Recipe by STEVEN RAICHLEN
In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of their 40 best: The simple act of cutting a tomato and rubbing it on bread creates a magical bite. Pa amb tomàquet, a specialty of Barcelona that cookbook author Steven Raichlen shared, offers irrefutable proof that the best dishes are often the simplest. Assemble it in the kitchen, or provide your guests with garlic cloves, halved tomatoes, a cruet of oil, and a bowl of salt, and let them do the work.
Serves 4
8 large slices country-style bread, about 1/2 inch thick
4 garlic cloves
2 very ripe tomatoes, halved crosswise
Really good extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish, preferably)
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Light a grill. When the fire is medium hot, grill the bread for 2 minutes per side, or until nicely browned and crisp.
Give each diner a garlic clove and half a tomato. Have them rub their toast with the garlic, then with the cut tomato. (The idea is to apply a thin film of tomato on the bread.) Then they can drizzle their toast with olive oil, sprinkle on some salt and pepper and eat.