A Catalan classic: pa amb tomàquet

Pa amb tomàquet

When I was a kid we sometimes stayed with a family who lived in Barcelona with a weekend home in the hills near Manresa. Although the parents were both ex-pats, their children were brought up in Barcelona and completely integrated and at weekends and holidays they would head out of Barcelona to their house.

Here there were very limited facilities; there was no mains water supply and a bank of 12-volt car batteries charged by a diesel generator supplied power.

Kitchen facilities were also rather limited, as the orange butane bottles for the cooker had to be brought up from the nearest town some 20 kilometers away; the mother was an excellent cook but the kitchen facilities extremely limited.

As a result many things were cooked on the open fire, including toast; a toaster was out of the question with just a 12-volt power supply used almost exclusively to provide lighting.

One of the things I remember of those far off days was the excitement in their elder son when the round loaves of bread were being toasted in preparation for pa amb tomàquet.

If you’ve even eaten in a restaurant in Catalonia you may have been served toasted bread smeared with tomato; you may have been served it yourself. In fact the toast is smeared with overripe tomato, a pinch of salt and olive oil and some prefer to rub raw garlic on the toast prior to the tomato.

The dish is elegantly simple, rustically authentic and delicious. In fact, if you’ve ever ordered a sandwich in Catalonia, you’re almost certain to have found the bread has been smeared with tomato and olive oil rather than butter (which is never used); that’s the way sandwiches are served in Catalonia.

Toppings are sometimes added too, typically anchovies (l’Escala is widely known for the quality of its anchovies), escalivada (grilled or roasted vegetables such as red peppers, aubergines and onions); as I said, simple.

The bread tends to be pa de pagès, the round loaves you’ll see in Catalan bakeries, but for sandwiches you’re more likely to get a baguette, while in some restaurants I’ve seen specially baked breads woven into intricate patterns that can be ripped apart by hungry diners.

We often eat pa amb tomàquet at home, sometimes to fill up on while watching TV, sometimes instead of spuds, but always delicious.

Costa Brava Lifestyle

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