Name: Pa Amb Tomàquet (Catalan Tomato Bread)
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Spanish & PortugueseEurope
Ingredients: 2 large ripe tomatoes , halved through equator; ½ teaspoon table salt; 1 loaf ciabatta , halved horizontally and sliced crosswise 2 inches thick; 1 large garlic clove , peeled and halved crosswise; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for serving; Flake sea salt

Why This Recipe Works

Pa amb tomàquet— Catalan bread with tomato—is as simple as cooking gets. Ciabatta mimicked the airy, open structure of traditional pan de cristal. Halving the loaf laterally, opening it like a book, and cutting the halves into slices maximized its surface area. Toasted dry under the broiler, the bread charred lightly and quickly so that its interior crumb remained tender—a textural contrast that was just right for both supporting and absorbing the tomatoes’ liquid. Rubbing a garlic clove over the toasts infused them with subtle savoriness. Halving and grating ripe round tomatoes on a box grater yielded loads of sweet, skin-free pulp that could be uniformly seasoned and spooned onto the toasts. Great olive oil, drizzled over the tomato bread for serving, complemented the bright tomato and lean bread.

Want more? Read the whole story

Before You Begin

If possible, use ripe local tomatoes here. Avoid plum tomatoes; they're not juicy enough. If ciabatta is unavailable, substitute a crusty baguette, cut into 4-inch pieces. Use a fresh, robust, high-quality olive oil here. Serve as an accompaniment to any meal or as an appetizer or snack.

Instructions

Place box grater in medium bowl. Rub cut side of tomatoes against large holes of grater until tomato flesh is reduced to pulp (skins should remain intact). Discard skins. (You should have about 1½ cups pulp.) Stir in table salt.

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and arrange bread slices cut side up on rack. Broil until browned, crisp, and starting to char at edges, 2 to 4 minutes. Rub toasts with cut side of garlic (apply more pressure for more-potent flavor; rub lightly for delicate flavor).

Arrange toasts on serving plate. Distribute tomato pulp evenly among toasts and spread to edges. Drizzle with oil and season lightly with flake sea salt. Serve immediately, passing extra oil and sea salt separately.