Summer has a rather splendid way of doing most of the work for us.
A tomato, properly ripened in the summer sun, needs very little encouragement. Good bread, a little garlic, sea salt and exceptional olive oil. In Catalonia, they have long understood the virtue of such simple pleasures. Quite sensibly, they have left well enough alone.
Pan con tomate is a lesson in restraint, and a celebration of eating with the seasons. No elaborate preparation, no unnecessary embellishments. Just a handful of fine ingredients, each allowed to do precisely what it does best.
Method
1. Toast the bread.
Toast the bread until deeply golden, with a crisp exterior and a little softness remaining in the centre. A hot griddle or open flame lends a particularly lovely character.
2. Introduce the garlic.
While the bread is still warm, gently rub the cut garlic clove across its surface. The rough edges will catch just enough. Garlic should make its presence known, not announce itself to the entire room.
3. Prepare the tomatoes.
Cut the tomatoes in half and grate the flesh against the coarse side of a box grater, allowing the pulp and juices to collect in a bowl. Season with a little flaky sea salt.
4. Assemble.
Spoon the freshly grated tomato generously over the warm toast, allowing the juices to settle into the bread.
5. Finish properly.
Drizzle generously with DRAW Finishing Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and straight to the table.
The last word
There is a reason this dish belongs to summer. Tomatoes are at their sweetest, their flesh is fragrant, and their juices are worth every last drop.
This is not a dish for indifferent ingredients. The tomatoes must be ripe, the bread must have character, and the olive oil must be exceptional.
There is nowhere for mediocrity to hide.
Fortunately, at DRAW, exceptional olive oil is all we make.
Eat it while the toast is warm, the tomatoes are in season, and the sun is still high in the sky.
Some things are simply better left to nature.
