Pan con Tomate
Pan Con Tomate
Don't pass on this recipe because of its simplicity! This beloved Catalan tapas dish can thank its two star ingredients; fresh crusty bread and delicious vine ripened tomatoes for it's widely loved status! Try our take, topped with charred scallions and burrata.
Ingredients
- A loaf of fresh artisan bread (we used a Baltzahar ciabatta loaf), sliced into at least 8 slices
- 4 vine ripened tomatoes, sliced into quarters
- 8 garlic cloves peeled and halved
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 TBSP sea salt
- Optional:
- 8 scallions, trimmed at the roots
- Burrata cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Drizzle the slices of bread with olive oil and toast (or grill) the bread until golden or grill marks appear. If you want to add the scallions, grill these as well until starting to wilt and char.
- Step 2 Remove the toasted bread from the heat and immediately rub the garlic onto the warm bread. Next, rub the tomato quarters vigorously against the bread as well.
- Step 3 Sprinkle the toasts with sea salt and then drizzle with more olive oil (if desired).
- Step 4 Serve warm or add the *optional* ingredients now. Slice the scallions in half and place atop the toasts. Then top with burrata if desired.
Tomato. Fresh Crusty Bread. Two of the best ingredients in their own right and so incredibly delicious when paired together. This is probably the simplest recipe I’ll ever post; only 3 ingredients (ok 5 if you count the salt and olive oil!), but man is it a memorable one.
It’s a humble tapa, originating from Cataluña, but something you’ll now find on almost every street in Barcelona, not to mention every Spanish tapas menu worldwide. Every time I make this, it immediately transports me back to my summer abroad in Spain. I remember countless afternoons sitting in Spanish cafes, indulging in a glass of Rioja and tapa after tapa, but always starting with an order of pan con tomate.
The day we decided to make this for the blog was one of my favorite days in the test kitchen of late. My best friend Avery was visiting from Virginia and believe it or not, it was her suggestion to spend all afternoon in the kitchen testing out recipes for the blog. (Don’t you love friends like that?!) Our main focus was our Salsa Verde and Burrata toasts (coming soon to the blog!), but since we were already toasting all of this delicious crusty artisan bread, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to also experiment with “tomato bread.”
The only thing I wish we could have achieved for this post was a perfectly toasted slice of bread with those coveted grill marks. We tried to use my indoor grill, which toasted the bread perfectly, but no matter how high we turned the temp, those grill marks eluded us! So that will be my goal for the next time we make this.
Traditionally, this bread is served as simply as possible. If you are using the juiciest of vine ripened tomatoes and the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can find, there’s no need to elevate this any further, the flavors will just pop on their own. However, a simple way to add your own touch is to play around with some flavored salts. To do this day, one of my favorite salt collections is straight from the the Es Trenc beach, on the charming Spanish island of Mallorca. I was pleased to discover in researching the post that you can buy it online here. Pst, Marc – Mother’s Day will be here before you know it!
On this particular day, since we were already experimenting with burrata anyways, we made a game-time decision to dress up our pan con tomate with burrata and some charred scallions too, just to put our own twist on it. The possibilities are endless though. Comment below and let us know what you decide to try!
