Grilled Bread with Tomato and Cured Ham

Pa amb tomàquet is a Catalan institution. In a land where olive oil has always been plentiful and tomatoes easy to grow, this is the distinctly healthy answer to Northern Europe’s bread and butter.

The Catalans are proud of their cuisine and even such a simple combination is prepared with great love and care. I once witnessed an unsuspecting tourist being accosted by a fellow diner, when he began to slice his tomato instead of squeezing. After a meticulous demonstration the l