Pan Bagnat
Photo: Andy Li · CC0

History

Pan bagnat means soaked bread in Nissart, the old portable lunch for Nicois fishermen and market workers that combines the same components as a salade nicoise on a round bread. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies no cooked vegetables, no mayonnaise and the use of canned tuna or anchovy and tomato as the protein base. Lou Pilha Leva is the canonical Vieux Nice address.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Fish, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 20 minTotal 2 hr 20 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 round white bread rolls (pain bagnat or ciabatta)
  • 150g tuna in olive oil, drained
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
  • 6 anchovy fillets
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 small green pepper, thinly sliced
  • 12 Nicoise olives
  • Handful basil leaves
  • Best quality olive oil
  • Red wine vinegar, salt, pepper

Method

  1. Halve the bread rolls horizontally and pull out a little of the soft inner crumb to make space for the filling.
  2. Drizzle both cut sides generously with olive oil and a few drops of red wine vinegar, season with salt.
  3. Layer tomatoes, tuna, anchovies, egg slices, raw onion, green pepper, olives and basil leaves on the bottom half.
  4. Close the sandwich and wrap tightly in cling film. Press under a weight in the fridge for 2 hours so the bread absorbs the juices.

Tip from the editors. The fridge press is what transforms the sandwich into a proper pan bagnat; eat it within 24 hours of pressing or the bread goes soggy.

Where to eat pan bagnat

Pan Bagnat in Nice

Lou Pilha Leva ★ 4.2

€ Street food

Lou Pilha Leva on Rue du Collet runs a Vieux Nice street food counter with socca and pan bagnat under €10, tiled cafeteria seating and shared tables.

TryPan bagnat and socca

Directions

Rene Socca ★ 4.3

€ Niçoise

Rene Socca on Rue Miralheti in Vieux Nice runs a self service Nicois counter with socca, pissaladiere and beignets de fleurs de courgette under €8 a plate.

TrySocca slice and pissaladiere

Directions

Le Safari ★ 4.2

€ Street food

Le Safari on Cours Saleya offers the canonical Nicois lunch since 1972, the Cuisine Nissarde label and pissaladiere on the terrace facing the daily market.

TryPissaladiere terrace plate

Directions

Chez Pipo ★ 4.5

€ Niçoise

Chez Pipo on Rue Bavastro fires socca in wood burning ovens since 1923, the cheapest meal in Nice at €3-5 a slice between Place Garibaldi and Port Lympia.

TrySocca slice

Directions

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