The Bruschetta Recipe from Catalunya

bread, tomato, olive oil and whatever you fancy

The Catalan bruschetta recipe we call pa amb tomaquet, literally bread with tomato, is our national comfort food. Quick, easy and practical, it can help you out in many occasions.

	Pa amb tomaquet, Catalan bruschetta

The Catalan bruschetta recipe is very versatile and it is suitable as an appetizer, a breakfast sandwich, a quick lunch or dinner, a salad accompaniment and much more.

It can be a delicious element of a festive communal meal, barbecue, beach party, picnic, food finger, and vegetarian snack. Moreover, as a Mediterranean diet bread dressing, it is lighter than butter.

A cruet full of olive oil, fresh country-style bread, very ripe tomatoes and some salt are the basic ingredients. You can eat pa amb tomaquet plain as I often do. However, the toppings, fillings or accompaniments are only limited by your taste and imagination.

From the popular Catalan bruschetta recipe topped with prosciutto-style ham to a slice of pa amb tomaquet eaten with a chocolate bar as an after-school treat, you can top it with anchovies, sausage, cheese, tuna fish, a plain omelet, loin and shredded chicken.

Alternatively, you can eat pa amb tomaquet with olives, garlic, crushed figs, capers, dates, olive paste or even wine grapes in the summer.

Ingredients for the basic bruschetta recipe

Serves 2 as an appetizer.
Serves up to 4 guests as a snack or other occasions.

• Italian or French country-style bread – in thick slices
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Medium-sized ripe juicy tomatoes
• Salt

Basic bruschetta recipe preparation instructions

Cooking time: 0 minutes.
Preparation time: 15 minutes.

1. Cut 4 thick slices of bread and toast both sides of the slices in a toaster, under a broiler, or grill them on a barbecue.


• When you can, slowly toast the slices of bread over hot wood-embers. The taste of the toasts using this traditional method is unmatched.


2. Place the toasts on a platter without stacking them. Cut a tomato in half crosswise. Cup a tomato half in your hand and rub the cut side of the tomato on the toasts. First you do one side, turn the toast over, and rub the tomato on the other side of the toast. Rub all toasts with the tomato halves.


• Don't worry when tomato seeds and a little bit of flesh stick to the bread, it's a part of the Catalan bruschetta recipe.


3. With an olive oil cruet or dispenser, if you have one, drizzle olive oil on both sides of the slices liberally. Finally, sprinkle some salt over the slices of bread to taste. The basic Catalan recipe for bruschetta is ready.

The next step is to top this special bruschetta with ham, anchovies or any of my suggestions above.

People who tried this recipe also enjoyed the following recipe: