Bread in a Bath

'Evening, my little Gastronauts (and who does remember the great Keith Floyd these days?), tonight we're going to explore the delicacy known as Pan Bagnat or Bathed Bread, a sandwich from the south of France which is ideal for picnics since it positively revels in being squashed under the chilled wine at the bottom of the basket.



Here we have the mise en place; a rather misshapen ciabatta, some chopped garlic, some capers, some stoned olives, some basil leaves, tomato slices, chopped celery, chopped lettuce, vegan tuna (tell you about that later!) and vinegar. I'm sure you can work out which is which.

Now, for absolute authenticity we need some cucumber which I didn't have and the vinegar should be of the red wine variety but, hell, this is the vegan version of a Niçoise favourite, it ain't never gonna be authentic! That said, the cucumber is a nice wet fruit, ideal for moistening the bread with its delicate juices and the red wine vinegar is, in my opinion, far more appropriate for this dish of the overheated South than the chilly cider flavours of the North. But whatever you have is just fine.

The bread needs to be white, holey, maybe even a little bit stale but don't choose anything too tough. You need to be able to bite it all the way through without breaking your jaw. Ciabatta /is/ Italian but the French do make similar breads. You can use pain ordinaire or sourdough, even a baguette if you prefer.

Slice the loaf longways like it was a huge roll. Sprinkle chopped garlic on the bottom half (or just rub the cut clove over, if you're a wuss), apply plenty of capers and sprinkle liberally with the vinegar. Drizzle a little olive oil on that.

Layer on some cucumber if you have it, then take slices of vegan tuna (yeah, I know) and arrange across the cucumbers. Season with pepper and lay the basil leaves over. Time for the celery, tomatoes, olives and lettuce, in that order or any other you fancy. You probably won't need salt because of the capers and olives but it's your choice.

Oil up the top slice of the loaf and add a little more vinegar if you like it and cover your sandwich.

You're done, but you can't eat it yet. Wrap the whole construction up tightly using cling film, foil or a dish that will take the whole thing and some greaseproof or parchment paper to cover it, then put a heavy weight on it and leave somewhere cool for at least 4 hours to mature. The salad exudes its juices which mix with the oil, vinegar and seasonings and the bread soaks up all this healthy goodness becoming succulent and tender. Served with a glass of rosé there can hardly be anything nicer on a hot summer's day in the country.



Oh, and that vegan tuna! I'm still working on it but there is a commercial product you may be able to get. Marigold Braised Tofu comes in tins from good health stores worldwide and is delicious. Failing that tofu slices, seitan or even cheesely might fill the gap although the flavours will move steadily away from the epitome of the original.