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Notes and special things of the gatherings

Off the record.



At the sessions of the Pa i Tomàquet, we always have a few journalists, but we never intended for the gatherings to be media oriented. Therefore, when there is a need for confidentiality, we have created an adaptation of the well know English phrase "Off the record", in Catalan "Que ningú no se'n recordi , i menys els periodistes. "(Nobody will remember, much less the journalists).
All attendants know that when this sign is shown , nobody will divulge nor publish whatever is said at that moment. This very same sign, framed into a design box, will be the gift that every Guest of Honour will take home as souvenir.

Significant information



The Guest of Honour of the session number 25 was Mr. Pasqual Maragall.
In the 50th. session was Mr. Joan Clos.
In the 75fh. session was the Hon. Artur Mas.
In the session number 100, the Rt.Hon. Jordi Pujol.
And in the 150th. session Mr. Jordi Hereu.
The person 1000 -in total- that attended our gatherings was Mr. Jordi Porta, President of Omnium Cultural.
And from the audience -not including Guest of Honour- the guest number 1000 was Mrs. Mª Àngels Vallvé, President of the Group GVC Gaesco.

The making of the pa amb tomàquet



The bread:
It's to be made from wheat flour, cooked in a firewood oven, and not excessively toasted. It's ideal shape is round and of half a kilo, with slices of approximately 18 by 10 cm. The perfect width is 1,3 cm. The crumb has to have small holes but continuous, Too big a hole causes that the surrounding crumbs are of great textual quality, but this reduces the number of bites needed to eat it.
Ideally we must consume it five or six hours after getting it out from the oven. We buy it at the Fleca Baluard.- c/ Baluard, 38 Telf. 93 2211208 or sometimes in Turris, c/ Aribau, 158 Telf. 93 2179606. Made in a wood oven.

The Tomato:
They have to be very red and ripe, healthy looking and with compact pulp. We will reject the excessively ripe or the ones that, on the contrary, had green or yellow seeds.
The Olive Oil:
It has to have a very low degree of acidity (limit maximum 0,8 degrees), to achieve the optimum communion with the tomato spread over slice. We use Oliva Virgen Extra of first pressing in cold, with olives Arbosana de La Boella - La Canonja - Reus.

The Salt:
We are using fine table salt, but we can also use the grained salt or sal gorda, ideal for the ones who like to find small grains of salt when eating pa amb tomàquet.

Production:
First we slice the bread with a sawing knife, trying to make regular slices. Also we can ask the bakery to machine-cut it for us. We then cut the tomatoes with a small knife checking if they are adequate to the task.
We hold a half tomato between the thumb and index fingers and helping us with the middle finger, we spread the bread slice in a rotating manner until the whole surface is reached.
Next, we will take another piece of tomato and we will insist to spread generously around the perimeter of the slice. This last operation is mainly addressed to the crust of the bread, although this crust should never be extended directly by the side.
The bread should be spread in both side of the slice. About this, Leopoldo Pomés in his book "Pa amb Tomàquet. Teoria i pràctica" says:
" When eating the slice, the beginning of the bite give us an intense pleasure as well as a pleasant texture..."
First we put the salt and then the oil. The quantity of salt is after everyone's taste. We normally put little. Is better to scatter it around with your fingers instead of using a saltcellar.
For the seasoning, we take the oilcan, which must be positioned about 10 cm. from the bread, the trickle must be slow with continuous pace, not in bursts. Once we have the front plane covered, turn the slice around to repeat the same operation on both sides with equal pace and generosity.. And fast to the table.
Is advisable to eat it using knife and fork rather then the bare hands, if we want to avoid getting our fingers very grease.

Normally we served together with:
HAM: Ibérico of acorn and usually machine cut.
COLD CUTS: Longaniza of Vic (Sendra). Chorizo and Lomo Ibérico.
ANCHOVY: From La Escala (Girona).
CHEESE: Manchego.
OMELETTE: Made with two eggs, from chickens of Mrs. Mercè of Guils (Cerdanya).
SOBRASADA: From Mallorca. Served cold and also hot.
WINE: Château Hélène. Cuvée Hélène de Troie. Corbieres. Francia.
CAVA: Cavas Gramona. Imperial Gran Reserva. Great Gold Medal in the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2008
AGUA: Vilajuiga-natural sparkling and Font Vella.