Pan Bagnat Sandwich

Note: This is part of the Traveling Picnic episode were we featured three ethnic inspired lunches (French, Asian & Italian). I separated the recipes out individually to provide you with a better search option.

The name of this sandwich, pan bagnat, literally translates to “wet bread” or as I prefer, “bathed bread”. It is a great travel sandwich because the longer the flavors marry and bathe the bread, the tastier the sandwich becomes. You need a very crusty bread, otherwise it will become soggy.

Serves 4-6

Prep Time: 20 minutes   

Cook Time: about 20 minutes

1 French baguette (very crusty)

2 5 ounce cans of tuna packed in olive oil

1 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1-2 medium tomatoes, sliced

½ red onion, thinly sliced

2 eggs, hard boiled and sliced

20 basil leaves

Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. Diamond Kosher salt

2 tsp. Maille Dijon mustard

¼ cup Spectrum Naturals red wine vinegar

½ cup California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground pepper

Make the vinaigrette. In a small jar combine garlic, salt, mustard and red wine vinegar. Close jar and shake vigorously. When well combined add oil and shake to emulsify. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt pepper and additional mustard or vinegar if needed. Set aside.

Make the sandwich. Cut the round ends off each end of the baguette. (You can snack on these while you are making the sandwich). Slice the baguette in half vertically. Then slice each piece in half horizontally. You should now have four pieces. Open the baguette and set the top portions aside. On the bottom portions, start layering by flaking the tuna over the entire baguette. Drizzle with the oil from the can. Next layer on the olives, then peppers, the tomatoes, red onions, egg slices and finally the basil leaves. Shake the vinaigrette and drizzle all over the layered ingredients and on the inside of the top portions of the sandwich. Place the tops on the sandwiches, tucking in all the ingredients and pressing down to smash the sandwiches. Wrap each half tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap and set on a tray or in a casserole dish. Depending on space and what you have available, weight the sandwiches down for at least a few hours. This will marry the ingredients to make a delicious sandwich filling. I use a plastic wrapped brick to weight my Pan Bagnat. You could also pack them in a cooler and put heavy items on top-like a few bottles of wine or beer or an extra child. They can marinate like this in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. When you are ready to eat, unwrap the sandwiches and slice into thirds or halves. Serve with lots of napkins and Potato and Green Bean Salad.