Pan Con Tomate BLT with Italian Salsa Verde

This pan con tomate BLT with Italian Salsa Verde is a flavor-packed open-faced sandwich. It's layered with garlicky tomato toast, crispy bacon, chopped romaine, and a bright herby salsa verde that ties everything together.

Recipe

Print Recipe

Pan Con Tomate BLT

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Keyword: sandwich

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Italian Salsa Verde

• 1 ¼ cups finely chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons capers finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon anchovy paste
• 1 garlic clove minced
• ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Pan con tomate

• 2 large ripe tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• salt and coarsley ground black pepper

Remaining ingredients

• 4 thick slices crusty bread sourdough or french loaf
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove halved
• 8 slices bacon
• 1 ½ cups romaine chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• ¼ cup grated parmesan

Instructions

• Make Italian salsa verde. Combine parsley, capers, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, anchovy paste, and garlic in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil until everything is well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes or up to overnight.
• Cook the bacon until crispy in the oven or stovetop. Chop or crumble into pieces.
• Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise. Grate the cut side of each tomato on the large holes of a box grater into a bowl, discarding the skins. Season the tomato pulp with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and coarsely ground black pepper.
• Brush both sides of the sliced bread with olive oil. Heat a saute pan over medium heat and lay the bread in the pan. Toast the bread until golden, then flip and brown on the other side. Remove from heat and rub each slice with the cut side of the garlic clove.
• Spoon the seasoned tomato pulp generously over each toast, followed by a handful of chopped romaine, and a hefty amount of bacon crumbles. Spoon salsa verde on top and finish with chives and grated parmesan.

Video

Notes

You can cook the bacon using your favorite method (stovetop, oven, air fryer). I baked my bacon in the oven on a lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make Italian salsa verde

I know BLT is simply that: bacon, lettuce, and tomato. But to make this version special, I wanted to add another element, the zesty sauce. This salsa verde comes together in minutes and can be made ahead of time, which makes this pan con tomate BLT great for entertaining.

Combine finely chopped parsley, capers, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, anchovy paste, and garlic in a bowl, then stir in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

If you're nervous about the anchovy paste, don't skip it. You won't taste fish at all. It just adds a subtle savory depth that makes the whole sauce more complex.

Limited on time or don't want to chop parsley by hand? Use a food processor to pulse together the ingredients.

Let the salsa verde sit for at least 10 minutes to give the flavors time to meld, but it's even better if you can make it a few hours ahead or the night before.

This recipe makes extra salsa verde; use the leftovers for this porchetta sandwich or these delicious chickpea fritters!

Step 2: Prepare toppings

Next, it's time to prepare the toppings. Cook the bacon until it's nice and crispy, either in the oven or on the stovetop.

I like baking it on a lined sheet pan at 400°F for about 18 to 20 minutes because it cooks evenly and frees up my hands for everything else.

Once it's cool enough to handle, chop or crumble it into pieces.

For the bread, use thick slices of something sturdy like sourdough or a French loaf. You want a bread that can hold up to the tomato pulp without falling apart.

Brush olive oil on both sides of the bread to get it nice and golden, and toast it in a skillet. Alternatively, you can place the bread on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes, flipping the bread over halfway.

Then, while still warm, rub it with garlic, allowing the garlic to absorb into the surface.

Step 3: Assemble toast

Now that the toppings are ready, we can get ready to make the actual pan con tomate BLT.

Use ripe, in-season tomatoes here because they're the star of this layer. If your tomatoes aren't great, the toast won't be either.

Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and grate the cut side on the large holes of a box grater. The skin will stay in your hand, and you'll be left with a bowl of fresh tomato pulp.

Season it with olive oil, salt, and coarsely ground black pepper, then spoon it over each garlic toast. From there, pile on the chopped romaine, scatter a generous amount of bacon on top, and drizzle everything with salsa verde. Finish with chives and grated parmesan.

Every bite of this pan con tomate BLT is fresh and light with layers of flavor that keep it interesting. You get the juicy sweetness from the tomato-soaked bread, salt and crunch from the bacon, a cool crispness from the romaine, and then that herby, briny salsa verde pulls it all together. The parmesan adds just enough richness to round everything out.

It's the kind of recipe that looks impressive on a plate but only takes 30 minutes to pull together.

For another version of a BLT, check out this spicy BLTA grinder sandwich!

Make-ahead and storage tips

• Make-ahead: You can make the Italian salsa verde up to 3 days in advance, but the color will dull over time.
• Store: Keep all the components in separate containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Assemble toasts right before serving.

More open-faced sandwich recipes

Looking for more open-faced sandwich ideas? Try these: