Pan con tomate is one of the simplest things on a Spanish menu: bread, tomato, olive oil and salt. It is also one of the most argued about. How you make it, what bread you use and whether garlic belongs depends on which part of Spain you ask. Our pan con tomate dish page covers the basics and a recipe; this post is about the regional versions and what to expect when you order it.
Catalonia: pa amb tomàquet
In Catalonia it is called pa amb tomàquet. A slice of bread, often a large country loaf (pa de pagès), is usually toasted, then rubbed with half a ripe tomato so the pulp and juice soak in and the skin is left in your hand. Olive oil and salt go on top. Some people rub a cut garlic clove over the toast first; many Catalans leave it out. Neither is wrong.
It is eaten at any meal, on its own or as the base for something else: jamón, cured sausage, cheese, anchovies or a slice of tortilla. In a Catalan home it is often made at the table, with the tomatoes, oil and salt set out for everyone to do their own.
The tomatoes: tomàquet de penjar and ramellet
The traditional tomatoes for rubbing are not salad tomatoes. In Catalonia they are tomàquets de penjar, "hanging tomatoes": small, thick-skinned varieties tied in bunches and hung up, which keeps them for months after harvest. In Mallorca the equivalent is the ramellet tomato. Their skin is tough and the flesh is juicy, which is what you want when you are pressing a tomato into bread.
If you are making it at home without them, the ripest, reddest tomato you can find works better than a firm one.
Andalusia and the rest of Spain: tostada con tomate
Across much of Spain, and especially in Andalusia, tomato on toast is a breakfast dish. Here the tomato is usually grated into a pulp rather than rubbed, and it often comes to the table in a small bowl with a jug of olive oil, so you spread it yourself. Ask for a tostada con tomate, or in Andalusia you may see it on a mollete, a soft, flattish bread roll. Adding jamón on top is common.
In Mallorca, the local dish is pa amb oli, bread with oil, where the ramellet tomato is rubbed on the bread and it is served with cheese, cured meats or olives on the side.
What to expect when you order it abroad
- Menus outside Spain use both names, pan con tomate and pa amb tomàquet, for the same dish.
- It usually comes as a starter or a side for the table, a few slices on a board, rather than as a meal.
- The bread is the main ingredient. A good crust toasted until crisp holds up to the tomato; soft sandwich bread goes soggy fast.
- Order it with jamón or anchovies if you want more than a snack. Those are the classic pairings.
Where to try it
These venues list pan con tomate in their own descriptions in our directory:
- Escocesa, Stoke Newington Church Street, London: its menu staples include pan con tomate, patatas bravas and tortilla.
- Poster Bar by José, Royal Academy of Arts, London: José Pizarro's daytime café, open 10am to 6pm, with pan con tomate among its small plates.
- El Bar, Noordeinde 165, The Hague: a tapas bar whose classics include croquetas, pan con tomate and chorizo in cider.
