Recipe Request - Spain/Catalan tomato spread
 

MMMM. I had this great sandwich outside of Barcelona that was simply a slice of a white crusty bread, a dry strong cheese, and some sort of tomato spread. It was heavenly and went great with the wine that I drank.

The woman at the cafe who made them remarked that they were Catalonia style, not plain old "bocadillos:" I was most impressed with this tomato concoction, which was barely traceable on the bread, but seemed to soak right through with a delicious flavor.

Does anyone know how this is made? It is very liquidy and seems to just soak into the bread. You can see some pink and red color and some tomato seeds. I am assuming the tomatoes are mixed with olive oil (and maybe garlic?). Any ideas? Help ! I want to eat this every day!

This is called "pan amb tomaquet" in Catalan. I believe the way it's done is to rub the toasted bread with a cut garlic clove, and then to cut a ripe tomato in half and rub that onto the bread until the juice soaks in. Then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Obviously this won't work very well unless you have good ripe tomatoes.

Wow. That sounds just like it. Simple but delicious.

Any idea about the cheese? It was slices of a hard cheese, which tasted a bit like Parmesan...

Could be Manchego (but I'm no expert when it comes to Spanish cheeses).

jahoulih has it right. and yes, it would be manchego cheese found in many USA supermarkets now, and i assume in GB.

an easy way to make large quantity of the tomato thing is to GRATE very ripe flavourful tomatoes into bowl. pour olive oil in bowl and a little salt.
this sauce is ladled onto lightly toasted farmer's bread, or whatever.

you can also rub the peeled garlic first onto bread, then drizzle olive oil directly onto bread and rub , as mentioned, the tomato directly.

addictive.
and you MUST use good olive oil.

Wow. What would I do without you guys. I made it myself yesterday, with great results (although the tomatoes weren't exactly plump juicy ones). Delicious and totally addicting. I grated a little garlic in too, which was nice (but next time I'll use a little less)

Is there a forum on Fodors for cuisine?

Not exactly a forum but epicurious.com has thousands of recipes with comments and suggestions by those who have tried them.

overripe tomatoes are the best. greenhouse hard skin will not be interesting.

also,, try a little prosciuto sliced paper thin on it.. great dinner addition. red wine.. olives.. cheese triangles..??

Great job guys! A new favorite!

Anyone have any tips on Patatas Bravas and that delicious sauce that goes on top?

boil cubed potatoes.
then fry or oven roast.
pour hot sauce, and garlic mayonaiise on top or on side.

don't foget to salt potatoes.

ali-oli can be made.. find recipe.. oil, garlic and blender/cuisinart.

have to run!

For those interested in Spanish cooking, Penelope Casas has just published a new book (March 2005) of which I read an excellent review. You can find more at:

http://www.ecookbooks.com/products.h...amp;item=06780

A search on google will find her website.