I’m calling this grilled bread with tomatoes because it’s a loose interpretation of the classic pan con tomate from Spain. This is delicious. It’s for people who like things like bacon almost too hot to eat, fried bread, salt, and ripe tomatoes. You can make it as a very quick to eat snack while grilling or over a campfire. You can turn it into a meal with a fried egg or some anchovies.
This can be done on any grill or live fire but I’m partial to wood that adds a nice smokiness to the flavor profile—oak, maple, or applewood would be my top choices.
Once you have your heat, this whole recipe can be done in 5-10 minutes. It takes five simple ingredients: bread, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and flakey sea salt. And you'd be hard pressed to find something more delicious for the level of effort.
Cut your bread reasonably thick, I aim for 1/2" - 1". Drizzle each piece with a little olive oil—1 Tsp to 1Tbsp depending on preference and how much you want to “fry” each piece of bread over the fire Prep tomato and garlic. Rough chop 1 good sized tomato for every 3-4 pieces of bread you want to serve. Mince or squeeze 1 clove of garlic for every 1-2 tomatoes. You can throw the bread directly over the flame or you can put it in a Field Skillet or a Griddle if you’re worried about flare ups. Medium heat gives you some time and makes things less of a fire drill. In a Field Skillet, add ~1/4 cup of olive oil for every tomato. Add the chopped tomatoes. Add the garlic. Add some flakey salt liberally. Let it stew down so the tomatoes can spread easily on the bread. This will happen in 5-10 min over medium heat. If you need to buy yourself some time, the heat retention of the cast iron will keep everything hot while you tend to other things. People say tomatoes aren’t great for your seasoning, but if you use a lot of olive oil this will make your cast iron pan look great Take a spoon and smear the tomato and garlic on the toast—thick or thin to your preference. Very thin is more like classic pan con tomate. Take a bite: salt, fat, acid—it’s all there.
