In the following post we will show you how to make quickly nice Pan Tumaca (Spanish), also known as Pan con Tomate or Pan Catalan. The original name in Catalan is “Pa amb Tomàquet”.

This tomato bread is a very famous “Tapa” in Spain. It is usually served in Cataluña and Valencia so many of you will have eaten eat sometime during the holidays. To solve the problem getting back home and not remembering how it was served.

Now, we will give some simple instructions so you will have a delicious side dish in just a few minutes. At the end it is not more than toasted bread with fresh garlic and tomato, then drizzled with olive oil and a bit of salt. It is often topped with cheese, ham or sausage. It is mostly called Pan con Tomate through Spain but different variants exist in some other parts of Spain.

Now, let’s see on how to make this very simple to make tapa.

• Prep Time: 3 minutes
• Cook Time: 2 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients – what you need:

• rustic-style bread
• 2 large, round, ripe tomatoes
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

Preparation – here we go: 

Optional – give it a twits : If you wish, add thinly sliced Spanish cheese, chorizo or ham.

The original “pa amb tomaquet” is made best with a rustic-style bread, that is solid and dense and slightly wider than the standard, narrow baguette. You may opt for chapata bread.

When using a baguette, first cut pieces from 4 to 5 inches long. Then, slice the pieces horizontally, as you would when making a sub sandwich. If you are using a wider type of bread, slice off one “end” piece, which will have lots of crust and set aside for another use. Then slice the rest of the loaf into pieces about 3/4 inch thick.

Toast the slices lightly on both sides.

Peel the garlic cloves and slice a bit off the ends and rub the cut ends over each slice of bread. Depending on your taste you can rub more or less. The cloves will eventually wear down after being rubbed against the toasted bread and you will end up with stubby little pieces that are almost impossible to hold.

Slice the ripe tomatoes in half across the middle (that is the part between the two ends of the tomato). Then, using the tomato half, rub the cut side of the tomato generously onto each slice.

Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over slice of bread. Salt to taste.

If you like you can eat the Tomato Bread without anything else. However, if you want to make the dish a little more substantial, add Spanish “Serrano” ham or a Spanish cheese like the “Manchego” cheese. Also nice to accompany is a good Spanish “Chorizo” sausage. We recommend a red wine from the area, a “Costers del Segre” red wine to make the pack complete, try the “Castell del Remei” if available in your area, otherwise any red will do.

Enjoy your Pan Tumaca!