Food52's Pan Bagnat (Salad Niçoise Sandwich)
Whenever I make this for lunch and Christian is home, I get a resounding "yes" out of him. He loves it, in other words. It's basically a Salad Niçoise on a baguette. And the dressing is olive oil and lemon--no mayo--which he and I kind of prefer. I almost always have baguettes in the freezer and cans of tuna (usually Cento or Genova) in the pantry, plus most of the other ingredients on hand; so if I've got a lot of mouths to feed and am short on ideas on what to make for lunch, I'll throw this together in a flash. (I've made it with and without the artichoke hearts, and I typically double the quantities.) This recipe (from Food 52) and Stephan's Curried Tuna are my personal tuna salad favorites.
Makes 2 Servings
Ingredients
1/2 loaf crusty French baguette
1 clove garlic, cut in half
4-6 basil leaves. (I add some lettuce leaves to the sandwich, as well.)
1 (6 oz.) can tuna
3/4 cup Niçoise or Kalamta olives, sliced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, seeded and slice thin (or chopped)
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 jar of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (optional)
1/4 cup blanched French green beans, sliced into thirds (optional)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Remove some of the insides of the bottom half to create a trough into which the filling will go.
Brush both halves with a little extra virgin olive oil and rub each with the garlic. Line the half with the trough with the basil. (I add some lettuce here, too.)
In a mixing bowl, combine the tuna, olives, red bell pepper, onion, parsley, artichoke hearts and green beans (if using).
In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the lemon juice into the olive oil until it is emulsified/combined.
Pour the vinaigrette into the tuna mixture and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon tuna mixture into the trough of the baguette, cut and serve.
