You say tomato, I say let's make tomato on toast! A Catalan tapas classic, this simple recipe makes the most of summer's tomato bounty & is an utterly delicious way to enjoy the flavour bomb that is seasonal tomatoes for an easy breakfast, substantial snack or delightful nibbles option. The best bit? This is one of the few cases where the lazier you are, the better. Keep it simple, don't try to overtrick the topping & use the best ingredients you can afford. We would also like to note that if you attempt this recipe with tomatoes out of season then we cannot be held responsible for the outcome...that is all.
Ingredients
- 3-5 large, very ripe tomatoes at room temp (we used an heirloom variety)
- 2 Tbsp good olive oil - extra virgin is ideal
- Large garlic clove or several smaller ones
- Loaf of bread - robust is a must! (we used sourdough)
- Sea salt & cracked black pepper
- Fresh basil (optional)
- Box grater (important)
- Fine sieve
Method
- Cut your tomatoes in half and rub the cut surface over your box grater on the largest round side, keeping the palm of your hand completely flat as you go. This extracts and chops the tomato pulp as you grate and separates it from the skin (which can be discarded).
- Depending on the juice factor of your grated tomato you might want to strain next so you're left with a thick, chunky sauce of tomato pulp - too watery and it will turn your toast to smoosh in a jiffy & we don't want that!
- Season your bowl of delicious tomato pulp with salt & pepper to taste & a good sploosh of extra virgin olive oil.
- Cut your bread thickly (he's going to need to hold up under all that juicy goodness) & toast until golden. You can also use a fry pan & some olive oil for this step if you are feeling fancy or don't have access to a toaster that fits your chunky boi bread.
- Give your toast a quick drizzle of olive oil.
- Cut your garlic clove in half and aggressively rub allllll over one side of your golden toast.
- Spoon over your beautiful tomato, drizzle with extra olive oil & adorn with torn basil leaves if you're feeling fancy.
- Tuck in asap piggo - you want the flavours to start sinking into your garlicky bread but you also don't want tomato down your crisp white t...tricky we know but the flavour explosion erases all clothes washing we promise.
Other ideas we love
- Store your tomatoes out of the fridge and at room temp for maximum flavour.
- Add a sploosh of fresh lime juice to the tomato pulp when you season for a real zing, same applies to a good quality red wine vinegar if you like things zesty.
- Serving up as a fancy nibble? Go with squares of Turkish bread as the base to make it more bite sized & top with a single white anchovy or a gorj little wafer of jamon or proscuitto.
- Breakfast? Fancy Brunch? Delicious with a soft boiled or poached egg for some extra oomph, the same applies to some crispy bacon served on the side (very untraditional but also very delicious).