Pan con tomate | Garlic and tomatoes toast
What a simple thing this is and what a success it has had in Spain. We have this for breakfast, as an accompaniment for charcuteries, we serve it just to nibble on the table and we dress in the same way our sandwiches (in other countries people use butter). Remember garlic wants to be your friend, don’t forget to love him back.
INGREDIENTS for the base
Bread (ideally something a bit rustic like a ciabbata)
1 garlic clove
8 cherry tomatoes
Flake salt
A drizzle of extra virgin olive Oil
Preparation
Slice the bread and toast it (if you are doing a BBQ by any chance, grill it) on both sides (the toaster will do that for you).
With the skin on chop the not pointy end of the garlic clove. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
When the bread is toasted scrub one side of the bread with the garlic and the open side of the cherry tomatoes on the other, squeezing all the seeds and juices out and sort of grating the tomato against the bread. Discard the skin of the tomatoes. Traditionally we put very little tomato on the bread, I always use 1 cherry tomato per slice, but is up to you.
Place the toast tomato side up (garlic side down) and sprinkle a bit of salt over the tomato and a generous drizzle of the olive oil.
When you put this in your mouth you will feel the pungent and spiciness of the garlic in your tongue first followed by the saltiness of the salt, the sourness of the tomato and the sweetness of oil. And all round experience. Don’t be cheated with fake “pan con tomate’s”, this is the real deal.
Suggestion: In the Valencia region they do this without the tomato, only with the garlic, salt and olive oil. Try it as well, it is delicious with most foods.