Pan Bagnat: A salad incognito

Our obsession with tinned fish continues...But who doesn’t love boquerones laid on top of a heavily buttered slice of sourdough bread? Or fried sardines tossed in nahm prik? Or a classic tuna salad disguised as a sandwich? 

Think of pan bagnat (pahn bahn ya) as a nicoise salad on a baguette. Originating in Nice, France, this sandwich was a perfect snack for fishermen or shepherds who didn’t always have access to fresh bread. It’s best made at least two hours before or overnight so the flavors can meld together and the bread gets just a liiiiittle soggy. It’s perfect for a picnic on the beach or a late night snack.

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1 tin Ventresca or your favorite tinned tuna 

Baguette or ciabatta roll

toasted in the oven for a few minutes until warm and crusty. Allow to cool.

Heirloom tomatoes

slice the tomatoes and season with salt, cracked black pepper, a little bit of sugar and a few dashes of red wine vinegar

Cucumbers

thinly slice and season with salt, pepper, and a little sugar. Wait ten minutes, drain off any liquid and season with a splash of vinegar. 

olives + anchovies + capers + garlic

finely chop or robot coupe the olives with anchovies, capers, garlic, and olive oil to make a quick tapenade

Red onion

slice thin into rings. Don’t want your breath to stink all day? Drop a few ice cubes in with the onions and run cold water over for 5-10 minutes to take away the bite. Drain before using. 

Hard boiled eggs

peel when warm, shock again in an ice bath, slice into coins, season with salt and pepper

Dijon mustard

Red wine vinegar + olive oil + lemon

(Although it’s not “traditional” feel free to raid your pantry or fridge. Parsley or basil, watercress, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red bell peppers, mayonnaise, etc. This is your sandwich!)

Assembly time, baby! 

Cut the roll in half hot-dog-style, scoop out some of the bread on both sides, and spread the dijon mustard and the olive tapenade onto the sides of the bread. On the bottom half of the bread, lay the tomatoes down, add the entire tin of ventresca evenly over the tomatoes, then add the onion, cucumber, and hard boiled eggs. Season with red wine vinegar, lemon, and olive oil (bonus points if you use the ventresca oil instead!) You want it to be pretty heavily doused in the vinegar and oil - pan bagnat literally means bathed bread - so it will soak into the crusty bread.

Wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap and press it under something heavy like a cast iron pan in the refrigerator for at least two hours, flipping them halfway through. Or, do as the French do! Make the sandwich in the morning and when driving to the beach, have the kids in the backseat sit on the sandwich to press it down. The longer you wait, the better it will be!

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