Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, but rarely do I ever eat it in the actual morning. I wake up and make myself a smoothie, or if I'm especially lazy I'll just have a cup of drip until lunch time. The truth is, I'm not ready for a stomach bomb first thing in the morning, but by 11…bring it on!
The breakfast sandwich is the perfect 11 am (or elevensies, if you're a Hobbit) meal. Kind of lunch, kind of breakfast, definitely not brunch, it's a meal Chimera, a the best bits of everything, sandwiched between two pieces of toast. This month, I'm celebrating the 11 am eaters, the gooey egg lovers, the crunchy toast devourers. Breakfast sandwich lovers, raise your forks, our time has come!
One of my favorite trips was spending three weeks wandering around Spain with my sister, Amanda. We spent the bulk of our time in Barcelona, and needless to say, that meant we spent the bulk of our time elbow deep in sangria and patatas braves. One of the traditional tapas items I tried numerous times, always with an inconsistent result, was Pan con Tomate, or "Bread with tomato." It's title says everything, as it's typically stale or lightly toasted bread rubbed with a little garlic and then rubber with a halved tomato. The tomato pulp spreads onto the bread, lightly resuscitating it, and giving it a bright, delicious flavor. Sometimes the bread would be too stale, or the tomato wasn't at it's ripest peak. Other times it just felt under-salted. But when it was done well, it was lovely. Such a simple dish with such delicious flavors.
For a breakfast version I busted out my kitchen go to: I put an egg on it. I will put an egg on practically anything, and a fried egg with smoked paprika just pushes this open faced sandwich into a different realm. It's so tasty, this will soon become you're quickie sunday breakfast favorite, it certainly has become mine. Enjoy!
Pan con Tomate with a Fried Egg and Chives
For 2
Tomato spread:
1/2 lb fresh tomato, roughy chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
Pinch chili flake
2 slices sourdough, toasted
2 eggs, fried
1 tablespoon chives
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Combine all of the tomato spread ingredients into a food processor and puree together. Meanwhile, in a greased pan over medium heat, fry your eggs to your desired temperature. Spread the puree onto the toasted sourdough, top with the egg, and finish with chives and sprinkling of paprika. Enjoy!
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