Overnight Pressed Pan Bagnat

Perk Up Your Picnic

Grab your gingham napkins, ditch the dining room and fetch your friends—we have a healthy lineup of make-ahead picnic recipes that are not only hassle-free but pretty enough for pictures too! These pressed sandwiches, pesto potatoes and creamy chickpea salad recipes are simple and fast and certain to delight a small crowd of hungry outdoor diners. Plus, everything tastes better when served with sides of sunshine and fresh air. So, make a plan to get outside with this make-ahead, moveable feast that you can take anywhere, anytime.

Overnight Pressed Pan Bagnat
Not your average picnic sandwich,this Pan Bagnat is as delightful and interesting as it sounds, a zesty upgrade from your classic Ziploc-packed picnic sandwiches. It’s the perfect pack-and-go parcel for so many reasons: Not only is it stunningly colorful and wildly tasty, but it’s also best made a day ahead so that its bold, bright flavors have time to meld together; they grow bigger and better the longer they sit.

The Pan Bagnat is like a portable salad niçoise stacked between crusty multigrain baguette. It’s heavy with heart-healthy tuna, crisp cucumbers, protein- packed eggs, peppery arugula, vitamin E-rich olives, crunchy bell peppers and pickled radishes, all bathed in a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. Not a tuna fan? Simply sub in shredded chicken.

The best part? There’s nothing to cook! Prep is so simple and easy. You can load up a set of twin baguettes in about 20 minutes; simply let them sit overnight. Tote to the park, on a boat, to the beach, in a bike, on a hike, up a mountain or to a tailgate.

INGREDIENTS:
4 large radishes, very thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
Dash of salt
2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 cup mixed olives (such as nicoise, kalamata, or green), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil
2 (5-ounce) cans oil-packed tuna, drained
2 (12-inch) multigrain baguettes, lightly toasted
1/2 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
1/2 cup thinly sliced roasted red pepper
2 hard boiled eggs, thinly sliced
(optional)
2 cups arugula

Combine radishes, ¼ cup vinegar, sugar and dash of salt in a small bowl. Add boiling water; let sit 15-20 minutes.

Mix garlic, capers, vinegar and mustard in a medium bowl. Add onion and olives; toss to combine and let sit 8 to 10 minutes. Add basil, 2 tablespoons oil and lemon juice, toss to combine.

Place tuna in a medium bowl. Add ¼ of olive mixture to tuna; toss to combine.

Cut bread lengthwise, stopping just before cutting all the way through. Lightly hollow out insides of bread leaving a ½-inch- thick shell. Spread olive mixture over top half of baguette. Spoon tuna mixture over bottom half of baguette. Layer cucumber, red pepper, eggs and radishes over tuna mixture.

Wrap sandwiches tightly in foil and weigh down with a heavy skillet, 10 minutes. Remove skillet and refrigerate wrapped sandwiches overnight.

Before serving, unwrap sandwiches and add arugula. Slice each sandwich into 4 equal portions.