This is the perfect snack if you want to prepare something that is delicious and fresh in a few minutes. Draining the excess water from the tomatoes increases the intensity of the flavour and along with the lemon zest is a perfect combination. Toasting the bread in olive oil makes the bread perfectly crispy and adds a satisfying taste.
A Great Idea for Guests
If you are having guests over and preparing a full meal is a bit much, but you want to offer something more than just tea and coffee, pan con tomate is an excellent choice for a snack.
You can prepare the tomatoes and toasts in advance, and just spread the tomatoes on the toast when ready to serve.
Ingredients to Make Pan Con Tomate
- Some nice tomatoes
- Lemon
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Some nice sourdough bread or other good bread
How to Make this Dish
Start by grating the tomatoes into a bowl using the course side of the grater.
Then take a washed lemon and zest the skin into the bowl using either a zester or the fine side of a grater.
Add a generous pinch of salt and give the tomato mixture a stir to mix everything together.
Cut some good quality bread into slices. Add the oil to the a frying pan and get the oil nice and hot. Place the slices of bread on the pan and toast for 1-2 minutes until golden on each side.
Place the toasted bread on a kitchen roll lined plate to soak any excess oil.
Place the tomato mixture into a sieve and give it a bit of a stir to remove excess water and then return the the bowl.
Add a dollop or tomatoes to each slice of bread and spread out evenly.
Enjoy.
Variations to the Dish
I have seen this recipe made by shallow frying the bread in olive oil. You can do this for extra taste, however I like to be a bit more sparing on the olive oil to keep the calories in check.
For a version that is lighter in calories, you can also simply toast the bread in a toaster and skip the oil.
Pan Con Tomate
Equipment
- 1 frying pan (I use stainless steel)
- 1 grater
- 1 bowl
- 1 sieve
Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- lemon zest
- 3 slices sourdough bread
Instructions
- Grate the tomatoes into a bowl with a course grater
- Add a pinch of salt along with the zest from a lemon and give the tomatoes a bit of a mix
- Leave for a few minutes whi;e you prepare the toast
- Add a good glug of olive oil to a pan and heat till its nice and hot
- Add some sliced sourdough bread and fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side until; the bread is crispy and starting to brown
- Place the bread on some kitchen roll on a plate once cooked to absorb any excess oil
- Strain the tomatoes over a sieve to remove the excess liquid
- Spoon some tomatoes onto each slice of toast and enjoy
