Pan Con Tomate

You need just a handful of simple ingredients to make this classic Spanish breakfast or tapa (appetizer).

This time of the year, whenever I see my parents the visit always includes a tour of their garden. One one side are my mother’s succulents, a lot of which got their start from my own collection but they flourish under her care in a way they refuse to under mine. The other side of the garden is my dad’s domain. He grows various vegetables and maybe a dozen varieties of tomatoes–this is his idea of downsizing since they now have a much smaller backyard than before but somehow his collection seems to grow by one or two more tomato plants with each visit.

Knowing that I would be sharing this recipe this week, I looked longingly at his young, still green tomatoes and imagined them ripe for picking, sweet, juicy, tasting like tomatoes should, perfect for Pan con Tomate.

What is Pan con Tomate?

We would call this bread with tomato–its handful of parts simple and humble but so much more when bread, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt come together. In Spain this is a traditional breakfast food and its preparation can vary by region. Castilians favor this preparation of grated tomatoes seasoned with salt and topped on garlic-rubbed toast. Catalonians rub a halved tomato directly on the garlic toast. It’s a winning combination either way.

Pan con Tomate is also served as a tapa (an appetizer or snack) and here you might find it served with ham or anchovies. The ham might be a more welcome addition to some but you might not be surprised by my recommendation to try it with anchovies, too. Tomatoes and anchovies are an excellent combination. Whenever the two are on a plate together (hello, Salad Niçoise) I make sure the two are always in the same bite for that perfect salty-tart pairing. That magic would be the same here.

At the risk of upsetting pan con tomate purists (I don’t mean to, please forgive me) I sometimes add a dash of garlic powder, dried oregano and ground pepper to the grated tomato–my store-bought tomatoes just need help sometimes. But with summer officially here it means we will have access to sweet, flavorful tomatoes and they’ll be able to shine the way they were intended to with no additional help from a spice drawer. It’s not too early to start dreaming of my tomato haul from my next visit with my parents, is it?