I just returned home from a family vacation in Spain. We spent the days visiting with family and friends and enjoying delicious food and wine.  Olives are not surprisingly, a staple at every table.  Another favorite bite served often is pan con tomate (tomato bread), this is commonly eaten at breakfast as well.

Definitely a perfect one to share in the summer when tomatoes are very fresh.  Pan con Tomate has no secret preparation, very few ingredients, and requires no cooking ability whatsoever. It is a piece of bread, toasted sometimes and rubbed all over with a lengthwise halved tomato, topped with extra virgin olive oil and salt. That’s it!

I believe that what gives this simple and delightful appetizer a knock-out taste is the freshly baked bread along with the freshest tomatoes you can find, which is how food is made in Spain, fresh and delicious! Make sure to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil as well.

This summer when having people over, try this easy and quick recipe, everyone will be asking for more, I promise!

Ingredients:

(Serves 8 people)

1 loaf of French bread

3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 fresh ripe tomatoes

Sea salt to taste

Method:

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Using a serrated knife, cut the bread into 8 1/4-inch slices. Drizzle the bread slices with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Place the bread and tomatoes on the hot skillet. Cook the bread until toasted on both sides.

Cut the tomatoes in quarters lengthwise. Grab a piece of toasted bread and rub a quarter tomato (skin side up) all over the bread, applying some pressure to make sure all the flesh is soaking the bread. You should be left with the tomato skin, discard that.  Repeat with all pieces of bread and tomato quarters.

Place the tomato bread on a serving platter, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!