PA AMB TOMÀQUET
This piece is part of our series on Penedès, one of the great wine regions of Spain. We visited in July 2019.
Look what we learned how to do!
Lluba at Can Ràfols dels Caus taught us how to make this treat, and we enjoyed eating it in almost every Catalan restaurant. Now we make it for ourselves at home.
UWThis is just one of many food stories I plan to tell about Catalunya, but it is probably my favorite: Pa amb tomàquet!
This wonderful little treat strikes at the most basic of my culinary passions — it’s extraordinarily simple, versatile, has cultural history, goes with just about everything and as my great culinary mentor Nicky Major always says “It speaks for itself!”
IT FOUND US RIGHT AWAY IN BARCELONA
We’ve just arrived at the airport, after a long 12 hours stuffed in a plane trying to sleep.
Then, after dragging our carry-on luggage off the plane, fighting through hordes of fellow travelers, jostling for our checked luggage, flagging down a taxi (after figuring out the foreign signage for the taxi line) and finally arriving in the city, we arrived at our hotel.
By now, we are hot, tired, grumpy, and experiencing a heavy dose of crashing blood sugar!
Food is the only relevant objective at this point—well that, and wine of course. Our mission is to escape the tourist-pounded path—at least somewhat—and find hidden jewels. We boot up Trip Advisor (trust me, it’s a precious gem in Europe), and our first (of many) charming eateries is decided upon. Trip Advisor is great for finding new places, and it’s great for confirming recommendations from friends. A knowledge of geography helps, too. Soon, we’ll be writing about Barcelona and the many places we found, what they were like, and how we found them.
We sit and order still water. Like the rest of Europe, in Barcelona water must always be purchased, and you can order large or small, and sparkling or still.
After a quick review of the wine list, an icy bottle of Cava Brut Nature—the driest sparkling wine made in Catalunya—is on its way.
At this point the travel stress starts to melt and it hits us: we are in Barcelona, a trip in the planning for 18 months.
WE, JOYOUSLY, HAVE ZERO GLUTEN ISSUES! Barcelona and most of Spain, and most of the European cities we’ve visited are resplendent with carbs! Breads, and pastries, and cakes, and pastas, and on and on. This is carb heaven, and no amount of low-carb guilt is going to sway us, Dr Atkins, Paleo, and Keto can all stick it where the sun don’t shine.
TOMATO BREAD???
Pa amb tomàquet translated in English is Tomato Bread. Not bread made using tomatoes, nope, it’s simply a flat, toasted piece of bread with fresh tomatoes, olive oil, sea salt, and optionally rubbed with fresh garlic. It is a snack that makes chips and salsa seem contrived. Every, and I mean every Catalan restaurant, no matter how basic or fantastic offers Pa amb tomàquet, usually as a small bite. It is a staple of Catalan cuisine, and is popular in the Valencian, Balearic, and Murcian cuisines of Spain as well.
The first time we had it, I just assumed it was something unique to the café we chose, a play on table bread.
We soon learned of its relevance in Catalunya. Once making the connection, of course we had to understand the history.
THE HISTORY OF PA AMB TOMÀQUET
First, It’s interesting that so many dishes all over Europe include tomatoes, we often think of them as exclusively Italian, a slow food jewel. But tomatoes are actually from the Americas, and were exported to Europe during the era of the Americas discoveries in the 15th century.
The basic history of this simple treat most likely goes back to the first recorded reference of it in 1884 as noted by Catalan culinary historian Néstor Luján, According to Luján the dish comes from rural Spain during a time of abundant tomato harvests. The story was also confirmed via our winery tour guide Lluba at Can Rafols in Penedès.
She explained that in rural areas of Spain, a family would bake weekly a large loaf of bread, usually on Saturday so it was fresh for Sunday communion, and then used for subsequent meals throughout the week. As the week progressed the bread would get more and more stale. The idea was to take stale chunks of bread, rub them with fresh tomatoes, and drizzle them with olive oil to soften the bread. Salt of course was added to enhance the flavor.
WAYS TO SERVE PA AMB TOMÀQUET
Like all culinary arts that come with history there are purists, like those that will only make paella over a coal fire, or a Spanish potato omelette using the traditional pan used in Spain, but like all these rustic dishes, there is room for adaptation and individual expression. One of our most exquisite meals in Barcelona — Raó — served theirs with the tomato puréed to give it a heavier creamy texture.
The Spanish version, as opposed to the Catalan version, grates the tomato into little bits and serves the tomato in a bowl for guests to spoon on themselves, more like the herbed Italian tomato chunks on bruschetta. Jake MUCH PREFERS pa amb tomàquet.
Some Catalan restaurants serve it already prepared and top it with minced meats, like Iberian ham, and those that want guests to get the true experience, serve the components tableside and demonstrate for the guests how to prepare their own. We had all these options in our eating forays throughout Catalunya, and also when we traveled to the wine region of Borja in the heart of Spain.
This simple addictive treat is now a staple in our home, we hope our many dinner guests don’t tire of it, because I know I nor Jake won’t.