In one of my previous posts, I promised you a variation of my pan-bagnat, a sandwich originating in Nice composed of bread ‘bathed’ in the ingredients mainly found in the popular salade niçoise. The recipe can be a major of source of debate. Which ingredients are traditional? How much dressing? Anchovies or no anchovies? Egg or no egg? But we won’t worry about that for now. We’ll just take the idea and give it any fanciful twist we like!
I’m not a fan of ‘rules’ when it comes to cooking (or in this case, not cooking!) anyway.
Both this variation and the one I shared with you a few days ago, will pair beautifully with the 2014 Domaine de L’Amaurig
ue rosé, a gorgeous wine which I recently reviewed on my channel. Don’t forget to make the sandwich well in advance so all the flavors get a chance to really soak into the bread — as far as I’m concerned, that’s the ultimate tip for a perfect pan-bagnat! Enjoy!
Untraditional Pan-Bagnat
Serves 4
- 4 tbsps olive oil
- 2 tsps Dijon mustard
- 2 tsps honey
- 1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar
- fleur de sel and freshly cracked pepper
- 1 round loaf of bread (I like to use pain de campagne)
- 50 g parmaham
- 1 ball mozzarella (125 g), torn into pieces
- 70 g green olives, chopped
- 1 large red grilled pepper (from a jar), chopped
- lettuce leaves of choice
First make the dressing by whisking the oil, mustard, honey, white wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Slice the bread open and brush the dressing over each half. Top with the parmaham, mozzarella, green olives, grilled pepper and lettuce leaves. Top with the other half and wrap tightly in foil or plastic wrap. Put the bread in the fridge and weigh it down with something heavy. You’ll want to leave it for at least three hours, though overnight is fine. Cut the bread into four pieces and serve.