Pa amb tomàquet

Pa amb tomàquet is far far more than any literal translation would imply.

Published August 23, 2012

For everyone (like me) who doesn’t speak Catalan, here is a translation:

Pa amb tomàquet = Bread with tomato

Now there are two very important things to bear in mind, the first is that this is soooooo much better than the name implies that it is going to be, and the second is that this is NOT just a Spanish/Catalan version of bruschetta.

The Catalan national dish

Pa amb tomàquet embodies everything that is great in Mediterranean food. Crispy bread, pungent garlic, beautiful sun ripened tomatoes, sea salt, and bewitchingly good olive oil.

Catalans eat pa amb tomàquet morning, noon, and night, and it is beloved that many people refer to it as the Catalan national dish. It can be breakfast, lunch, supper, a snack for children coming home from school, or as tapas at any moment of the day.

It could be eaten on its own, but is more often served with cured sausages, cold meats, anchovies, cheeses, or grilled vegetables.

It’s fantastically simple and shockingly good!

Notes on ingredients

This isn’t really cooking, this is just combining fantastic ingredients and letting magic happen, so the ingredients have to be the best they can be.

The bread should be white and rustic, denser and chewier than a French baguette.

Your tomatoes don’t have to be from the Mediterranean, and in fact unless you live there they really shouldn’t be. They should be locally grown, ideally ripened on the vine, and as ripe and juicy as you can get them.

You can use whatever good quality extra virgin olive oil you like, Spanish is obviously traditional, but that doesn’t mean you have to use it.

Now, the Mediterranean countries do produce some very good sea salts, but my favourite to use for this dish is actually Maldon salt from England.

The recipe (if you can call it that)

Ingredients

  • Bread
  • Garlic
  • Tomatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

As with so many great dishes, the recipe is ludicrously simple.

  1. Lightly toast a thick slice of bread on both sides. Ideally do it over a wood fuelled fire, but since most of us don’t have one handy most of the time, a grill or a toaster will do just fine.

  2. Cut a clove of garlic in half and rub it all over the surface of the bread.

  3. Cut a ripe tomato in half, and rub the cut side into the bread, so that all of the juice and pulp of the tomato is left on the bread, and you end up with just the skin in your hand.

  4. Drizzle a good amount of olive oil over the tomatoey bread.

  5. Sprinkle on some coarse sea salt (to taste).

That’s it, sit back with a glass of cava and eat it while it is still warm.