Standing in front of a pile of beautiful summer tomatoes and wondering what to do with them? Here is one of my absolute favorite recipes that highlights the flavor and beauty of tomatoes. You’ll love how delicious and easy this recipe comes together, and so will your friends and family!
Pan con Tomate y Jamón (Bread with Tomatoes and Ham) is a classic Spanish dish made with toasted bread, ripe tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and cured ham. Because the recipe only requires a handful of ingredients, it’s imperative those ingredients are of the best quality. The dish originated as a practical way to revive day-old bread. Rather than discarding stale loaves, cooks rubbed them with ripe tomatoes, which softened the crumb and added moisture and flavor. This dish is one of Spain's quintessential tapas or breakfasts.
The Bread: This piece of the puzzle can make or break the recipe, so make sure to use your favorite good quality bread. You can use a rustic country bread, but I really like sourdough for this recipe. In my blog about Broccoli Caesar Salad, I rave about Button Bakery’s sourdough bread so of course that’s what I used.
Brush both sides of each slice with good quality extra virgin olive oil. For this recipe, I used my Le Creuset grill pan to get good char, crispness and flavor on each slice. You can also use an outdoor gas or charcoal grill, or even toast your bread in a 350° oven for 5 to 6 minutes.
Once the bread comes off the grill, rub one side of each slice with a raw garlic clove. The flavor of the garlic will permeate through the bread creating a sharp yet balanced bite.
The Tomatoes: Head to your local farmers market and find the most beautiful tomatoes you can get your hands on. I look for medium-size, red ripe tomatoes but any tomatoes of this size will work.
Cut the tomatoes in half through “the equator”. Place a coarse grater in or over a bowl, and grate flesh, leaving the skins behind. Simply season the tomato pulp with olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s it!
This preparation allows for the sweet and complex flavors of the tomatoes to be the star of the show. While the traditional method is to rub the cut side of the tomato directly onto toasted bread, I prefer grating the tomato. It creates a silky pulp that spreads evenly while leaving the skins behind.
The Ham: Serrano ham is the traditional ham used in this recipe, but because it can be difficult to find you can use prosciutto. Here’s the breakdown between the two:
Jamón Serrano or serrano ham is a Spanish-style, slow-aged ham made from the hind pork leg from white pigs. Its flavor develops through a delicate aging process of 11 months, while on the bone, and rubbed with sea salt. After the initial curing period, the ham is moved to a room with a higher temperature which breaks down the fat, developing deeper, nutty and savory flavors. Serrano ham is unique from other cured ham because it is dry cured longer and comes from white pigs. Serrano ham has a salty, richer taste and firmer texture, and is commonly thinly sliced and served at room temperature.
Prosciutto is an Italian-style, dry-cured ham made from the hind leg of specially bred pigs. Its delicate flavor develops through a lengthy curing process that typically lasts 12 to 36 months. The fresh ham is rubbed with sea salt and slowly air-dried, allowing time and natural enzymes to concentrate its flavor and create its signature buttery texture. Unlike many other cured hams, prosciutto is not smoked or heavily seasoned, relying instead on time and careful aging to develop its sweet, nutty flavor. Prosciutto has a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture and is traditionally sliced paper-thin and served at room temperature.
To get my ham, I walked right across the street from The Chopping Block to Gene’s Sausage Shop and Delicatessen. This European market is the holy grail for all things cheese, sausage and European goods in Lincoln Square. They didn’t have serrano ham but they had beautiful prosciutto they thinly sliced for me.
To assemble the dish, spoon the tomato pulp on your grilled bread, drape the ham on top and drizzle with additional olive oil.
Every bite delivers crunchy grilled bread soaked with fruity olive oil, sweet tomatoes bursting with freshness, the gentle bite of raw garlic and silky ribbons of cured ham. It's proof that when the ingredients are exceptional, simplicity is all you need.
Pan con Tomate y Jamón (Bread with Tomatoes and Ham)
Yield: 4 servings
Active time: 30 minutes
Start to finish: 30 minutes
2 ripe tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices sourdough bread
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
1 to 2 cloves garlic
4 thin slices serrano ham or prosciutto
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- To prepare the tomato pulp, use a coarse grater to grate the flesh of the tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Discard the skins. Stir in 3 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Heat a gas or charcoal grill, or an indoor grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Brush the slices of bread with olive oil on each side. Grill until the bread is well marked and charred in some spots.
- While the bread is still warm, rub one side with the garlic clove. Transfer the bread to a platter.
- Top each slice of grilled bread with a spoonful of the tomato pulp followed by a slice of ham.
- Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
This recipe is such a perfect example of how exceptional products and careful techniques can create something extraordinary. It’s also a great way to celebrate the summer tomato season in its simplest form.
With tomato season fast approaching, now is the time to learn ways to celebrate this peak-season fruit all season long by taking our Hands-On Tomato Workshop: Preserving the Season on Monday, July 13. You’ll learn the following recipes:
- Canned Whole Plum Tomatoes
- Cherry Tomato Confit with Garlic, Shallots and Thyme Served with Goat Cheese Crostini
- Grated Beefsteak Tomato Sauce with Basil, Pasta and Roasted Vegetables
- Sweet and Spicy Vine-Ripened Tomato Jam with Aged Parmesan
