Entertaining

Recipe: Sandwich Niçoise

This Provençal-inspired version of a tuna salad sandwich is a good traveller—make it just before leaving home for the cottage, or bring it on a picnic. Be sure to keep it cool, because the filling contains mayonnaise.

Serves: 4
Course: Lunch

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (30 ml)
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (15 ml)
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (15 ml)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 baguette or 4 large, sturdy rolls
  • fresh leaf lettuce or arugula
  • Niçoise Tuna Salad (recipe follows)
  • 2 firm tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Instructions

Sandwich Niçoise

Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, basil, and garlic. Season to taste.

Slice baguette or rolls in half horizontally. Pull away and discard some of the soft bread dough from the inside. Lightly brush the insides, top and bottom, with the basil-flavoured vinaigrette.

On the bottom half of the bread, arrange a layer of leaf lettuce or arugula and pile on the Niçoise Tuna Salad. Top with a layer of tomatoes, eggs, and another layer of lettuce.

Cover the filling with the top half of the bread, press all together and, if you’re not eating it right away, wrap securely with plastic film and refrigerate. To serve, cut the baguette on the diagonal into 4 or 8 pieces; slice the rolls in half.

Niçoise Tuna Salad

Almost everyone loves tuna salad, and this simple version, spiked with capers and black olives, works as well on its own as on a sandwich.

Combine ingredients. If you’re using water-packed tuna, you may need to add an additional 1–2 tbsp (15–30 ml) mayonnaise. Add pepper to taste.