Our tomato bread recipe (pan con mate) is a classic Catalan-Spanish combination that will bring a Mediterranean snack to your table. It has sweetness and heart.
Tomato Bread Recipe (Pan Con Tomate)
This simple yet delicious dish can be used as a tapa or dinner entree.
What is Pan Con Tomate?
Pan con Tomate, which is particularly popular in Catalan cuisine, where it’s called pam ambtomaquet but also very popular throughout many Spanish regions of Spain, is a tapa consisting of slices or toasted bread, rubbed and covered with tomato mixture, olive oils, salt and pepper.
Variations
Bread: Some pieces of bread are rubbed first with tomato, while others are rubbed with tomato and garlic. Depending on your preference, you can cut the bread fresh or toast it. Traditionally, a wheat bread called pa de pages (or ‘peasant bread’) was used.
Tomato: Although there are wide varieties of tomatoes, Majorca uses a particular type of tomato on the vine called Tomatiga de Ramellet.
Pan con tomate as a dish. Many restaurants offer additional ingredients and sides to go with it. You can find Iberian Ham, Anchovies and various marinated seafood, cheeses and grilled vegetables.
Recipe Ingredients
The following ingredients are required to make pan con tomate:
Step 1 Toast the bread slices and rub them with garlic cloves.
Step 2 The tomatoes are traditionally rubbed into bread. This works best if you have soft tomatoes like Tomatiga De Ramellet. This method involves cutting the tomatoes in half and then rubbing the tomato flesh onto the bread. The tomato flesh will remain on the bread.
Step 3 Sprinkle some salt on the tomato bread.
Step 4 We served our pan con tomate as part of a Spanish tapas spread.
It is simple but satisfying to have the delicious crunch of the toasted bread with the sweet, juicy tomato spread.
You can experiment with this dish by looking under “variations” to see the various toppings and sides commonly served with pan con tomate. It was delicious with anchovies.
The tomatoes were traditionally rubbed into the bread. This method involves cutting the tomatoes in half and then rubbing the tomato flesh into the bread. The tomato flesh will remain on the bread.
We prefer to grate the tomatoes, then spoon the contents over the bread. This method involves cutting the tomatoes in half and then grating them with a box grater with large shredding holes.
