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Spanish Breakfast – Tostada

When traveling to Spain, you will want to try one of the most typical breakfast foods, a Spanish Tostada made from the freshest, juiciest tomatoes.


Wandering my way through Spain, on my way to visit some friends, we stopped in Baeza. That very first morning, we went looking to try a typical Spanish breakfast at a nearby café. It seemed there were many cafés open, and quite a few people sitting around drinking coffee.

I really didn’t notice anyone eating. I’m not sure if this is a sign of the economic times, or if the Spanish just aren’t all that fond of morning meals. We sat down, ordered our coffees and a sweet pastry each to ponder the lack of breakfast food.

Spanish breakfast
Making the simple yet delectable breakfast of Spanish Tostada.

Then a local woman and her friend sat down, and, since she apparently was a regular, the waiter brought her a tostada and a small silver dish with a lid and a space for a spoon handle to hang out of, similar to a sugar dish found in many restaurants.

Spanish tostada: a grilled baguette, tomato sauce and olive oil.

I secretly watched her every move. She took the first half of her baguette and diligently poked it with her butter knife, making small ruts in the crusty bread. Then she dribbled olive oil over it, finishing it off with a few spoonfuls of a light pink substance that I thought was some type of jam.

Now remember, I never heard heard her order, so I had no idea at this point that the substance was tomato. We didn’t get to breakfast for the next few days because we were staying at our friends’ house and I wondered the whole time, what was the jam that was on the tostada.

Tostada - break up the bread so you can get tomato sauce in all the crannies.

As we took off for our road trip, I really paid attention and found out that it was tomato, which of course made perfect sense. I don’t think there are too many summertime meals that don’t include tomatoes in Spain.

Tostada needs olive oil.

Now, I had to order one, and wouldn’t you know it, it just kept eluding me. We would stay at hotels that didn’t serve it, or the most inviting café didn’t offer it. We had some great food, but I was determined to have my tostada. When I was finally able to order it, I was thrilled. It was delicious, and luckily I was able to find it at many places after the first few days of frustration.

After olive oil comes the tomato sauce.

Blend them up after removing the seeds and other hard parts, and season them to taste. Most people add a little salt, but feel free here to go with your own choice. If I’m having it, I actually prefer it for a simple lunch and like to put a few leaves of cilantro (coriander) on it. It’s such a nice cool treat. Here are the steps after making the tomato purée.

When I got home, I tried to replicate it. There really isn’t much to it. The baguette and olive oil are easy to find, and the tomato paste is really easy to blend up. Just find the ripest, reddest tomatoes available to you.

Spanish breakfast - enjoy.

Have you been to Spain to try the breakfast? Did you have a tostada? What did you think?

Author Bio: Corinne Vail is a travel photographer, food lover, and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 14 years. For many years she lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands teaching the children of the US. military. She’s visited over 90 countries, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.

Renne Simpson

Tuesday 3rd of May 2016

Mmm yummy and simple. I love bread...and the tomato puree sounds super simple. I like simple. I can work with simple!

Corinne Vail

Wednesday 4th of May 2016

Renne, Me too! I like being able to easily replicate a delicious reminder of my travels.

jan

Saturday 22nd of November 2014

We ate this in the village we house sat in near Granada. So simple yet so right. :)

Corinne Vail

Saturday 22nd of November 2014

Jan, I tried to have it every morning. I loved it.

Dani

Thursday 19th of December 2013

I love this :) I have become totally addicted to this breakfast in these last few months of living in Valencia, Spain!

jim

Thursday 19th of December 2013

Thanks for visiting our site! It's funny how we get used to and then miss the breakfast foods in different parts of the world. I often find myself wanting cucumbers and tomatoes for breakfast after being in Turkey for a few years.