[Traditional Food] Pan Bagnat: Le French Tuna Salad Sandwich

If Nicoise salad were made into a sandwich, it would look something like pan bagnat.

This French tuna salad sandwich, which is widely available throughout the Mediterranean region, is always prepared with fresh ingredients.

Along with bell pepper, onions, tomatoes, olives, and basil, it has more.

Tossed with a tart vinaigrette, the veggies are combined with canned tuna in olive oil.

Spooned into a partially hollowed-out bread half, the salad is sealed with another.

After that, the sandwich is tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and pressed flat with a heavy item, like a cast-iron pan or brick.

To let all of the bread absorb the salad dressing, it is refrigerated for the entire night and then served cold the following day.

Interesting fact: the word pan bagnat means "bathed bread." The term comes from the way the crispy bread soaks up the salad dressing when it's refrigerated.