Pan con Tomate y Tostada con Aceite y Jamón
Pan con Tomate y Tostada con Aceite y Jamón·(pahn kohn toh-mah-teh ee tohs-tah-dah kohn ah-thay-teh ee hah-mohn)
Mañanas y Meriendas: The Rhythms of Morning and Afternoon
Seven a.m. brings the harsh scrape of raw garlic against a charred baguette. Forget a standard box grater; the secret is using the hot, highly abrasive crust of the bread as a grater for the tomato, leaving nothing but the empty skin in your hand. Lace the bread with assertive olive oil and the deep, savory sweat of jamón serrano, then eat it standing up before the coffee cools.
Ingredients
- ciabatta or rustic sourdough loaf1 med
- roma or heirloom tomatoes2 med
- garlic1 small clove
- extra virgin olive oil4 tbsp
- flaky sea salt1/2 tsp
- jamón serrano4 oz
Method
- 01
Toast the bread until the edges are dark golden brown and the surface is hard and highly abrasive.
Use a broiler, grill pan, or toaster. The bread must be hot and crunchy enough to act like sandpaper, with an open crumb ready to catch the juices.
- 02
Swipe the cut side of the garlic clove exactly one or two times across the surface of the hot toast.
Do not overdo it. The rough bread will grate microscopic amounts of raw garlic into the crust, and the heat will instantly release its essential oils.
- 03
Press the cut side of a tomato half directly into the bread and rub vigorously in a circular motion.
The crust will tear the tomato flesh apart, pushing the sweet juices and pulp into the bread. Keep rubbing until all you hold is the empty skin, then discard it.
- 04
Generously drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the tomato-soaked bread.
Do not be shy. The assertive oil mixes with the tomato juices to create a rich emulsion inside the crumb.
- 05
Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt and drape the jamón serrano gently over the top.
Do not press the ham flat. Let it fall naturally so it can breathe, allowing the residual heat of the toast to coax out its savory aroma before serving immediately.
Notes
Substitute cherry tomatoes if making this in the dead of winter.
Standard supermarket hothouse tomatoes are too watery and lack flavor. High-quality cherry tomatoes, cut in half, offer a much better pulp-to-water ratio when large heirlooms are out of season.
If your tomatoes are too firm to rub, grate them instead.
While rubbing is the canonical abuela method, if your tomatoes lack structure, you can use the large holes of a box grater to grate the flesh into a bowl, discard the skins, and gently spoon the pulp over the toast.
From Cook Spanish in America.