Pa amb tomàquet Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Pa amb tomàquet
Pa amb tomàquet
Type	Tapas, snack
Place of origin	Spain
Region or state	Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Aragon
Invented	1800s
Main ingredients	Bread, tomato, olive oil

Pa amb tomàquet (pronounced "pam too-MAH-ket") means "Bread with tomato" in the Catalan language. It's a super popular and traditional food from Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and Aragon in Spain. Many people think of Pa amb tomàquet as a symbol of Catalan food and identity.

You'll find this tasty dish in many bars across Spain, where it's also known as pan tumaca. It's usually made with bread (sometimes toasted), fresh tomato rubbed on top, and then drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.

This simple dish is a great example of the Mediterranean diet, which is known for being healthy. People often eat it as a quick snack or a small dish called a tapa. You can enjoy it any time of day, from breakfast to dinner!

How to Make Pa amb Tomàquet
- What to Eat with Pa amb Tomàquet
The History of Pa amb Tomàquet
Gallery
See also

How to Make Pa amb Tomàquet

Pa amb tomàquet with anchovies

Enjoying Pa amb tomàquet with Jamón ibérico

Making Pa amb tomàquet is quite simple! Sometimes, in restaurants, the tomato is already mixed and spread on the bread. But often, you get all the ingredients separately so you can make it yourself.

Here's the best way to make it for the best flavor:

First, if you like, you can rub a little garlic on the bread.
Next, cut a ripe tomato in half and rub the juicy side all over the bread. You want to get lots of tomato pulp on there!
Then, sprinkle some salt on top.
Finally, drizzle a good amount of olive oil over everything.

The traditional bread for this dish is called pa de pagès (which means "peasant's bread"). It's a large, round loaf of wheat bread.

What to Eat with Pa amb Tomàquet

Pa amb tomàquet is delicious on its own, but it's also great with other foods. People often eat it with:

Different kinds of sausages, like fuet or chorizo.
Delicious ham, especially Jamón ibérico.
Various cheeses.
Omelettes.
Anchovies or other marinated fish.
Grilled vegetables, like escalivada.

In Mallorca, an island in Spain, they use a special type of tomato called Tomàtiga de Ramellet. These tomatoes are smaller and have a slightly stronger, more sour taste, which makes the pa amb oli (their version of the dish) extra special.

The History of Pa amb Tomàquet

The exact start of Pa amb tomàquet is a bit of a mystery! Tomatoes only came to Europe from America after the 15th century. So, this dish can't be super ancient. Even though it feels like a very old Catalan tradition, some experts believe it became popular more recently, around the mid to late 1800s.

A famous Catalan chef, Josep Lladonosa i Giró, says he found records of the dish from the 18th century. He was born in 1938 and remembers his grandmother talking about her parents eating pa amb tomàquet.

Another historian, Nèstor Luján, says the first time it was written down was in 1884. He thinks the recipe probably started in the countryside. Farmers would have had lots of tomatoes during harvest time and used them to soften old, hard bread so it wouldn't go to waste.

This dish is similar to other tomato and bread dishes from around the Mediterranean Sea: