November 7

The toast that started this whole compilation of toast ‘recipes’ is the one that looks like, well, nothing, in the photographs. We were in Spain a little over two years ago and we had what I later learned was called Pa amb tomàquet for breakfast. It was so simple: a delicious, thick, piece of toast rubbed with tomato and topped with a bit of salt and some good quality olive oil. There’s also a version that slathers tomato puree onto the toast but this is the Catalan version. All you have to do is rub the halved tomato straight onto the bread and the bread soaks up all of the sweet tomato juices. Sprinkle with some coarse salt and good quality olive oil and you have a home run, guaranteed. There is no reason not to re-create it at home. You can also add a bit of garlic rubbed on the toast for an extra punch but it is not necessary. The only thing to keep in mind is that you should have a sturdy piece of bread so that you can rub the garlic and tomato ferociously and not have it fall apart. (I made some whole wheat no-knead bread in this case.)

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