Thursday, June 17, 2010

Pan Bagnat

I have wanted to post about this sandwich ever since I started Green and Lean back in January 2009! But for one reason or another I kept putting it off. Well, not any longer!

What is a Pan Bagnat you ask? Well, it's basically my favorite salad ever, the Nicoise, on a baguette. In a nutshell, this is the perfect picnic food.

Essential elements of a good Nicoise salad are: greens, hard boiled eggs, kalamata or nicoise olives, and a protein (usually tuna but chicken or white beans are a good substitute).

I blended my kalamata olives into a lovely tapenade with garlic, lemon juice, anchovy paste, and olive oil. Then I mixed up my tuna (actually sardines!) with some sherry vinegar, lemon juice, and capers.

Spread some tapenade on your baguette (I grilled mine for extra crunch). Layer spring greens, tuna mixture, sliced eggs, and more greens. Press the sandwich together or wrap in cling wrap to bind it all together.

The longer it sits, the more the flavors blend. It pairs wonderfully with a bottle of white or rose wine and some watermelon. As I said - perfect picnic food for summertime!

Pan Bagnat (aka French Nicoise Salad on a Baguette)
French crusty baguette, sliced lengthwise
Black olive tapenade, store bought or homemade
2 eggs, hard boiled
baby spring greens
1 can tuna or sardines (or cooked chicken or white beans), mixed with sherry vinegar, lemon juice, and 1 Tbsp capers

Optional - grill your bread. Spread a layer of tapenade on both sides of bread. Put a handful of greens on top of each layer of tapenade.

Scoop on tuna salad mixture, then put a layer of sliced eggs. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and put top of sandwich on top of eggs. Press together and wrap tightly in cling wrap or tinfoil. Tastes best after it sits for a few minutes to let flavors marry.

ONE YEAR AGO: Homemade Yogurt (a recipe I still make about every other weekend)

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