Pan con tomate, pan tumaca or “Pa amb tomàquet” (in catalan) is a classic Spanish tapa that is often served as breakfast too. Easy, delicious and with fresh ingredients.

Another Spanish tapa recipe in the blog, what a surprise!

This recipe holds a dear memory of my first time in Madrid. I was kind of confused with the simplicity of the Spanish cuisine. After all, I came from Venezuela, the country where arepas filled with almost every ingredient under the sun is the concept of a balanced breakfast.

So, for me, it was kinda shocking to see people eating this modest piece of bread with tomato and a drizzle of olive oil. And, let’s not talk about Europeans drinking beer at 9am. That caught me off guard.

But, this experience opened my eyes to the power of fresh ingredients used modestly to create GREAT flavors. I must say I loved pan con tomate at first bite.

Nowadays, it’s not a secret that Spanish food is one of my favorites cuisines. I can’t get enough of their love for olive oil, seafood, bread, cheese, and wine.

What is pan con tomate?

Pan con tomate is basically a piece of toasted bread with a raw tomato and garlic sauce drizzle with olive oil. I told you it was beyond minimalistic but it’s so comforting and fresh.

Pa amb tomàque is a Catalonian traditional dish. It has its origins way back to the Greek empire when people used to eat bread with olive oil in the mornings. Then, it evolved in Spain when people started to rub tomato and garlic over the bread.

Finally, it was made a mixture with the pulp of the tomato, and the famous sauce was created.

This is a healthy breakfast idea. Every ingredient has benefits for your overall health (tomato, olive oil and garlic), and you can even swap regular bread for whole wheat bread.

How to make the sauce?

This is a raw sauce, so zero cooking time to make it.

First, you have to wash and clean a tomato.

This month I’m partnering with the Water Quality & Health Council to bring awareness about food contamination with the campaign #PlateItSafe

Because this recipe calls for raw tomato it’s super important to gently rub tomato under cold running water. Scrub it with a clean vegetable brush under running water for deeper cleansing.

The tomato must be ripe but firm enough. You want a semi-firm pulp. If it’s too watery, it will make the bread too soggy.

Cut the top part of the tomato and grate to extract the pulp. Do not use a blender or a food processor, it will give you a liquid result. A grater is the best tool for this job.

Then, grate the garlic clove too. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and salt and pepper.

Now, it’s just topping the toasted slices of bread with this sauce and… DEVOUR!

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