Back by Popular Demand: PAN BAGNAT



I made this a few years back and had many rave reviews.

A Pan Bagnat is a Provencal tuna sandwich loaded with the works that has been pressed down and preserved a day or two until all the flavors come together to form one gorgeous sandwich. It's sort of the Muffuletta of Southern France.

It is a bit of a process to prepare, but once you have your ingredients all made (the olive spread, the hard boiled eggs, etc), you just assemble it and the waiting begins.

The more it sits, the better it is.

Today's lunch menu is a quick version of a pan bagnat (translates to bread bath in Provence) made in rolls instead of the traditional baguette.

This took half the time than the real deal, and it was just as delicious.
I used prepared olivada instead of making my own tapenade this time.

This would be my choice for picnic food.

Quick Pan Bagnat: makes 4 sandwiches (8 halves)

4 rolls (I used brioche rolls, but any roll will do)
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced thin
2 tbsp capers
2 cans of Italian tuna packed in olive oil, drained
4 tbsp olivada (pulverized green olives made into a paste)
3 plum tomatoes, sliced thin
red wine vinegar
olive oil
sea salt & pepper



Here we go:
1. Cut the rolls in half and hollow out the middles so you have spaces for your filling.
2. Spread a tablespoon of olive paste on both sides of each hollowed out roll.
3. Add a few capers to the top part of each roll, where your filling will go.
4. Add the tuna to the cavity and pack it in.



5. Lay some egg slices on top of the tuna.
6. Spread some tomato slices on top of the egg.
7. Sprinkle the red onion slices on top of the tomatoes.
8. Sprinkle a little red wine vinegar, and olive oil over the filling.
9. Sprinkle (there is a lot of sprinkling going on here!) some sea salt and pepper on top of the filling.
10. Top with arugula leaves and close the sandwich up tight.

Press down with your hands to flatten out the bread. Wrap tightly in foil until ready to serve.

Slice and serve on a big platter.

Lunch is served.



SO GOOD. Enjoy.

Comments

Ooh, la, la. How I would love to be in Provence this very moment on a picnic sitting on a hill overlooking the valley below, nibbling this sandwich and sipping a glass of local rose.

Great recipe Stacey. Thanks for bringing a little Provence into my morning.
Sam
Ciao Chow Linda said…
Wow Stacey. I remember when you posted this before, but seeing it again makes me want to make it soon. I even made an olive paste yesterday, believe it or not. I have a lunch meeting in a couple of weeks at my house and this would be perfect.
Looks good. I've never heard of olivada. Did you buy it or make it yourself, pulverizer that you are?
The JR said…
I can see why that gets such good marks. YUMMY!!!
Maria said…
That is one mighty sandwich! Nice!
Joanne said…
I love that the rolls are essentially a bowl for the filling!
Anonymous said…
Memories of my summer of 1983 eight week stay in Provence. Tarte au thon, shaved oignons on salads, garlicky stews, anchovies on everything, the Luberon is nothing if not pungent. Lavender breezes bring welcomed respite.
Did I miss lunch? Darn! You're always tempting me with those brioche rolls you use all the time!
Anonymous said…
I just ate my dinner but im dying to run to the supermarket to go and make this! What a beautiful sandwich indeed!
tasteofbeirut said…
A good friend of mine, Marcelle, is from Nice; she gave me a book of the Nicoise cuisine and I made pan bagnat, as I remembered it from living in the south of France and loved it back then. The mayor of Nice, Jacques Médecin, was adamant that one should never use both tuna and anchovies. Yours today looks just scrumptious!
lisa is cooking said…
I love this sandwich! It looks great in the rolls.
Claudia said…
And no mayonnaise! Yes. Will be made in one hour. Lunch for tomorrow!
Dana said…
I have made several veg versions of this sandwich and they are always a huge hit!
Anonymous said…
I am SO hungry and this looks SO good! Maybe I need to make a trip to the market! :) Wanda D.
Jonny said…
i remember this from last time and it looks as good, if not better, than I recall! Isn't that one of the ironies of blogging though? - that there's a kind of pressure to only post new stuff all the time that you rarely get the chance to revisit dishes you made before that were so hella good at the time you've been jonesing for them ever since?