A lovely traditional Spanish tapa, Pan con Tomate (tomato bread) is a rustic dish with great Spanish flavor and simple ingredients.
Preparation:
Cook:
Level: Easy
Ingredients
- 2 Large, ripe, quality tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil, and more for drizzling
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 1 clove Large garlic, halved, divided
- 1 loaf Fresh Ciabatta Bread
- Chopped fresh Italian parsley, to garnish
Preparation
Start by grating the tomatoes, halved, into a fine-mesh colander, placed over a bowl to drain. Rotate the tomato halves occasionally while grating, shredding all the flesh down to the skin. Discard the skin. Let the tomato pulp drain for about 30 minutes or so. (The bowl will collect a relatively large amount of tomato water, about 6-8 ounces. Throw it away, reserve it for a different use, or drink it.)
Once drained, season the tomato pulp with olive oil, salt and cracked black pepper to taste. (For a more pronounced garlic flavor, add half the garlic to the tomato paste using a microplane.)
Once the tomato pulp is seasoned, cut the ciabatta bread into two long halves and place it on a grill or in the oven on broil mode. Broil until the bread looks nicely charred, without developing a black burnt surface, about 1 minute under the broiler.
Brush half the garlic over the toasted tops of the bread halves, covering the entire surface. Spread the seasoned tomato paste on the garlic-rubbed toast.
Slice it into about 2-inch strips, garnish with chopped fresh Italian parsley, drizzle with olive oil (optional), and serve immediately.
