it is garlic week at summer fest...so what is pan amb tomaquet?

so...garlic week at summer fest...hmm! this one is a bit more difficult for me than the other weeks. tomato week? focus on tomatoes...easy. corn week? lots of main dishes featuring corn. but how do you focus on an ingredient you use all the time? i add garlic to everything. garlic, onions and extra virgin olive oil make an appearance almost daily.

i am sure there will be many recipes for garlic soup, garlic chicken, roasted garlic etc. in the postings. i decided to take a bit of liberty with the theme...and promote garlic as an essential ingredient for today's recipes. actually, "recipe" is a bit of a stretch...technique is more accurate. so...how about pa amb tomaquet? (and what is it anyway?)

pa amb tomaquet is one of the dishes from gott's restaurant that i mentioned a few posts ago. as chef rick robinson says:
"less a recipe than a technique, pa amb tomaquet is a traditional catalan tapa. grilled bread is rubbed with a cut garlic clove, then a ripe tomato half is vigorously rubbed against the bread, almost like a hard cheese on a cheese grater. top it off with excellent olive oil and good sea salt for a perfect starter!"
chef gott recommends this as an appetizer...honestly, i can make it the meal...sometimes i grate some parmigiano-reggiano on top...perfect with a glass or two of wine. i know this sounds really simple...you may be asking "what's the big deal?" let me respond by saying "big deal...a really big deal". however, as with every dish i talk about, the quality of the ingredients makes all the difference & takes something simple and pushes it over the top. i use amazing bread from model bakery here in napa. the olive oil is my favorite...extra virgin, from hudson ranch in the carneros region. the tomatoes are heirloom, local and organic. the salt is a grey finishing salt. a key ingredient is the fresh local & organic garlic rubbed on the grilled bread. garlic rubbed on grilled or toasted bread is one of my most favorite things.
easy garlic bread in my home is simply grilled bread (i use my panini press when it is off season for the outdoor grill)...rubbed with a garlic clove and drizzled with the evoo...and, of course, sprinkled with sea salt. sometimes i top with chopped italian parsley and freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano.
another way to use the bread, tomato, garlic, salt combo is making a quick topping of chopped tomato, chopped garlic, chopped italian parsley and chopped basil tossed with some of the olive oil & sea salt and then mounded over the garlic bread. for a jazzed up version of this, try heirloom tomato tapenade with bruschetta with olives, red bell pepper, capers, red pepper flakes and sherry vinegar added to the mix.
so...when it is garlic week i stick with garlic bread and variations of that theme. what are your favorite garlic recipes? and, if you do not like garlic (shudder!)...please tell me why?


want to win a free cookbook? remember when i told you that i had a recipe published in a new cookbook thinkfood, recipes for brain fitness? i was thrilled to receive a couple of copies in the mail. i am featured on page 47!! i have decided to give away a copy...my first ever contest. all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on one of my september 2010 blog posts. tell me in the comments that you would like to be entered in the drawing. i will announce the winner during the first week of october...so be sure to check us out to see if you win.

now it is your turn to participate in summer fest. simply leave your garlic tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below, and then go visit the collaborators listed on the blog away to garden and do the same.

the cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. yes, copy and paste them everywhere! that way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

always...much thanks to margaret roach and deb puchalla for coordinating summer fest 2010. as always...its been a blast...

best and happy cooking!
diane

diane padoven
founder/president
napa farmhouse 1885™ "live a green life of style™ "

do you like us? really like us? then please join our facebook fan page & follow me on twitter

to receive special offers only available to our preferred customers, please sign up for the mailing list on the right hand side of this post...