Pa Amb Tomàquet - Catalan Bread with Tomato
Making quick work of huge disks of sourdough is easy with this well-loved Catalonian procedure for seasoning bread with garlic, tomato, and olive oil. There are hordes of fanatical pa amb tomàquet devotees just about everywhere, so I would think twice about referring to this as Spanish bruschetta.
Pa Amb Tomàquet
Catalan Bread with Tomato
crusty bread, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices (preferably from a round loaf)
garlic clove
ripe tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
Lightly toast the bread, just until the crumb is somewhat abrasive. Cut the garlic crosswise and rub the bread with the cut side of the clove. Cut the tomato crosswise and squeeze lightly to remove the seeds and juices. Rub the bread with the tomato. Repeat with the other side if desired.
Drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
I like topping it with anchovies, thinly sliced Jamón Serrano, or chunks of young Manchego cheese. I consider myself lucky that I live near the only Spanish Deli in Chicago.
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June 5th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Mmmm, sounds heavenly. All my favourite flavours. It sounds like you have pretty good resources in Chicago - you are lucky. My daughter just got back from there but, of course, all I heard about was the clothing stores.
The mangosteens are also interesting looking, I have never had one. They look like a cross between a lychee and a brain!
June 5th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
There’s a lot of small neighborhoods in Chicago — each with its own ethnic identity. It’s what I like best about the city.
Hope you find some mangosteens to try…. There’s nothing quite like it.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:53 am
That looks great - the bread is so fabulous!
Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll!
June 6th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Gorgeous idea! And I have some great sourdough to do just this.!
June 26th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Hola Jude! Hey it’s great to see how Catalan recipes are all over the world!!!
Just one thing, and hope you don’t take it bad… I’m catalan and Pa amb tomàquet has: the bread + rubbed ripped tomatoe + extra virgin olive oil + salt.
You can also have your bread rubbed with a garlic clove and some olive oil and salt, but that’s another thing.
And of course you can mix whatever you feel like and it will be gorgeous.
Since I’m a foodie blogger I’ve learnt that there’s no original recipes anymore, everybody adds his/her own twist and that is something positive… but just felt you might want to know from a catalan foodie what Pa amb tomàquet was originally
June 29th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Núria, your comments will always be welcome. It’s always nice to know how traditional foods such as this are really made. I definitely appreciate the info