If “doing the most for a sandwich” was a religion, I’d be the archbishop. Join my sammich church by allowing me to show you how to make this incredible tuna niçoise aka pan bagnat on focaccia. It’s a fatty, briny, acidic dream of a meal glued together with crispy kettle chips for extra crunch. Nothing makes me happier than taking my sweet ass time making every component for any given sammich, because I know it’s gonna be fire. Every. Damn. Time.
What the heck is a Pan Bagnat??
The pan bagnat (pronounced “pahn bahn-yah”) is basically a salad niçoise turned into a sandwich. The bread used is usually something rustic and crusty (like a baguette), which is honestly perfect because there’s plenty of oil in this sandwich to soak into the bread and revive it. My focaccia recipe has a crusty bottom, and a quick zap in the air fryer will crisp it all around. I happen to love the squishiness of it, which helps me enjoy the textures of the other components. Bottom line, use whatever sturdy bread you prefer, even if it’s store-bought!
This sandwich is typically pressed. Meaning once it’s built, it’s wrapped tightly in plastic-wrap and held under some kind of weight to keep it compressed and tight for 1-2 hours. This also makes it one of the most perfect sandwiches for picnics or on the go.
A standard salad niçoise usually contains French green beans (hericot verts), potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, oil packed tuna (salmon is often used, too), olives, lots of olive oil, fresh herbs, lemon, and capers. Modern additions often include avocado, cucumbers, radishes, and honestly whatever you love to eat. You can use tuna, salmon, or any other protein that you prefer.
Ingredients needed to make this Pan Bagnat
This sandwich takes most of those components and intelligently bring them together for the perfect all-in-one bite.
- The tuna: I’m using oil-packed tuna. Please use whatever tuna you have access to. I like to drain about 70% of the juice/oil from the can and replace it with a fresher dose of oil. Mayo is not typical for a pan bagnat. However, I’m grown and I know ingredients. This is NOT a mayo-heavy tuna mixture at all, but there is a very tiny ratio of it in there juuuust to hold the tuna together a little better and mellow the flavor a bit. You can completely skip it.
- The eggs: I love love love a jammy egg on my salad niçoise. It provides a really nice creaminess. These eggs are placed in cold water, covered, and brought to a boil. Once they begin to boil, the heat is turned off and they are held in the hot water to steam for exactly 6 minutes. If you want your yolks to be firmer, keep them in there up to 4 minutes longer.
- The green bean component: I blanched chopped french green beans in salted water for exactly 3 minutes, then dunked them in super cold water to stop them from cooking any further. They get drained, patted dry, and tossed with thinly bias-sliced celery, and shaved red onion. All of that gets tossed in a very simple vinaigrette that provides acidity and a little sweetness. The celery and red onion are soaked in super cold water for about 10 minutes to mellow and crisp them up (then drained and patted dry) before everything gets combined.
- The olive situation: Niçoise olives are typically used for the salad, but I honestly don’t think it’s that serious. My favorite “beginner” olive to suggest for people who think they may not like them is the kalamata olive. It’s delicious! I’m using a mix of green Spanish olives and kalamatas, but you can use whatever olive (or blend) you like. Adding a touch of calabrian chilis bring some much-needed heat to this entire sandwich.
- The potatoes: you’ll normally find boiled or roasted potatoes in a salad niçoise. I’m not putting that on my sammich. We’re using sturdy kettle chips! They give us potato, crunch, and texture.
The best layering method
For the record you can build YOUR sandwich ANY way you want, but here’s my humble suggestion.
- Bottom slice of bread: olive tapenade paste > green bean salad > tuna > kettle chips.
- Top slice of bread: olive tapenade paste > jammy eggs > seasoned tomato slices > fresh basil > arugula.
However you decide to make this sandwich, you just have to make it! Enjoy 🙂
Tuna Niçoise Sandwich | Pan Bagnat
The Pan Bagnat is a Tuna Niçoise turned into a sandwich. Typically made with baguette, I’m using focaccia here because I love it. This sandwich is fatty, briny, flavorful and very grown up. Give it a try if you already love the niçoise salad.
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 large or 6 medium sandwiches 1x
Ingredients
- Focaccia recipe here (SEE NOTE)
- Arugula
- Sliced tomatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper
- Kettle chips
- Fresh basil, roughly chopped (optional, but recommended)
Tuna
- 3 7-ounce cans oil-packed tuna, at least 80% drained
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
- 3 tablespoons mayo
- 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (about half a small lemon)
- 1 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Sea salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Green bean salad
- 1 1/4 cup French green beans, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced (about 1 heaping cup)
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Sea salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Jammy eggs
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive tapenade
- 2/3 cup olives (I used equal parts kalamata and Spanish olives)
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1 tablespoon calabrian chilis (optional, or use less)
- Juice from half a lemon (about 2-3 tablespoons)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste (or 2 small cloves, minced)
- 1/4 teaspoon anchovy paste (or 1 anchovy filet very finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
Instructions
Make ahead?
- The focaccia, tuna, and olive tapenade can be made a day ahead.
- For best flavor and texture, make the green bean salad and jammy eggs the day of sandwich assembly. The green bean salad is fine the next day, but you will lose some of the crispness of the celery (which may or may not be a big deal to you at all).
For the tuna:
This is not a typical mayo-heavy tuna spread, because the goal is to allow the flavor of the tuna to shine through. However, this is YOUR sandwich, so if you prefer more mayo — add it!
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the drained tuna and gently break it up into bite-sized chunks. Add the olive oil, mayo, dijon mustard, lemon juice, dill, and parsley, and fold gently to combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper to your liking.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the olive tapenade:
This is quickly done in a small food processor/chopper. If you don’t have one, you can do this by hand with a knife.
- If using a food processor/chopper: place the olives, capers, calabrian chilis, garlic paste, anchovy paste (or filet), dill, parsley, and lemon juice in the bowl of a small food processor and pulse just until everything breaks down into small minced pieces. This will not take long at all, maybe 3 to 5 seconds. When everything is minced, pour in the olive oil and pulse 2 more seconds just to combine. Transfer to a bowl, taste and adjust if needed. Cover and set aside at room temperature — or refrigerate if making a day ahead.
- If chopping by hand: place the olives, capers, calabrian chilis, garlic paste, anchovy paste (or filet), dill, and parsley on a cutting board and chop everything together until it’s minced. Then transfer to a bowl and add the lemon juice and olive oil. Fold everything together until it’s combined. Taste and adjust the acidity if needed. Cover and set side at room temperature — or refrigerate if making a day ahead.
For the green bean salad:
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the lemon juice, champagne vinegar, honey, and olive oil and whisk to combine. Give it a taste to determine how much sea salt and black pepper you need to add. The flavor should be acidic and a little sweet, so adjust the amounts of vinegar and honey to your specific liking. When you’re happy with it, toss in the dill and parsley and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Optional step: For extra crispness, you can place your thinly sliced celery and onion to a bowl of cold water and keep them refrigerated for about 10 minutes. Then drain them and pat dry with paper towels until ready to use.
- Add ice and water to a small bowl and set aside.
- Bring a small pot of heavily salted water to a hard boil over high heat. Add the chopped French green beans and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove the green beans and immediately place them in the ice water to stop the cooking process. After about 3-5 minutes, drain the green beans and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Add the celery, red onion, and green beans in the bowl with the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Give it a final taste and adjust as needed.
- Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to build your sandwich.
For the jammy eggs:
- Gently place the eggs in a small pot and just barely cover them with cold water. Place the lid on the pot and bring the eggs to a hard boil over high heat. The MOMENT the water begins to boil (you will hear the eggs bouncing around in the pot), turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and leave them the hell alone for exactly 6 to 6 1/2 minutes.
- After 6 to 6 1/2 minutes, drain the hot water and cover the eggs with cold running water to cool them off. Let them sit for 5 minutes in cool or cold water.
- Peel the eggs (start cracking them all over at the wider base of each egg, then everywhere else to help release the membrane for easier peeling) and add them to a small bowl. Use a fork to mash the eggs. Add a little olive oil, the dill, and season with salt and pepper.
- Set aside until sandwich assembly.
To assemble the sandwich:
- Portion the focaccia to your desired sandwich size, then toast briefly in an oven or air-fryer just a few minutes (or until your desired toastiness). Slice in half.
- On the bottom half: olives > green bean salad > tuna > chips
- On the top half: olives > jammy eggs > tomato slices > basil > arugula
- Bring both sides together, press firmly to compact it just enough so it holds together. Wrap the sandwich deli-style with parchment paper, slice in half and enjoy.
Notes
1 focaccia recipe will yield you 4 large or 6 medium-sized sandwiches (if you choose to use the focaccia for this use only). Alternately, you can use ANY kind of bread you want for this sandwich! Pan Bagnat is typically made with baguette. Ciabatta, or an Italian or French loaf is fine. Anything crusty and sturdy works great. You could even make a lettuce wrap if you’re watching your carbs.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: sandwiches
