Provençal Tuna Salad

Pan Bagnant is a favorite French sandwich that literally means “bathed bread”. This popular sandwich is usually filled with many vibrant vegetables, hard boiled egg, canned tuna and then the bread is soaked in a zesty vinaigrette. With so many beautiful, nutrient dense ingredients, I thought it might be fun to deconstruct this sandwich and serve it as a salad. I roasted the peppers but you can use jarred roasted peppers instead. The dressing elevates an otherwise ordinary salad to an outstanding dish.

Provençal Tuna Salad

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Servings: 4 people

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

SALAD

• 1 can tuna packed in olive oil drained
• 1/2 cup assorted olives pitted
• 2-3 tablespoons capers rinsed
• 4 hard boiled eggs or cooked to your liking*
• 2 jarred roasted red peppers sliced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
• 1 cup baby kale leaves or baby spinach leaves
• 1 medium English cucumber sliced on the diagonal
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

VINAIGRETTE

• 1/4 cup extra-vigin olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• 1 tablespoon capers rinsed
• 3-4 mixed olives pitted
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

 

1. *To make the perfect hard boiled eggs, cover 4 eggs with cold water in a small saucepan. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. Turn the heat off, cover the pot and set a timer for 10 minutes. Take a bowl and fill with ice cubes and cold water. Once the ten minutes have passed transfer the eggs to the icy cold water for another 5 minutes. The shells should be easy to remove. If the peeling is tricky, try peeling while running under cold water.
2. To make the vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a small food processor or blender. Blend until the ingredients are almost smooth, about a minute or so. Assemble your salad on a serving platter or toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and dress with the vinaigrette.