the late nineteenth century, after tomatoes had become established in everyday Iberian cooking, although rubbing dry bread with oil and other flavourings belongs to an older rural habit of refreshing yesterday's loaf. Its appeal lies in the way a few ingredients create sharp contrasts: crisp bread, juicy tomato, fruity olive oil, raw garlic and salt. The tomato is rubbed into the crumb rather than simply spooned on top, so the bread absorbs flavour without becoming a dressed tomato salad. It is served at breakfast, with tapas, beside grilled meat and fish, or as the foundation for cured ham and anchovies. In Catalonia it is an everyday table food rather than merely a restaurant starter, and the quality of the bread, tomatoes and oil matters more than elaborate presentation.
Ingredients
- Main
- 4 piece slices of rustic bread4 slices of rustic bread
- 2 piece ripe tomatoes2 ripe tomatoes
- 1 piece garlic clove1 garlic clove
- Extra virgin olive oilExtra virgin olive oil
- to taste to taste SaltSalt [Phase 1 metric normalisation: salt remains to taste]
Method
Method
Toast the bread until crisp. Rub each slice with garlic. Halve the tomatoes and rub them into the bread. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
per serving
Estimated from recipe type and current ingredient text; review before publishing formal nutritional claims.
