Pa Amb Tomaquet (Bread with Tomato)

Pan with tomate is about as simple as tapas get. It just contains five ingredients (bread, tomato, olive oil, garlic, and salt) and requires almost no actual cooking, yet it's precisely because of its simplicity and restraint that it's such a beautiful end-of-summer dish. This is something you'd serve as an appetizer at a gathering or with a substantial salad for a light meal. It only takes a few minutes and accentuates the quality of your ingredients.

Pan avec tomate is originally Catalan, not Spanish, and is known as pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato). Catalonia, located in the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula, is also known for producing cava and paella. As with a fantastic Caprese salad, the only way to sabotage pan con tomate is to use inferior components (the best tomatoes, olive oil, and bread) or to overthink it. This is one of the few instances where being sluggish is advantageous. The bread is often sliced thin from a long, rustic loaf. If you're providing pan con tomate as a complimentary bar food, this works perfectly. However, for a more substantial component of a meal, they like to use heavier bread on which to pile the tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 large, ripe beefsteak tomatoes, Kosher salt, 1 loaf ciabatta, split in half horizontally lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch slices, Extra-virgin olive oil,divided, 2 medium cloves garlic, split in half, Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or fleur de sel

Instructions

• Split tomatoes in half horizontally. Place a box grater into a large bowl. Rub cut faces of tomatoes over the large holes of a box grater, using the flattened palm of your hand to move the tomatoes back and forth. The flesh should be grated off, while the skin remains intact in your hand. Discard skin and season tomato pulp with kosher salt to taste.
  
• Adjust oven rack to 4 inches below broiler and preheat broiler to high. Place bread, cut side up, on a cutting board and brush with some of the olive oil. Season with kosher salt. Place bread, oiled side up, on a rack set in a tray or directly on the broiler rack and broil until crisp and starting to char around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove bread from oven and rub with the split garlic cloves.
  
• Spoon tomato mixture over bread. Drizzle with remaining extra-virgin olive oil and season with flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.