One of the things I loved about Catalan cuisine is it’s rustic simplicity. And the one meal that captures this best is Pa Amb Tomaquet, a traditional breakfast of bread, tomato, olive oil, and sea salt.
I first noticed these delicious ingredients displayed every morning in our hotel lobby along with fruit, meat and cheeses. Fellow blogger and Seville resident, Abi with Inside The Travel Lab, pointed it out to me and showed me how to construct my first pa amb tomaquet … (continued below)
It’s actually quite easy, but the secret is in finding the perfect tomatoes. They have to be thin-skinned, flavorful and juicy. The second most important thing is having quality olive oil. Don’t tell the Italians, but I actually prefer Spanish olive oil to all others that I’ve tried. It has a bold taste that makes it so much more then ‘adding oil’ to your bread.
During my time in Costa Brava, we also took a cooking class with Chef Jordi from ICookIt.es. Thankfully, the first thing we did was make pan amb tomaquet as a snack (I craved this stuff daily while in Spain!).
Here are his instructions for this classic Catalan treat.
Pa Amb Tomaquet
(Traditional Spanish Breakfast)
Ingredients
Rustic Bread
Vine-ripe Tomatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Method
– Start by assembling all your fresh ingredients. Toast the bread on both sides.
– Cut the tomato in half and rub the cut side into the bread until it is well moistened with pulp and only the tomato skin is left in your hand (see photos below).
– Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Serve with cheese and sliced meats.
This is my favorite type of food! I never thought of simply rubbing the tomato onto the grilled bread – perfect and so simple. I’m doing this for breakfast tomorrow. 🙂
Hey Amber! If you get the smaller vine ripe tomatoes with thin skin, they should work perfectly!
Hi Amber,
I’m glad to hear you like Spanish olive oil more than Italian. I work for Hojiblanca USA, which imports its extra virgin olive oil and table olives from Spain to the U.S. Sometimes it’s hard to tell others that other olive oils exist other than Italian.
I like your breakfast pictures!
Adriana, Spain it the world’s largest producer of Olive Oil. The biggest and the best by far. But well done to the Italians who somehow have managed to convince the world the Olive Oil hails only from there!
The Spanish oil also tastes so much better… Although sometimes it’s nice to know a little secret like this, while the snobs are all talking about their Italian oil and paying through the nose for it!
It’s my job to let more people know about Spain’s great olive oil. Have you heard of Hojiblanca Olive Oil?
Having been to olive oil tastings in Italy, is there a place in Catalonyia?
Wonderful post, But I must advise you not to ask for “pa amb tomàquet” outside of Catalunya (the area in the north east of Spain, with a particular language and culture).
In Madrid, for example, I have had a bread with tomato sliced up!
Do you know what type of tomatoes are used in Costa Brava? I just returned from Platja D’Aro and didn’t think to figure out what type they were using.
I’m not sure. I’ve looked for them too! I know they’re smaller with a thin skin as there wasn’t much left after rubbing the tomato on the bread. In the U.S., I think the closest thing we have are cherry tomatoes. An heirloom variety of cherry tomatoes might be close.