January 08, 2009
We’re happy to welcome Chris Barber, LA-based artist and food lover, as one of our new guest bloggers. New Year’s Day means one thing at my place – good ...
Bloggers, have you written about Pa Amb Tomàquet? Add a widget!
Pa amb tomàquet (literally ''bread with tomato'' in Catalan) is a typical preparation of Catalan cuisine, that consists of bread — optionally toasted — with tomato rubbed over and seasoned with olive oil and salt. Sometimes garlic is rubbed on the bread before rubbing in the tomato. In many Catalan restaurants, the tomato mixture is pre-made and is brushed on the bread. The dish is served accompanied with any sorts of sausages (cured botifarres, xoriço, fuet, etc.), ham, cheeses, anchovies or other marinated fish, or grilled vegetables like escalivada. The original base used to be made with toasted slices of ''pa de pagès'' (''peasants' bread''), a typical round piece of wheat bread of a fair size (from ½ kg to 5 kg, from some 20 cm to 50 cm in diameter). If the mixture is not premade, there is said to be an ideal order in which the ingredients are integrated to yield the best flavour. First, the garlic is rubbed on the bread. Then the same is done with the tomato. Next comes the salt, and lastly the olive oil. The traditional way to get all the flavours mixed well without having to premake a sauce, is to cut off the heel of a baguette and use it to gently but firmly press all of the ingredients together.
Step 1 |
|
Step 2 |
|
Step 3 |
Drizzle with olive oil. |
Step 4 |
Pa amb tomàquet is Catalan for "bread with tomato." It consists of toasted bread rubbed with tomato and is sometimes accompanied or topped with sausage, ham, anchovies, grilled vegetables or cheese.