Montadito | A Little Spanish Sandwich |

Jamon Y Tomate Montaditos

A few years ago, I had the need to do business in Barcelona Spain.  I was very lucky to do so, it is an absolutely amazing place.  For lunch one day I found myself in a tiny little restaurant on Montjuic overlooking the entire city.   My Spanish is very poor Mexican American, so I was linguistically useless in the king’s tongue. Somehow using a variety of hand gestures and luck I was able to order  Montadito, or tapas sandwich.  It was so simple, so amazing.  When I returned home I set out to recreate them.  It took some tries.  We eat these tasty little gems quite frequently, they are so easy and unexpectedly amazing.

It is about the bread 

The key to Montadito is the bread or pan.  The ideal substitute for a true Spanish loaf which is the smallest baguette or Junquillo I have ever seen is a very fresh baguette.  Rustic is best, but in a pinch, I’ve used grocery baguettes.  Trust me it’s the bread.

Print Recipe

Montadito

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Rick Britt – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 Minutes – Cooking Time: 10 minutes

These sandwiches are amazingly versatile, and as I learned of my time in Barcelona, pretty much come with whatever is fresh. This is the recipe I created after they found me in Spain.

Ingredients

• 1 Baguette
• 500 gms Tomatoes (Ideally Large red heirloom)
• 200 gms Prosciutto (Thinly Sliced)
• 200 gms Cheese (A semi-dry cheese like manchego or Iberico thinly sliced works well)
• 1 Tbs Olive oil ( Good Quality)

Instructions

1

Slice the baguette lengthwise and lay it open. Slice the tomatoes in half, and over a bowl using your hands or a lemon juicer “juice” each half, you are looking for just the liquid but if a bit of pulp gets in there it’s not a problem. Add one good glug of olive oil to the tomato juice. And a grind or two of sea salt. Whisk lightly with a fork.

2

Using a spoon, dress both sides of the bread with the juice in a thin layer but covering most of the surface. You don’t want so much the bread is mushy, just a flavorful coating. Lay a single layer of prosciutto on the bread and the single layer of cheese. Grind a small amount of sea salt over the cheese to taste.

3

Place the top on the sandwich and slice into two-bite tapas-sized sandwiches.

Notes

Have fun and mix up the ingredients

Finish with Fresh

Serve with a simple arugula salad dressed with olive oil and sea salt.

Two Bites More on Montaditos

These sandwiches are amazingly versatile, and as I learned of my time in Barcelona, they are made seemingly on a whim with whatever is fresh.  There are two things they all have in common, great bread and very scant toppings.  They are not subs or hoagies, this is a light and flavorful tapas style two-bite sandwich.  Sometimes they are lightly baked or warmed as well.  You will find pesto a common ingredient.  Experiment, and let us know what magic you create!