"You bought too much bread!" cried James at the weekend, as I was beginning the preparation of this dish. "Ah, but I have plans for the rest," said I.
Pan bagnat is originally a recipe of Nice and, in that part of the world, is understood to be a salade niçoise on hollowed-out bread. Historically, the process was reversed as the peasants used to put slices of rough-textured bread into the salad to soak up the juices and, one suspects, make it go further. Versions of pan bagnat / pan bagna are made all over the Mediterranean region but the only cookery writer I have read who suggests reusing the breadcrumbs in the filling is Elizabeth David. I like to do this and here is my own, Italianised recipe:
Cut day-old bread [a baguette or smaller crusty rolls] in half lengthwise. Scrape out the crumbs as best you can and put them aside. Make a vinaigrette from 6 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar, some oregano and seasoning. Brush this generously onto the bottom part of the bread shells. Spread some crema bel paese [or similar soft cheese] on top of this and put some salad leaves on top of that. Then add some sliced tomatoes. Put the breadcrumbs in a procesor with a clove of garlic, a medium onion, some carrots, a red pepper, a couple of sticks of celery and a few stoned, black olives. Process until everything is very finely chopped. Put this mixture on top of the layers on the bread and drizzle over any remaining vinaigrette. Put the lids on the bread and wrap in foil. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. [Recipes state that you should put a weight on top but I have never found this necessary.] Serve and enjoy, having armed everyone with plenty of napkins, for this is a very oily sandwich!
