Pan Tumaca

Every pan tumaca recipe will say the same, it’s all about the quality of ingredients!
Nothing beats the taste of some crusty bread rubbed with the ripest of tomatoes and drizzled with some quality extra virgin olive oil. It is the Catalans that claim the invention of Pan Tumaca or Pa amb Tomàquet (it’s proper name) based on a large number of articles and cookery books written but other regions such as Murcia, Valencia and Andalucía have also traditionally eaten bread rubbed with tomatoes.  What is clear, is its peasant origin as a summer food eaten by farmers in the afternoon so they could hold their appetite until dinner was served. Because bread baking was done only once per week, the bread would dry quickly, so it makes absolute sense to rub tomato on to it to make it soft. Pa amb Tomàquet is often served at the start of a meal or as a side dish to some tapas or jamón ibérico. This is a great sharing dish if you serve the bread toasted on a board with some garlic cloves, a bowl of tomato pulp, olive oil and salt.