Tomato season starts here with Andrew Zimmern’s pan con tomate recipe

Tomatoes are beginning to trickle into Atlanta farmers’ markets and with them comes the start of the season we anticipate all year.

This incredibly easy recipe for pan con tomate from Andrew Zimmern will be handy from now straight through to the height of summer, so make sure to save it. Whether you’re making an easy appetizer or a quick snack, this is one of the best ways to let a few good ingredients do the heavy lifting.

In “The Blue Food Cookbook” by Andrew Zimmern and Barton Seaver (Harvest, $25), the authors keep their recipe for pan con tomate — Spanish for bread with tomato — straightforward. Warm, toasted bread is rubbed with garlic, then topped with grated tomatoes mixed with sherry vinegar. It’s finished with herbs and boquerones, which are anchovies marinated in vinegar instead of oil.

“Of all the glorious tapas gifted to the world by Spain, one of the simplest is also one of the very best,” Zimmern writes.

That simplicity is what makes this dish work, especially when tomatoes are in season.

What to look for in a great tomato

Not all tomatoes are worth building a dish around. When they’re good, you’ll immediately know it.

• Look for tomatoes that feel heavy for their size. That weight usually means they’re full of juice and flavor.
• Give them a gentle squeeze. They should have a little give, but not feel soft or mushy.
• Smell the stem end. A ripe tomato should smell fragrant and a little sweet. If it doesn’t smell like anything, it won’t taste like much either.
• Skip perfectly uniform tomatoes. The best ones often look a little irregular, with deeper color and slight imperfections.
• Early in the season, smaller varieties like cherry or grape tomatoes are often more flavorful than large ones.

Once you bring them home, don’t put them in the fridge. Cold temperatures dull their flavor. Keep them on the counter and use them within a few days.

Tips for making pan con tomate at home

Use the best tomatoes you can find. Toast the bread until crisp on the outside but still slightly soft inside so it can absorb the tomato mixture without falling apart.

Boquerones are milder and less salty than the anchovies packed in oil. If you can’t find them, use regular anchovies in a smaller amount, since they are saltier.

Pan con tomate recipe (bread with tomato and anchovies)

“Baguette is toasted and, while still warm from the oven, scraped with raw garlic to infuse just a hint of pungent spice. Grated tomatoes are punched up with sherry vinegar and then topped with herbs and vinegar-marinated anchovies, known as boquerones. It’s elegant yet rustic and a perfect way to start the meal.” — Andrew Zimmern

Ingredients

• 1 baguette, sliced 1/2 inch thick, brushed with extra-virgin olive oil, and toasted
• 2 garlic cloves, cut in half lengthwise
• 4 plum tomatoes, grated using the largest hole of a box grater
• Flaky salt, such as Maldon
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 7 ounces boquerones
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves, torn
• 1/4 cup mint leaves, torn
• 1 shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. While the bread is still warm, rub each slice with garlic.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the grated tomatoes with a pinch of salt and the vinegar.
3. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the garlic-rubbed toasts.
4. Lay the boquerones over the tomatoes.
5. In a small bowl, mix the parsley, mint, and shallot and arrange over the top.
6. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.