This is a bit of a labor of love, and needs to be made the night before, or even the morning of because it needs time to chill, weighted! It is so very good, and worth the effort.
Julia Child’s Pan Bagnat
For the vinaigrette:
1 small shallot, minced
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 round of Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia or other round loaf*
Extra-virgin olive oil
About 6 leaves red-leaf lettuce, washed and dried
8 oz Brie cheese, in 1/4" thick flat slices
3/4 c black oil-cured olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 large fresh tomato, cored, thinly sliced
2-oz can anchovies in olive oil**
Special equipment:
Plastic wrap; 2 cookie sheets or trays; a heavy pan or other weighty items for pressing the sandwich
To make the vinaigrette, mix the shallot and vinegar in a small bowl, and gradually whisk in the oil with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the bread horizontally into even top and bottom layers. Turn the top over, then drizzle olive oil all over the cut sides of both layers, using 2 or 3 Tbs of oil on each.
Yes, tablespoons.
Make layers of all the filling ingredients. First, completely cover the sandwich bottom with 5 or 6 lettuce leaves, then arrange the slices of Brie on top. Scatter the chopped olives and cover with the tomato slices in a single layer.
Spoon about half the vinaigrette over the tomatoes, then separate the anchovy fillets and distribute evenly. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette and the oil from the anchovy can all over the filling. Finally, replace the top layer of the bread to close the sandwich.
Wrap the sandwich well with several layers of plastic wrap and place on a cookie sheet or pizza pan or tray. Lay another tray on top of the sandwich and center some heavy items to press and flatten the loaf (a heavy pan and a 5-lb bag of sugar, for example).
Place the weighted sandwich in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours or overnight. Before serving, remove the weight, unwrap the compressed sandwich, and let it come to room temperature. Cut into serving-size wedges or, as an hors d'oeuvre cut in thin parallel slices, and again into short, bite-size lengths. 1 large sandwich makes 8 large wedges or 24-hors-d'oeuvre-size pieces.
Notes:
*You don't want there to be too much bread, so a high round loaf is not ideal, the flat of focaccia works best
**We are anchovy cowards and I just used tiny tiny squishes from a tube of anchovy paste, and so probably altered the true flavor. Yet it was still yummy!
Other Notes:
On TV, Julia Child, whose recipe this is, said that the people of Provence say it isn't a good sandwich unless the olive oil runs down your arms. I thought that was funny, but it gives an idea of the intent. That is the part of the world where bread salads with similar ingredients are enjoyed, so this almost seems like a portable bread salad, in that respect. Hope you enjoy this as much as we have.
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