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    Here's The Most Delicious Thing You Can Do To A Loaf Of Bread

    Pan con tomate > all other bread.

    If you've ever traveled to Spain or eaten at a Spanish restaurant, you've probably come across pan con tomate, a simple appetizer of grilled bread that's rubbed with garlic and tomatoes.

    A plate of tomato bread on a counter at a restaurant in Barcleona.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    It's delicious, obviously.

    I lived in Barcelona for several months, and tomato bread (or pa amb tomàquet as it's called in Catalan) was a staple of my diet. I ate it pretty much every single day.

    Plates of Spanish tomato bread, jamon iberico, and grilled squid.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    But back in the U.S., you don't always see it everywhere.

    Then I realized just how easy it is to prepare delicious pan con tomate at home, and I haven't stopped making it since. Interested in trying it for yourself? Here's how!

    You only need a few basic ingredients: crusty bread, ripe tomatoes, garlic, salt, and extra virgin olive oil. I also sometimes add sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar for a little extra tanginess, even though it might not be traditional.

    Ingredients for Spanish tomato bread on a countertop.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    First, cut the bread into slices (about one or two inches thick). Toast the bread in the oven, on the stove-top or in a toaster oven.

    Slices of toasted bread on a baking sheet.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    Easy enough, right??

    Now it's time to make the tomato sauce. Using a grater (I've found using a box grater is easiest but not necessary), grate the tomatoes.

    Me holding a halved tomato to a box grater.
    A bowl of fresh tomato sauce.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    Discard the skin. Try to use the highest quality, ripest tomatoes you can get your hands on. It really does make a difference.

    Then take a few cloves of garlic and grate it into the tomato sauce. Using a microplane makes this step a breeze.

    A clove of garlic being grated on a microplane into a bowl of tomato sauce.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    Use your judgment here and taste the tomato sauce as you go to assess whether or not you need more garlic.

    Mix the garlic into the tomato sauce and season it with sherry or red wine vinegar, a healthy dose of extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt.

    Drizzling olive oil into the garlicky tomato sauce.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    Now that you have your toasted bread and your tomato sauce, it's time to assemble.

    A bowl of tomato sauce and a plate of sliced, toasted bread.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    Working one piece of bread at a time, take a scoop of the the tomatoes and schmear it on the bread. You want each slice of bread to be topped with a thin, juicy layer of the garlicky sauce.

    Sliced, toasted bread rubbed with tomato sauce and topped with olive oil and salt.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    Garnish the pan con tomate with a drizzle of good olive oil and finishing salt.

    That's all there is to it! I love serving pan con tomate as an app with manchego cheese and jamon serano on top. Or I make it with whatever tapas-style dinner I'm cooking like shrimp in garlic sauce, shishito peppers, or grilled mushrooms.

    A plate of tomato bread, a bowl of shrimp in garlic sauce, and a third bowl of shishito peppers.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    Oh, this stuff also takes your average sandwich to the next level. Just spread some of the tomato sauce on a baguette with your fave deli meat and cheese.

    You might not be able to travel to Spain right now, but you can get a little taste of Barcelona in your own kitchen. If you decide to make pan con tomate, tell me how it turned out in the comments below!

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