Wood Fired Pan con Tomate
The classic Catalan tapa made over a wood fire: country bread grilled on the grate, rubbed with raw garlic and crushed tomato, finished with good Spanish olive oil and fleur de sel.
Equipment
- 1 fire grate or toast rack
Ingredients
The four that matter
- 4 slices day-old country bread cut thick — never sliced sandwich bread
- 1 clove garlic cut in half lengthwise
- 1 large tomato ripe, cut into quarters
- good olive oil a finishing oil, Spanish if you have it
To finish
- fleur de sel to taste
- 4 slices Serrano or Iberico ham optional
Instructions
Toast
- Build a fire and let it burn down to a hot, even bed. Set a grate or a toast rack over it and grill both sides of the bread — toasted, not burnt. Work over indirect heat if the fire is fierce.
Build
- Rub each hot slice with the cut side of the raw garlic. The rough toasted crust acts like a grater. Hold the clove in a paper towel if you would rather not smell of garlic all evening.
- Rub a tomato wedge over each slice, crushing it into the bread so the pulp covers the whole surface. A thin layer, not a thick one.
- Drizzle generously with good olive oil.
- Sprinkle with fleur de sel, and drape over a slice of Serrano or Iberico ham if you are feeling fancy.
Serve
- Serve immediately, while the toast is still warm. Then prepare yourself to make it all over again, because everyone will ask for more.
Notes
Bread rules. A proper country loaf — sourdough, ciabatta, rustic white with an open crumb and a real crust. Day-old beats fresh: it has firmed up enough to take the garlic and the tomato without collapsing.
Rub or grate. Rubbing a cut wedge onto the toast is the campfire way. For a crowd, grate the tomatoes into a bowl and spoon the pulp on instead — tidier and faster.
Olive oil matters. Use a finishing oil, not a cooking oil. It is the one place in this recipe where spending more is immediately obvious.
Out of season. A good canned tomato, well drained and crushed, beats a pale fresh one every time.
Assemble as you eat. Pan con tomate goes soft within minutes. Toast a few slices, dress them, hand them out, start the next batch.
See the frequently asked questions
- Rub or grate the tomato
- What bread to use if you cannot make your own
- Using canned tomatoes
- How much garlic is too much
- Which olive oil to buy
- Making it without a fire
- What to serve on top
- How many people it serves
- Prepping ahead for a crowd