Pan Tumaca

This Pan Tumaca is made with Roma tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, crusty bread and topped with jamón serrano.

This recipe came about when recipe creators in Spain did not know what to do with leftover crusty bread once it became hard. Baking was only done once a week so adding tomato on it would make the bread soft again.

This is one of the simplest and greatest tapas recipe created in Spain. It was one of my favorite dishes to eat for breakfast or a snack when I lived in Madrid. Many people top it off with a little jamón serrano as well and extra olive oil. You can use any bread you like, as long as it is crusty. Make sure the tomatoes are as ripe as they can be. This is such a simple recipe that the quality of the ingredients are super important.

There are two types of jamon. There is jamon serrano and jamon iberico. Jamon Iberico is much pricier than jamon serrano, and better quality. It has more fat than Jamon serrano. You can use either options!

If you love this recipe, feel free to try my Peruvian Ceviche and Camaron Aguachile.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Pan Tumaca con Jamón Serrano
• Food safety

Ingredients

You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:

• Roma Tomato
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Crusty Bread
• Jamon serrano
• Salt

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Start by washing the tomatoes and cutting them in half. Place the tomatoes on a cheese grater and grate them completely. Throw the skins away.

Add the good quality olive oil and salt in the tomato pulp and stir.

Drizzle olive oil on each piece of toast and toast the sliced bread. While the toast is still hot, rub each slice of bread with a garlic clove. Spoon the grated tomato pulp on each piece of toast and top with jamón serrano. Feel free to drizzle more olive oil if you like.

I have seen recipes that use a food processor instead of a cheese grater.

Substitutions

Tomatoes: I love using Roma tomatoes but any tomato will work for this, like beef steak, tomato on the vine, or a Better Boy tomato.

Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil for good quality Pan Tumaca.

Garlic: For best results, use fresh garlic.

Bread: I love using crusty bread like a baguette or nice sourdough bread. Italian and French bread works well too.

Variations

Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.

• Spicy - add chili pepper flakes on the pan tumaca if you wish.
• Feel free to add prosciutto instead.

Check out this Bruschetta Pomodoro.

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. I used this grater to grate the tomatoes.

Storage

This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Top tip

Make sure to use extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic for this quick recipe.

Print

Food safety

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.