It’s tomato season and at this time of year, tomato sandwiches are on regular rotation in this household.
Today I’m making two sandwiches: the classic North American tomato mayo sandwich and the classic Spanish pan con tomate. Both sandwiches make this the star of their dish:
For the North American version, I’m starting with a homemade loaf of Julia Child’s basic bread recipe, which Craig whipped up.
Slice the bread and tomato, slather on good quality mayonnaise (I prefer Hellman’s Olive Oil Mayonnaise) and get the tomatoes on there. Add basil, salt & pepper.
Perfection.
Now for the Spanish pan con tomate. It’s an equally simple sandwich to prepare. You need good rustic bread. I’m using Blackbird sourdough but a ciabatta would be great too. You need ripe tomatoes, garlic cloves, flaky salt, and olive oil.
Cut your garlic cloves in half—you need one half clove for every piece of toast that you’re serving.
Cut your tomatoes in half, horizontally. Set the garlic, salt, cut tomatoes out on a platter. People are going to help themselves and make their own pan con tomate.
Toast the bread. I prefer toasting my bread in a fry pan with a little bit of olive oil to give it crunch and keep it feeling moist, rather than a dried out toast from the toaster. You could also grill the bread on the BBQ.
Once the toasts are ready, they go on the platter and people build their own sandwich in these simple steps:
- Rub half a clove of garlic on a piece of toast.
- Rub the open side of the tomato on the toast, squeezing to get out the juices and tomato flesh.
Add salt and drizzle on good quality olive oil. And voila!
A simple, rustic but elegant version of a summertime tomato sandwich which is good for lunch or cocktail hour.
Trish Hennessy
A Year in Sandwiches 