Garlicky Grilled Red Pepper + Tomato Salad//Tuna//Boiled Potatoes//Hard-Boiled Eggs//Capers//Fluffy Bun
The Pan Bagnat originates from the Provence region of France. If you research it, you will quickly learn that there is some variation when it comes to the filling. This version is my family’s…and, well, I think it’s the best. Whilst the Pan Bagnat is most often filled with raw vegetables, this one rather features a grilled pepper and tomato salad. And, my oh my, is it ever delicious. This variation can be found in the South of France. The addition of caraway, however, is not common. This is a family addition that goes back generations, and I would never make it without it. It’s what takes it to the next level! These sandwiches make for a beautiful picnic, or a lovely lunch. Now, a note on the bread. The buns traditionally used for Pan Bagnat are soft and olive-oil based. My mother makes them at home from scratch—and she executes them perfectly. I must admit, however, that I find them to be rather mundane tasting. Bread takes a considerable amount of time and effort to make, and I personally don’t think that these traditional buns taste special enough to warrant the effort. I am therefore choosing to not provide a recipe for them, and to rather suggest doing what I choose to do myself, which is to buy any high-quality soft buns from a store or bakery. They should be olive-oil based, if possible. But, as long as the quality is high, any soft buns will work well enough, be they French or Italian. Let me be clear, if you want to make them, please go ahead! I’m sure that there are a plethora of suitable recipes available online.
Recipe:
Makes 10 sandwiches
Notes
I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly. Generally speaking, pink Himalayan salt is less salty than most others.
You can of course use any sized potato for this recipe; they should together weigh roughly 750 g before peeling.
I indicate that the sandwich components should be refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble the sandwich (option for the potatoes to be left at room temperature). This is because I like them best cold. This said, you can enjoy everything at room temperature as well, if time doesn’t allow for chilling.
A note on the buns: use high-quality soft buns. They should ideally be olive-oil based. French or Italian will do.
I find that ground caraway can vary a fair bit in its strength, across brands, etcetera. I have used 3/4 tsp, but please feel free to adjust this quantity if the flavour isn’t present enough in your salad. In fact, perhaps start with 1/2 tsp, in case yours is particularly strong.
Likewise, cooking isn’t an exact science, and I want to point out that it’s possible that your grilled vegetable salad could have more or less juices than mine. This may require you to therefore add a touch more salt if you left more juices in than me, or add an extra drizzle of olive oil and splash of lemon juice if you managed to removed more, and the salad is too salty.
Ingredients
10 mini yellow potatoes (about 75 g each/1 mini potato per sandwich)
10 eggs (1 per sandwich)
3 red peppers
2 green peppers
6 medium tomatoes
3/4 cup olive oil, plus more for serving
1/4 cup lemon juice, plus more for serving
1 large clove garlic, crushed
3/4 tsp ground caraway *see notes
65 cracks of black pepper
3 1/2 tsp salt (pink Himalayan), plus more for serving
3 cans tuna (each 184 g net, 133 g drained)
10 buns *see notes
100 capers (10 per sandwich; feel free to add more if desired)
optional: hot sauce to serve (I like Nandos Hot)
Instructions
Prepare potatoes. Peel, slice about 1 cm thick, and boil in salted water for 10-12 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and set aside at room-temperature or in the fridge until ready to assemble sandwiches.
Hard-boil eggs. Peel, transfer to a bowl, and let them cool in the fridge while you make the rest of the salad. They should be sliced in 4 for the sandwich. If you’re completely new to the kitchen—make them by putting them in a saucepan, covered with water (any temperature), and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Cook at a rolling boil for 10 minutes. Watch that the water doesn’t boil over! Drain, and rinse with cold water before handling.
Prepare grilled pepper and tomato salad. Heat barbecue to high. Grill peppers and tomatoes whole. Do so for 15-20 minutes, with the lid on, or until they are well charred (black) on the outside, and the peppers look wilted and deflated. In other words, formal instruction to royally burn your vegetables. Let vegetables cool before handling. Remove the (blackened) peels of the vegetables, and discard them. Take out a large salad bowl, and put a colander in it. Cut the peppers and tomatoes up into a small dice (avoiding the cores), and place them in the colander. Using a spoon, stir the vegetables thoroughly to aid the juices in passing through the colander. Stop when mostly solids remain. There will be tomato “pulp”; this is fine. Remove the colander from the bowl, discard the juices in the bowl (or, save them for a soup), and pour the vegetables into the bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, the garlic, the caraway, 35 cracks of black pepper, and 2 1/2 tsp salt. Refrigerate until ready to assemble sandwiches.
In a medium bowl, combine drained tuna, 1/2 cup olive oil, 30 cracks of black pepper, and 1 tsp salt. Refrigerate until ready to assemble sandwiches.
To assemble a sandwich: cut bun in half. Spoon a generous layer of the salad onto the bottom bun, about 2 cm high. Top with a layer of potato slices. Sprinkle a little extra pink salt over the potatoes. Next, add a thick layer of the tuna, about 2 cm thick. Drizzle a little extra lemon juice over the tuna. Top with a sliced egg. Once again, drizzle a little extra lemon juice over the egg, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and add a few cracks of black pepper if you would like. Top with about 10 capers, or more if desired. And, finally, I like to add a drizzle of olive oil (about 1 tbsp) overtop for good measure. Add the top bun. Option to add your favourite hot sauce on the side (as long as the flavours don’t contrast). My personal favourite is Nandos Hot.
Enjoy!
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