Crunchy Spanish tosta matrimonio or pickled anchovies and salted anchovies all on a slice of pan con tomate or tomato bread… The perfect flavor marriage!
Have you ever heard of tosta matrimonio before?
No worries, me neither.
It literally means wedding toast, and yes it is quite funny but it makes sense.
But don’t let the name fool you: this is not a canapé for wedding parties though. The wedding we are talking about here is the combination between the lemony anchovies in vinegar (boquerones en vinagre) and the umami flavored canned brown anchovies.
Isn’t that a cute combo!
Easy Tosta Matrimonio (Spanish Anchovy Toast)
I am sure that you are all familiar with both of those types of anchovies.
But have you ever tasted them together as well?
According to the Spanish people, the combination between the 2 anchovies is the perfect marriage and that’s how this delicate got his name from.
I first heard of this when we were roaming the streets of Madrid looking for the best food. We had meeting with foodie friends from all over the world, that’s what brought us there.
As we were walking towards a restaurant for dinner one evening my Spanish friend suddenly started talking about this little place where this tosta matrimonio is one of the specials.
Anchovies
And because it was on our way to the restaurant where we were supposed to have dinner, we decided to stop there for a quick bite. However unfortunately the place was closed.
Nevertheless I copy pasted the idea into the back of my mind for later.
The vinegar and the strong salty flavor go very well together.
Make sure that you buy good quality anchovies for the best flavor clash. I served mine on some classic Spanish tomato bread or pan con tomate.
Serve the anchovy toast with a chilled beer as an appetizer.
Enjoy!
Easy Spanish Tosta Matrimonio Recipe
Crunchy Spanish tosta matrimonio or pickled anchovies and canned anchovies on a slice of pan con tomate, the perfect wedding!
- 1 small ciabatta or French bread
- 6 pickled anchovy fillets
- 6 canned anchovy fillets in oil
- 1 ripe fresh tomato
- 1 small garlic clove peeled
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- pepper
Slice the bread in half and grill one piece until crispy. Then let it cool down and then place it on a clean chopping board. Rub the bread lightly with the garlic clove. Don’t exaggerate or the bread will be too strong.
- Slice the tomato in half and rub the tomato onto the bread as well, pressing some of its juice and seeds onto the bread. This is what is called a classic pan con tomate, Spanish tomato bread.
Then place the canned anchovies on top of it. Keep even gaps between them for the other anchovy fillets.
Place the pickled anchovies in vinegar next to them.
- Now with a sharp and long bladed knife, cut the bread into even bits each containing 2 anchovies.
- Sprinkle the toasts with some freshly ground black pepper and the fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
