pan bagnat

Here is Pan Bagnat!

What? It's a Tuna Nicoise sandwich. Yes, in honour of the Cannes Film Festival, I thought it was appropriate to take a cue from that region of the world and make Pan Bagnat. This combo is something I'd never have thought to put together in a sandwich, so I placed full trust in the recipe to enlighten me.

I thought I'd try a different bakery in St. Catharines and went to Casa Leone Bakery on Hartzel Rd. I found the perfect loaves right away because I was drawn to the sight of an older man who was man-handling every single loaf by pulling them right out of the bags and inspecting them. Gross! Then Owen and I were almost T-boned when some jerk on a cell phone blew the red light as we were making our way through the intersection. Yeah, I won't be treking back to Merriton again anytime soon.

The best part of this recipe is that it can be made in advance. It actually needs to be made at least an hour before serving because it is a pressed sandwich.

I pressed the sandwich with my pizza stone and a pot filled with canned goods. It worked really well. I made it first thing in the morning, pressed for an hour and then refrigerated for the rest of the day while Owen and I hung out at the beach.

It was a perfect day, which really could have only been better if we ate this on the beach. Oh, I'll go further and say on the beaches of Nice, France. This sandwich is so portable all wrapped up in plastic it reminds me of something we could bring to a picnic. It is actually a sandwich I could see Nuno's family making with tuna, eggs, red onion and crusty-style bread.

Goodness, this sandwich is delicious. The basil flavour really comes through and it's probably my favourite element of the sandwich. I love it and would make it again indefinitely!

My last Everyday Food recipe entry touched on one of my food concerns, I might as well mention another. Mercury in tuna. I have to stress, I wouldn't be such a concerned stickler for these sort of chemical related issues for adults, but as a recently pregnant and now nursing mother, I take great caution in how what I consume affects Owen. That will continue as he grows and I choose what he eats. Back to the point at hand. I've avoided tuna for way over a year now, but through the workshop I mentioned a week ago, I became aware that choosing smaller tuna such as Tongol and Skipjack is a safe option. I was thrilled with this bit of news and immediately found cans of Tongol by President's Choice to use in this recipe. I miss eating tuna since one of my all time favourite comfort foods is this Mediterranean Tuna Noodle.