PA AMB TOMÀQUET
Coming to Barcelona? Be prepared to eat a lot of it!
You’ll get served pa amb tomàquet so often you might think someone is playing a joke on you. It’s eaten for breakfast, served as an appetizer at lunch or dinner, and plated up in Catalan homes throughout the country. In fact, it’s one of the most typical foods!
If you ask any Barcelona local to name the best Catalan invention of all time, nine out of ten will probably reply "el pa amb tomàquet!" (bread rubbed with tomato). More than a simple recipe, culinary technique or custom, the gesture of rubbing tomato on a piece of bread is a sign of Catalan identity.
The origins of this recipe can be traced back to bread with oil, the union of two key ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine inherited from its Greek legacy. However, tomatoes didn't reach the kitchens on the Iberian Peninsula until the 18th century. Indeed, the first written record of this recipe dates from 1884, when two-day-old stale bread was spread with tomato to soften it and then drizzled generously with olive oil. Pa amb tomàquet was part of everyday farmhouse cooking at a time when people had to find a thousand and one uses for left-overs and avoid throwing anything away. Now you know that pa amb tomàquet isn't just a mere anecdote, but a staple you'll find in any bar and restaurant in Catalonia.
More info in Wikipedia