CATALAN TOMATO BREAD - PA AMB TOMÀQUET

When I was a child my mother didn’t use to cook dinner. Sometimes we had lunch leftovers but usually we had “bread with tomato” topped with cheese or cold cuts or an omelette.

The recipe I’m suggesting is very simple but the quality of the ingredients is crucial.

You need vine-ripened tomatos, good quality Catalan country bread and extra virgin olive oil. The best bread for pa amb tomàquet is rustic and crusty, although you'll often find it made with small baguettes outside of Catalonia. Italian ciabatta is also a very good alternative.

You can top the bread as you like, with sliced cold cuts (e.g., fuet, the Catalan thin, dry cured, sausage of pork meat in a pork gut, or wafer thin slices of the ruby red wonder which is jamón ibérico de bellota, arguably the greatest item of food in the world), cheese, tuna, an omelette, etc. Or it can be a good side dish if you eat fish or meat or even a salad.

INGREDIENTS

• Vine-ripened tomatoes
• Good quality Catalan country bread or any good quality crusty bread (such as ciabatta)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt or a fine flake salt
• Fresh garlic (optional)

PREPARATION

(method 1)

The traditional way is to slice a vine-ripened tomato in half and rub the open face of the tomato liberally across the bread, shredding the pulp in the process, until the bread is saturated enough or you just have the tomato skin remaining. Discard the skin.

Sprinkle with salt.

Drizzle generously with olive oil.

(method 2)

Slice a vine-ripened tomato in half for each person you are serving.

Place a standard cheese grater over a large mixing bowl. Grate the tomato, cut side down, into the bowl until only the skin remains. Discard the skin.

Stir tomato pulp and seeds with a fork until well mixed.

Serve in a bowl with a spoon accompanied by bread, extra virgin olive oil and a well of salt so each person can dress their bread as they prefer.

Alternatively, if you follow either method 1 or 2, you might toast the bread over an open flame, grill or in the broiler, and next grate a clove of garlic over the surface of the bread before you rub the tomato.