Desayuno Del Jaen

My sister Tiffany lives in Spain with her husband, Luis. They live in Sevilla, but Luis grew up in a small town in the South of Spain called Jaen. In every cafe in Jaen, you will find people eating the same thing for breakfast every single day. Toasted bread rubbed with fresh garlic, drizzled with olive oil and topped with a yummy grated fresh tomato sauce. If you have time you can add cured meats or fish. Its so easy to make the fresh tomato sauce. All you do is grate the tomato in a cheese grater. All of the good stuff goes into the grater and you are left with just the peel in your hand, which you can toss out.

This last Christmas, when Tiffany and Luis came to visit, they gave me a wonderful present that I will cherish for the rest of my life. A hand written cook book, with photos of them and their friends preparing and eating all of the food that they eat in Spain all the time. Any time I am missing my sister and her wonderful Spanish husband, Luis...I can get out my cookbook they made me and find a recipe that reminds me of them and reminds me of my past visits to Spain when Ive visited them. Tiffany and Luis love to cook and have a huge appreciation for fresh food. Luckily living in Spain, they pretty much only eat fresh food.

I love this recipe because its so simple and easy and so satisfying. It might be strange to eat this for breakfast here in the US, but it is so common to eat this in the South of Spain. Ive made it a couple times before but this time, I am using the No Knead Bread that I baked yesterday. Its absolutely delicious and such a nice change from our everyday breakfasts we usually have. Plus, it takes Carl and I back to a time when we were dating and in Spain for Tiffany and Luis' wedding. What a great time that was for everyone that went.

Desayuno del Jaen

Toast: Baguettes or other rustic bread, toasted
2 large tomatoes, grated to make a fresh tomato sauce
extra virgin olive oil
salt, or salted cod, or jamon serrano, or prosciutto
garlic clove, peeled (only on weekends!)

While bread is toasting, grate tomato and serve in a small bowl.

On toasted hot bread, first rub it with garlic clove, then drizzle with plenty of olive oil. Next spoon on fresh tomato sauce and top with little bits of salted cod or slices or prosciutto or jamon. If you don't have meat, just add a bit of salt and pepper.

Usually served with cafe con leche and fresh squeezed orange juice.