Spanish Ham with Crusty Plum Tomato Bread (New Year's Eve)

Spanish ham with crusty plum tomato bread is a slow-roasted take on the classic Catalan tapa pan con tomate, using oven-concentrated tomatoes in place of the traditional grated raw version. A dozen Roma tomatoes halved and roasted low and slow with garlic oil, dried oregano, and salt collapse into something jammy, sweet, and deeply concentrated. Two full hours in the oven is where the magic lives: long enough to drive off water and intensify the sugars without caramelizing them into candy.

The garlic oil does double duty. It seasons the tomatoes during roasting and brushes onto baguette slices that crisp briefly just before serving. The toasted bread stays chewy-edged and crisp on the outside, the right texture to hold up under spread tomato and a drape of thin, salty Serrano ham.

Guests build their own bites at the platter: a swipe of tomato, a fold of jamón, a crack of black pepper. It’s tapas-bar food with the flavor dialed up.

Chef Tips

• Roma (plum) tomatoes are the right choice here. They have less water and more flesh than slicers, so the long oven time really pays off. Hothouse tomatoes turn watery under the same treatment.
• Don’t skip the rest between roast and chop. Warm tomatoes shred messily; a five-minute cool-down lets them chop cleanly while still staying loose enough to spread.
• Toast the baguette right before guests arrive. Toast made too early goes chewy-stale and loses its crunch.

Variations

• Use authentic Jamón ibérico instead of Serrano for a richer, deeper flavor (and a real splurge).
• Rub each toasted baguette slice with a cut garlic clove for a sharper garlic hit than the oil alone.
• Top each finished bite with a small sliver of aged manchego for salty, nutty contrast.