pan-bagnat — Nice, France

Pan bagnat is a cold sandwich built inside a round or long bread roll, packed with vegetables and cured fish and left to rest under weight so the bread soaks up the dressing before it is eaten. It is closely related to the composed salad of the same region, transposed into a portable, hand-held form. This entry is reported from Nice, on the French Mediterranean coast, where the sandwich takes its name from the Occitan for 'bathed bread', a reference to the oil and vinegar the bread absorbs. It is commonly sold by bakeries and eaten outdoors, especially in the warmer months, as a self-contained meal that travels well. A round loaf is split and the crumb slightly hollowed out on each side, then rubbed with garlic and drizzled generously with olive oil and a little wine vinegar. The bread is filled with raw vegetables such as tomato, radish and green pepper, black Nice olives, anchovy fillets or tuna, and hard-boiled egg, before being pressed and wrapped tightly and left to rest so the flavours settle. What distinguishes this version is the resting time under light pressure, which lets the bread absorb the dressing without falling apart, together with its base of raw Niçoise-salad vegetables rather than cooked fillings. Other sandwiches built the same way elsewhere use different breads or vegetables, and this one simply describes how it is put together in Nice.