Instructions: Put peeled cloves of garlic and the ripe tomatoes into suitable sized bowls. Assemble the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil on the table and put the sea salt into a small dish. When ready to serve, cut the bread into thick slices and toast each side (alternatively the bread could be char-grilled on barbecue or a ribbed grill). Put the hot toasted bread into a bread basket.

The idea is for guests to help themselves. Simply take a slice of the toast, rub very lightly with a cut clove garlic (garlic is optional).

Halve the tomato, then rub the cut-side onto the bread, including the seeds and any fleshy tomato bits. Drizzle with the olive oil then sprinkle with a little sea salt.

Note. Thinly sliced Spanish cured ham is sometimes added to the tomato bread, but it is also good with grilled pancetta. Crusty Spanish or Italian bread rolls can also be used to make the Tomato Bread. To use the bread rolls, slice them into halves and toast on a ribbed grill pan or on a barbecue grill.

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