Pa amb Tomaquet

Food is central in Catalan life. Tapas bars and casual cafés serve pa amb tomáquet (bread with tomato) already assembled, but some restaurants merely deliver the components to the table: a piece of chewy bread grilled over a wood fire, a perfectly ripe tomato, fine salt, and local extra-virgin olive oil. Such a simple combination depends entirely on the quality of the ingredients - they have to be perfect. The instructions here are adapted from one of my favourite cookbooks,