Grilled Spanish Tomato Toast - Pan Con Tomate

Spanish Tomato Toast (pan con tomate) on a serving platter

5 from 2 votes

Grilled Spanish Tomato Toast - Pan Con Tomate

An incredible and easy Spanish-inspired grilled tomato toast recipe that uses simple and fresh ingredients. A perfect appetizer during peak tomato season.

Prep Time15

Cook Time6

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: grilled, Spanish, vegetarian

Keyword: pan con tomate, spanish toast, spanish toast recipe, spanish toast with tomato

Servings: people

Author: Mary Cressler | Vindulge

Cost: $10

Equipment

1 box grater
1 Strainer
1 Silicone Brush
Long Tongs

Ingredients

4 slices thick cut rustic bread (Cut into ½ inch slices. See notes on bread choice.)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (+ more for drizzle)
2 heirloom tomatoes (Any large ripe tomato will work)
1 tsp kosher salt
3 peeled garlic cloves
Maldon salt (Or other finishing salt)

Instructions

Warm Grill: Prepare the grill for direct grilling using lump charcoal. Target the internal temperature of the grill between 375 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat both sides of the bread slices with olive oil.
Preparation: Place a box grater in a large bowl. Cut tomatoes in half and run the tomatoes along the large side until all you have left is skin. Discard the skin. In a second bowl add the strainer and then strain the excess liquid from the tomato. Don't press too hard. You just want to remove the watery liquid and leave just the pulp. Season with kosher salt. Set aside.
Grill: Place the bread slices on a clean grill grate over the direct heat. It's best to constantly flip the bread to promote even browning on all sides. Should take 4-6 minutes to fully toast each slice of bread.
Season: As soon as the bread is removed and while still hot, rub one side of the bread with the peeled garlic clove. It should melt onto the bread like butter, which is why you want to do this while the bread is hot.
Serve: Place a heaping spoonful of the tomato pulp onto the side of the bread you rubbed with garlic. Lightly drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then top with finishing salt, like Maldon. Serve immediately.

Notes

Bread - We use a loaf style bread like Sourdough or a French Batard. Any rustic loaf works well. Baguettes are an option although when grilled they can be very hard so we tend to opt for a loaf style bread that will grill well but not have too much crust making it hard to eat.

Tomatoes - This recipe is all about simple ingredients with big flavor. Ripe seasonal tomatoes are best like heirlooms, Beefsteak, or Hot House. The have the right ratio of water to pulp. Avoid Roma, Cherry or smaller more dense tomatoes.

Straining - We want to emphasize the importance of straining the tomato pulp from the water to avoid the topping from being too watered down creating a mushy bread flavor.

Nutrition