Pan con tomate: Catalan tomato bread

For the pan con tomate, get 2 ripe tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves, good olive oil, and flaky salt ready. Slice the baguette with a sharp knife on an angle into pieces about 2 centimeters thick, so each one has crust around the edge and holds the tomato pulp well.

Cut the tomatoes in half and grate their pulp on the coarse side of a grater into a bowl. Grate the tomato cut side against the grater and discard the skin that stays in your hand at the end. You will be left with a fragrant, juicy tomato puree, which you can lightly salt to taste.

Peel the garlic cloves and cut them in half. Set them on the board next to the toasted bread, you will rub the slices with them.

Toast the baguette slices golden on both sides in a hot grill pan with no fat, until they get a crisp surface with light grill marks. You can just as easily toast them in the oven under the broiler or in a toaster, the point is mainly for the bread to be crisp outside and still soft inside.

Rub each hot slice right away with a cut garlic clove. The warm bread soaks up the garlic beautifully and takes on its aroma.

Spread the grated tomato pulp over the rubbed slices with a spoon, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of flaky salt. Garnish with fresh basil leaves to taste and serve right away, while the bread is still crisp.