Pan Con Tomate Meets Life-Changing Manchego

Words: Jenn Rice | @jennricewrites
Photos & Recipe: Stacey Sprenz | @ssprenzphoto
Editor: Michelle Webb | @cheeseshopnc

Manchego 1605 Meets Pan Con Tomate. Photos and recipe by Stacey Sprenz.

In Tuscany, Tomato Girl Summer is in full force. My mornings have been spent trellising and tending to pomodori in the garden. Eating tomatoes is summer’s most prized ritual in my opinion and definitely a rite of passage from where I was raised. Fresh off the vine with a little salt, with cicadas buzzing in the background because it’s so hot… there’s nothing quite like it.

While tomatoes are grown all over the world, it’s hard to find that oh-so-perfect squishy, sugary white bread for a sensual tomato sandwich outside of the States. (I’ve tried to replicate it with fancy bread, and it just isn’t the same). What I do know is that everyone has a version of the tomato sandwich, and when in Spain, pan con tomate is just this.

In Catalonia, it’s called pa amb tomàquet, but everywhere else around Spain, it’s simply pan con tomate (PCT). It’s Spain’s most humble tapa (snack) where juicy tomatoes and fresh garlic are rubbed onto crusty, toasted bread, with a glug of extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. Boom, that’s it. Once you’ve had a perfect PCT, you’ll understand why it’s so loved. And just like our beloved tomato sando, it’s so simple to make.

For July, Michelle, Stacey, and I dreamed up your newest summer muse: pan con tomate (but add the best Manchego in the world… plus juicy peaches). In Stacey’s recipe testing, ciabatta or a baguette prove to be the bread stars because they both have perfect air pockets, which are crucial to holding the goods. Back to our grillin’ and chillin’ vibe, this dish is ideal for days when it’s just too hot to cook inside as you can pop the bread on the grill and call it a day.

Back to the cheese. Whatever you do, don’t buy the pre-cut wedged slices of Manchego at Harris Teeter for this, we beg you! I once hopped in a car with a Spaniard to drive out to Finca Fuentillezjos in La Mancha to see the sheep and taste some of the best cheese in the world. It was heavenly — and I’ve since not been able to even glance at a so-called manchego in a grocery store. 

About Manchego 1605

For our recipe, naturally, cheese needed to make an appearance, and Stevie got his hands on Manchego 1605 by Queseria 1605 at Finca Solera de la Solana. Head cheesemaker Maria José Gonzalez — who studied wine but fell head over heels for cheese — produces this dreamy farmstead PDO Manchego, complete with a natural rind (unlike all grocery store knockoffs) that you can and should eat. 

Fun fact: In the 16th century, Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, who lived in the La Mancha region, regularly noshed on manchego of this kind and mentions it in Don Quijote de la Mancha. This Manchego is named after the year Don Quixote was written.

Stacey created a less-messy pan con tomate base recipe with grating tomatoes vs. rubbing them onto the bread. If using a Beefsteak and it’s too juicy, she notes to drain them and save the liquid for a savory tomato water martini. Jose Gourmet Portuguese Red Pepper Jam adds a bolt of flavor plus a little sweetness when mixed with the tomatoes. “It’s vegetable fruitiness,” Stacey says.

The Manchego 1605 turns it into the most perfect savory snack. Think of a bite of perfectly textured cheese that gives off hints of toasted almonds, green olives, and hay (in a good way). As for the peach addition, it just makes sense. What goes together grows together, and ’tis the season for tomatoes and stone fruits. Our version of pan con tomate is all things fruity, tangy, chewy, crunchy, a little sweet, and a lot of savory in one perfect bite. If you’re a vampire like myself, who could eat garlic in raw form like a chip, go back to Spanish tradition and add a little garlic to the recipe. It won’t disappoint. 

Where to eat it: On the beach after a salty sea swim; aperitivo hour; the best breakfast snack because it covers all the food groups; late night; or outside on a sun-drenched porch. There’s no wrong place or time for this glorious bite.

What to sip with it: Paula de Pano, founder and owner of Rocks + Acid, and our right-hand woman in wine, recommends: Ameztoi, Rubentis Txakolina, from Spain’s Basque Country. “It’s classic and delicious,” she says, adding it pairs so well because of its herbal tomato leaf, green watermelon, and salty ocean breeze notes. Try Pedralonga Albarino, a wine we’ve not seen stateside in a long while, made on the other end of Spain in Rias Baixas. This Albarino has hints of lemon oil and white stone fruit. Paula says, “the opposite of the Ameztoi, this is more textured and weighty on the palate.” Crisp , elegant, minerally & dry. Meet ya at the beach, anyone?!

Grab a PCT Recipe Kit

The perfect sheep's milk manchego, Portuguese red pepper jam, handmade sourdough baguette, local peaches and tomatoes, and more.

$38 for the kit, plus add-ons including Paula’s wine picks, Pre-order/Pick-up Th, July 25- Sat, 27 at The Cheese Shop.

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Recipe

Manchego 1605 Meets Pan Con Tomate
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients

1/2 loaf French baguette or Italian Ciabatta
1 large ripe tomato
2 T Jose Gourmet Portuguese Red Pepper Jam
8 slices Manchego 1605
8 slices of fresh peach
1/4 t salt
Olive oil
Finishing salt (e.g., Maldon)

Instructions

Toast the bread: Cut the half loaf in half lengthwise then cut each half into four equal parts. Brush with olive oil and place olive oil coated side down in a cast iron skilled or grill pan. Toast the bread until golden brown. Move to plate.

Prep the tomato: Using a box grater, grate the tomato (starting from the bottom of the tomato) into a shallow bowl. If the tomato contains too much liquid, strain off a bit of the liquid before proceeding. Add 2 T of the Jose Gourmet Portuguese Red Pepper Jam and 1/4 tsp of salt to the tomato and mix to combine.

Assemble the pan con tomate: Spoon the tomato mixture onto the bread. Place a piece of the Manchego on top of the tomato mixture. Then place a slice of peach on top of the cheese. Drizzle each piece with olive oil and a sprinkle of finishing salt. Serve immediately.