Tomato-rubbed bread with olive oil — the soul of Catalan breakfast.
Pa amb tomàquet is the quintessential Catalan breakfast and snack: crusty bread, halved and toasted, rubbed with ripe tomato so the juices soak into the crumb, then drizzled with the best olive oil you can find. It's an exercise in simplicity and quality ingredients.
Serves 2
Slice bread in half lengthwise. Toast cut-side down in a hot pan or under the grill until golden and crispy, 3–4 minutes.
Halve tomatoes. While bread is still warm, rub the cut side vigorously with tomato, letting the juice and flesh soak into the crumb.
Drizzle generously with olive oil.
Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.
Use 2–3 day old bread — it's more absorbent than fresh.
Use the ripest, juiciest tomatoes.
High-quality olive oil is essential — this dish showcases it.
Top with jamón or anchovy
Add a spread of fresh cheese
Rub with garlic before the tomato
Best eaten immediately. Toast the bread fresh each time.
Pa amb tomàquet emerged in the 17th century when tomatoes arrived in Catalonia from the Americas. Poor farmers would rub bread with tomato and salt for a filling breakfast. Today it's a national treasure.
Grate them on a box grater into a pulp, then spread the pulp on the bread.
Fresh bread gets soggy. Always use day-old bread with a sturdy crust.
Per serving · 2 servings total
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