Friday, June 13, 2008

Thursday

Pan bagna (recipe in the comments)
Brussel sprouts

Peach ice cream
______________________________________________________________
This is a wonderful Mediterranean inspired sandwich. You mix a vinaigrette with tuna, tomatoes, olives, and some other vegetables combine that tasty mixture with crumbs from the interior of a loaf of bread. The filling is then reloaded into the bread and served as a sandwich. It's truly yummy and very easy to prepare. This is a another recipe with no cooking involved, so it's great on a hot night. We usually have it with cold artichokes, that I've made that day or the night before. I lost track of time yesterday and hadn't made them, so we had brussel sprouts from the freezer instead. Since M and I love brussel sprouts, this was no hardship. We'll ahve the artichokes tomorrow.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Tomato, pepper, scallions, garlic, olives, thyme (if fresh)
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: I make the filling and then add the crumbs last minute and load it into the bread just before serving. You can eat this the next day, but it's not quite as good.

Reaction
J: "Truly summer."
M: "The perfect summer dinner."

1 comment:

J said...

Pan Bagna – M & J (inspired by Eating Well Rush Hour Cookbook)
Serves 2-4, depending on sides

1 loaf ciabatta style bread
2 T lemon juice, or more to taste
2 T extra virgin olive oil
Splash red wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tuna, drained and rinsed
1 large tomato, cored and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 scallions, sliced
¼ cup sliced black olives
1 ½ T capers, rinsed
1 t chopped fresh thyme OR ¼ t dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste (often none)

Cut bread in half lengthwise. Scoop out crumbs from both halves, leaving a ½” thick shell. Place crumbs in a food processor and chop until fine crumbs form. Set aside. You can now use the processor to chop the garlic if you like. If you do it before you do the bread the crumbs stick to the sides of the bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, garlic. Flake tuna in the same bowl. Stir in the reserved breadcrumbs, tomato, bell pepper, scallions, olives, capers, and thyme. Mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Spoon the filling mixture into the bottom half of the bread shell. Top with the top half and slice into individual servings.