A favorite in southern France, pan bagnat means “bathed bread.” The bread in this sandwich is meant to absorb some liquid from the filling, so it’s fine to assemble it entirely ahead of time. Serve with potato salad, pasta salad or baked chips.
Serves 4.
1/3 C finely chopped red onion
2 T chopped pitted niçoise olives
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-oz) can premium tuna, packed in oil, drained
1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
1/4 C thinly sliced fresh basil
2 t extra-virgin olive oil
1 (8-oz) whole-wheat French bread baguette
1 garlic clove, halved
1 C thinly sliced plum tomato (about 1)
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1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine basil and oil; stir with a whisk. Cut bread in half horizontally. Hollow out top and bottom halves of bread, leaving a 1″ thick shell; reserve torn bread for another use. Rub cut sides of garlic clove over cut sides of bread; discard garlic. Drizzle basil mixture evenly over cut sides of bread. Spoon tuna mixture on bottom half of baguette. Wrap filled baguette in plastic wrap, and let stand for 20 minutes. Cut filled baguette into 4 (3″) equal portions.
