Who Wants A Sandwich?
More precisely, who wants a “Pan Bagnat?”
Pan bagnat (“bathed bread”) is a classic Niçoise sandwich that must be made with crusty, sturdy bread, soaked heavily with olive oil, packed with tuna, anchovies, and raw vegetables, then tightly wrapped, weighted down, and refrigerated for at least 6 hours (ideally overnight) to allow the flavors to meld and the bread to fully absorb the juices.
Since I am friends with the legendary Cookbook Author and Writer Patricia Wells, I knew I had to make this sandwich using her recipe – but which cookbook? Check out my stack!
All of these cookbooks are terrific – but I chose the one with the recipe for the traditional provencal “pan bagnat” sandwich so let’s get to work!
All French Kitchens utilize the ingredients of the region, and in the south of France, this sandwich utilizes all of nature’s bounty – it’s a “working person’s sandwich” as you wrap it up and take it to work with you!
The traditional ingredients shown above include tuna, heirloom tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, anchovies, red bell pepper and kalamata olives – but in its simplicity comes incredible flavor and history as well!
A “Bathed Bread” Treat!
Nice, France is considered home to this beloved French staple….you see, “pan banhat” and the alternative spelling “pan bagnat” mean “bathed bread”.
The sandwich was popularized in the 19th century, when Nice fisherman would carry it with them when fishing off the coast of Provence in the Mediterranean Sea.
And speaking of bread:
The best bread to use is a rectangular Baguette, with a filling soft enough that the ingredients will indeed “bathe” in it…and the process begins by slicing the loaf lengthwise…
I used an olive loaf, and tore out big chunks of the soft center, making room for my ingredients…Patricia suggests that you save the interior bread and toast it for breadcrumbs!
Next, I put two glass jars of Tuna fillets in a bowl – and very important: you want the Tuna that is packed in oil, as that is an important part of the recipe – remember, we are going to “bathe”!
Slice a Red Bell Pepper lengthwise in thin strips, then peel your hard-boiled eggs and slice them as well…I used one entire bell pepper and three eggs:
Once the hard-boiled eggs are sliced, do the same with your Kalamata Olives – I do them lengthwise as well, and unpack your Marinated Anchovies:
Now, it was time to have some fun and put this sandwich together:
Look at this! The interior is stuffed with the messy, oily mixture, which I gave a nice salt-and-pepper to as well…I overloaded the sandwich so it formed a mound…
I am ready to dig in and enjoy it – but not so fast!
You see, this beautiful sandwich has one more step in the recipe, and that involves placing the top piece of the bread back on and pressing it together!
Really give it a good press to make sure the oil and juices soak into the “bathed bread!”
Then, you finish with some aluminum foil and a heavy heavy brick!
Patricia is clear about two things: first, wrap the sandwich in tin foil and put it in the refrigerator, with a heavy object pressing down on it…that will help the bread absorb the oil in the tuna!
Her second point: this sandwich is supposed to be a messy affair: the filling should fall out when you eat it!
After several hours in the refrigerator, covered with a heavy pot, I took the sandwich out and here’s how it went:
So, how did it taste?
Well, “simple” doesn’t have to be a negative when it comes to food: this flavor combo is easy to make and delicious! I love Tuna, and the crisp bell pepper, creamy egg, pop of briny Kalamata olive flavor and of course, the salty burst of sardine was delicious, and it was wet enough to feel messy and almost wrong in a way!
My goal with this website is to pay tribute to some of the great Chefs and Cookbook Authors I’ve met – and Patricia’s many cookbooks will give me more opportunities to cook from her books…
This colorful sandwich feel like the south of France, with the bright yellow egg yolk, the red bell pepper, kalamata olives the color of a great provencal red wine, and the freshness of the tuna and anchovies give it the taste of the sea…
A group of us met up with Patricia in July 2024 at her provencal village of Vaison la Romaine…that’s Alex in the black hat and Patricia next to her:
Alex’s brother Derek talked food with her as well…we met her years before shenanigans Alex and I took her cooking class!
That’s Patricia on the right…Alex and I got to cook at her provencal home and yes, that is Julia Child’s provencal stove we are leaning on – Julia gave it to her as they were close friends!
We cooked with her and husband Walter, an incredible cooking class at her home that you can see more of by clicking on my story here:
It was the perfect mix of food and travel…and I am trying to make recipes that capture a culture as well as flavors….the Pan Bagnat sandwich took us back to Provence and a culture of delicious food – speaking of which:
I made this terrific swordfish dish thanks to Patricia as well…see it here!
Another great Provencal dish is “fish in crazy water!”
It’s light and refreshing – click on my story for the recipe and why they call it “crazy water!”
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
This looks SO good!!!!
That sandwich looks so good!
I think I have this cookbook, John. The sandwich sounds delicious. I am making French onion soup today.
Great cookbooks, and a great sandwich! I never have thought about what bagnat translates to!