CASTILLA-LA MANCHA & TOMATO TOAST

I recently have discovered a breakfast that has changed my life and although it took twenty five years to find it since its encounter my life has been anything but just “plain toast.” I’ve come to Spain as an assistant teacher in a bilingual program in Villanueva de los Infantes which is in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha. For those who don’t have the geographical map of Spain under their control this tiny town is basically right smack in the center of the country and can only be referenced to me to be like Nebraska in the United States. The land here at first glance is absolutely as plain, boring and manicured as any other agricultural area, and for those who don’t stop to smell the proverbial roses or to appreciate its beauty it can look quite ugly, repugnant, unsightly, flavorless and simple. But beneath the raked fields of monotonous corduroy and the endless rows of olive and wine vineyards lays an untold and complex beatitude that accompanies the simplicity of this flat Mediterranean land

scape that can only be understood with time and open senses. This is perhaps why this wonderfully modest breakfast has become not only an enjoyment in my day but is also, to me, a representation of this tasteful region.

I’m not going to sugar coat the ingredients because they are what they are and I’m not going to detour away from this: Baguette bread toasted, with grinded up tomato spread on top. Grinded tomato and bread for breakfast perhaps to some isn’t exactly the most appetizing item on the menu nor is it perhaps the most alluring when compared to eggs, onion and potatoes with a slice of ham on the side but it’s not about what you see or what it looks like, it’s how you view it and what you do with it to make something norm

al it into a delightful experience.

The grinded up tomato and toast comes with: a fork, a napkin olive oil and salt. The process has been slow and tedious but I think I now know what these “Manchegos” (people from Castilla La Mancha) have been experiencing for generations upon generations. The fork is the key for opening the door to deliciousness. Like the farmer uses a plow to scrape the land so must the fork be used in a similar way to allow the seeds to penetrate the surface, but in this case the seed is salt. A slow light sprinkle of salt over the bread and tomato ensures a healthy flavor. With a monsoon like downpour of fresh olive oil the salt accompanies the flow into the punctured exterior and is soaked up by the porous earth below. The end result is far from unappealing to the taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell and you’ll know as the aroma that accompanies the rising steam of the toast in the morning air and the b

rilliant light reflects upon the olive oil covering the reddish level landscape and leaves your fingers smooth and soft with its remnants while the crunching, crackling, snapping and rolling ruffle of the bread vibrates through your ears delivering to your mouth an honest natural flavor leaving you crying out for more and more, that what you’ve experienced is not just grinded up tomato and bread, it’s “Una tostada con tomate", and it’s something special.

Connor Stava

Language Assistant

"Francisco de Quevedo" High School

MY RECIPE FOR: 

TOAST AND TOMATO (TOSTADA CON TOMATE)

Ingredients needed: 

1. Bread

2. 1 Tomato

3. Olive oil

4. Salt

Utensils needed:

1. Toaster

2. Knife

3. Fork

4. Plate

Instructions: 

Step 1: Cut bread in half and place into toaster

Step 2: While bread is in toaster slice the tomato thinly

Step 3: Take Toast out of toaster

Step 4: Place tomato onto warm toast

Step 5: Poke holes into the toast and tomatoes with fork

Step 6: Spread olive oil over toast graciously

Step 7: (optional) Spread olive oil around with knife

Step 8: Lightly salt the bread and tomato and if you like, put a little on the plate 

Step 9: Enjoy!!