I discovered pan con tomate in 2013 on a trip to Barcelona. I was blown away by how 5 simple ingredients (bread, tomato, olive oil, salt, and garlic) could combine to create such a joyful bite.

A Catalan specialty, pan con tomate starts with toasted or grilled bread which gets rubbed with a clove of garlic. This is followed by a ripe tomato, cut in half and roughly rubbed over the surface of the toasted bread until all you are left holding in your hand is the skin of the tomato. It’s finished with a drizzle of fruity olive oil and a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt.

Although it has been 10 years since I first tried it, it is one of my most vivid culinary memories. The crunch on the outside surface of the warm bread and the yeasty scent assaulted my senses. The center of the bread, so chewy, was filled with little nooks and crannies. These little air pockets were bursting with the sweet and fragrant tomato essence and the fruity nutty olive oil. The little crystals of sea salt on top just melted on my tongue. How could something so simple be so good?

During that week in Barcelona I sampled many versions of pan con tomate and came home inspired to recreate it in my kitchen. Over the past decade I have learned a few tips and tricks for a successful version.

• Do not attempt to make this unless it is the height of summer tomato season. Search out the ripest tomatoes you can find. I found some beautiful/ugly heirloom tomatoes at my market and bought them in every hue I could find.
• While the traditional way is to rub the bread with the tomato, I found that grating the tomato on the large holes of a box grater made a raw sauce that the bread can really soak up.
•  The bread component is just as important as the tomato. You need to use a bread with an open crumb structure (i.e.: lots of air pockets and nooks and crannies) on the interior of the bread, so that the tomato pulp and olive oil have somewhere to soak into. Ciabatta is an ideal candidate. I used Ace Bakery’s Ciabatta loaf. It’s readily available in many supermarkets now.
• Deeply toast or grill the bread. Crunch is important to stand up to the raw tomato sauce. Don’t skip the garlic.
• This is the time to break out the fancy bottle of extra virgin olive oil. it makes a big difference.
• Use a flaky sea salt, such as Maldon. You need the crunch of the salt crystals.

It’s fun to do a rainbow version of this dish. Grate each colour of tomato separately and bring them to the table in little bowls. Grill and rub garlic on the bread for your guests and let them top the toasts themselves with whatever colour tomato they desire. A pretty bottle of olive oil and a tiny dish of sea salt make for a fun presentation.

Click here to print recipe for Rainbow Pan Con Tomate.