This summer, our family enjoyed a blissfully long vacation abroad filled with adventures, history, breathtaking scenery and, best of all, the company of good friends. Now that school is already underway, it’s hard to believe we were ever away at all. Thankfully, photos help bring the memories back into focus.
I find myself in a new season relaxed, full of new ideas and ready to cook again. (No photo editing here. Nature provides the cerulean hue in the sea)
We were lucky enough to spend time with locals as our Spanish friend is a Catalan, and the family’s new apartment is in the same seaside town she visited every summer as a child. Coma Ruga is just south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean Sea, and minutes away from some of the world’s best olive oil, vinegar and cava (Spanish champagne). The door opens and we are first greeted by the roar of the sea.
While we enjoyed amazing restaurant meals during our travels through France and Spain, the most inspiring meals to me were at their seaside home where we learned how to live and eat in Spain. Every day we feasted on fabulous breakfasts, lunches and dinners that were simple, delicious and, in many cases, required almost no cooking. It was more of an assembly of the region’s freshest ingredients, leaving more time for conversation, laughter and, of course, lots of cava.
Kids were always at the table and Pan Con Tomate is an appetizer we enjoyed daily with not a crumb left at the end of the meal. A traditional Catalan side dish, we found Pan Con Tomate enjoyed at all meals during our travels in Spain, even breakfast.
Each day, usually for lunch and sometimes dinner, too, our host set the ingredients on the table. Laid out before us were bottles of the freshest olive oil, sea salt, small thin-skinned pulpy tomatoes sliced across the middle, plump garlic cloves with their jackets still attached but sliced in half, and a basket of toasted bread. Each child prepared their own Pan Con Tomate and seasoned to taste.
Grasping a garlic halve with the skin protecting their fingers, they lightly brush the clove along their toast to leave behind just an essence of garlic, not a mouthful.
Then, the tomato half is pressed gently and rubbed along the bread until the pulp covers the bread and just the skin is left behind. We are finding the farmers market’s end-of-season, slightly overripe tomatoes well-suited for this task.
For the final touch, the children drizzle olive oil and sprinkle sea salt to taste. By the end of the meal, all that was left were a sprinkling of crumbs.
Now that we are back home, Pan Con Tomate has become a lovely after-school snack with seemingly infinite variations. It transforms into a hardier snack or an elegant appetizer by adding a slice of Spanish or Italian smoked ham, sausage, cheese or fish. I have added flakes of oil packed best-quality tuna and a drop of sherry vinegar. I’ve also added smoked trout which, when paired with a salad, makes a satisfying meal.
While I appreciate the possibilities I must admit Pan Con Tomate is at its best just as it is. Thick, crusty toast supporting the sweet acid of the season’s best tomatoes all doused with glossy oil and crunchy sea salt.
Sadly, our days in Spain came to an end as all vacations do. We now find ourselves landlocked and back in the day-to-day grind of homework, carpools and activities. Sometimes during the day though, I look through our photos and try to hear the roar of the waves….with limited success.
Luckily we still have this simple snack to help ensure we can savor the taste of Spain just like locals until we get a chance to return someday.
- (4) thick slices bread, toasted (Dense white round loaf of Italian or French bread works best)
- 4 small, thin-skinned tomatoes, room temperature (End of season tomatoes work well or Campari tomatoes from the grocery are available throughout the year. I do not recommend cherry tomatoes.)
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 bottle of best-quality olive oil for drizzling (about 1 Tablespoon oil per slice)
- Sea salt to sprinkle
- Slice garlic cloves in half across the width, not lengthwise.
- Slice tomatoes in half.
- (We place tomatoes and garlic in one bowl, a basket of bread in another and set within easy reach on the table.)
- Take a garlic clove and rub gently along the bread. A few light swipes all around the bread impart a mild flavor, rub repeatedly for bolder taste.
- Grasp tomato and gently rub cut side along the bread until the flesh of the tomato covers the bread. Repeat with the other tomato half.
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Serves 4