Pa amb tomaquet

Ingredients

• 8 slicesof pa de pages (round country sourdough), cut 1.5 cm thick
• 4very ripe tomatoes de penjar, or small vine tomatoes, halved across the equator
• 1garlic clove, peeled and halved, optional
• 60 mlextra virgin olive oil, arbequina for preference
• flaky sea salt

Directions

1. Cut the bread from a large round loaf so each slice has open crumb and a firm crust to hold on to.
2. Toast over wood embers, on a ridged griddle or under a hot grill for about 2 minutes a side, until barred with dark lines and dry to the touch but still soft in the middle.
3. If you want garlic, rub the cut clove lightly over the hot surface once or twice, no more; it is a seasoning, not a topping.
4. Hold a tomato half cut-side down and crush it against the bread, working from the centre outwards, so the pulp, juice and seeds are grated into the crumb by the crust itself.
5. Stop when the slice is stained orange-red all over and only the empty skin is left in your hand; discard it.
6. Pour the oil in a thin spiral, about 1 tsp per slice, and give it 30 seconds to sink in.
7. Scatter flaky salt from a height and eat within a couple of minutes, before the crumb goes soft.

Technique

• The order never changes: bread, garlic, tomato, oil, salt. Oil laid down first waterproofs the crumb and the tomato slides straight off.
• The right fruit is the tomaquet de penjar, a small thick-skinned winter tomato hung in bunches from the rafters, with dense flesh and little free juice. A watery salad tomato turns the bread to sponge.
• Never spread chopped or blended tomato from a bowl. The point of the dish is that the bread does the grating, so pulp and oil are driven into the surface rather than sitting on it.
• In Andorra and Catalonia this is not a starter but the bread course of every meal, made at the table by each person for themselves.

Substitutions

• Out of season, halve a tomato and grate it on the coarse side of a box grater, drain the pulp 5 minutes in a sieve, then spoon it thinly onto the toast; drained, it behaves much like tomaquet de penjar.
• Any open-crumbed sourdough works. A soft sandwich loaf does not: it collapses into paste under the tomato.

Variations

• Torrada amb tomaquet, the breakfast version with olives and a glass of black coffee.
• Topped with escalivada, the strips of roast pepper and aubergine dressed in oil.
• Spread with formatge de tupi or fresh mato for a mountain supper.

History

Catalan-speaking staple recorded by the nineteenth century, born of reviving dry bread with tomato pulp.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pa amb tomaquet?

Pa amb tomaquet is a breakfast from Andorra: bread rubbed with ripe tomato, oil and salt, base of every meal. Catalan-speaking staple recorded by the nineteenth century, born of reviving dry bread with tomato pulp.

How long does Pa amb tomaquet take to make?

Pa amb tomaquet takes 10 min of preparation and 5 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings, 8 slices. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Pa amb tomaquet?

Yes, within limits. Out of season, halve a tomato and grate it on the coarse side of a box grater, drain the pulp 5 minutes in a sieve, then spoon it thinly onto the toast; drained, it behaves much like tomaquet de penjar. Any open-crumbed sourdough works. A soft sandwich loaf does not: it collapses into paste under the tomato.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pa amb tomaquet?

The order never changes: bread, garlic, tomato, oil, salt. Oil laid down first waterproofs the crumb and the tomato slides straight off.