I’m going to demonstrate how to create the Niçoise, which is actually the world’s most popular tuna salad filled and squished within an entire loaf of bread. This sandwich is reportedly the best for a picnic because it needs to be prepared ahead of time and the longer it lies in its own juices, the better.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 8 hrs |
| Total Time: | 8 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 loaf day-old crusty French bread, split in half lengthwise
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced, divided
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ⅓ cup sliced green olives
- ⅓ cup sliced black olives
- ½ cup thinly sliced banana peppers
- 1 ½ cups olive oil-packed tuna, broken into large chunks
- 8 oil-packed anchovy fillets
- 1 tablespoon drained capers
- 2 medium hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, or to taste
Instructions
- Stir garlic into the olive oil and set aside.
- Partially hollow out the bread by pulling out about 50% of the insides. Brush the bread very generously with the garlic olive oil, reserving about 1 tablespoon for later use.
- Begin building the sandwich by placing a layer of sliced tomatoes on the bottom half, covering it completely. Season with salt and pepper. Top with sliced onion, olives, and banana peppers.
- Crumble the tuna over the top, pressing down slightly so it stays in place. Be sure to go as close to the edges as possible. Top with anchovy filets, capers, sliced eggs, and basil leaves. Top with another layer of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with vinegar and reserved garlic olive oil.
- Place the top half of the loaf on and press firmly to compress the ingredients. Wrap in several layers of plastic wrap, then with aluminum foil, ending with seams at the top.
- Place into a large pan and place a sheet pan over the top. Weigh down with heavy cans, pots, a cast iron pan, or a cutting board, to press the sandwich as evenly as possible.
- Place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or up to overnight, turning halfway through if possible. Unwrap, slice, and serve.
- The French say this sandwich is not properly done unless there is oil dripping from it when you’re eating, so don’t be shy with the oil. Also, the longer it sits in the fridge being pressed, the better.
- You can use a flatter loaf, such as ciabatta instead of a French loaf.
- You can use any vinegar of your choice.
- You can use any fresh, roasted, or pickled pepper you like instead of banana peppers, and add any ingredient you like, such as artichoke hearts, sliced fennel, or maybe some blanched green beans.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 562 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 47 g |
| Cholesterol | 105 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 27 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 1287 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It did not turn out well for me
I made this as described. I thought it looked interesting. The only things I already had on hand were olive oil, garlic, eggs, plastic wrap, and foil. The rest of the ingredients cost $24 to play this game. It was a lot of effort to put this together and wrap it. I pressed it for 20 hours. The results: meh. A messy sandwich that falls apart too easy. It tastes exactly as I imagined which is heavily fishy, salty, sour, a little spice from the banana peppers, and a bite from the red onions. The egg adds almost nothing and if you are tasting egg it seem like a cameo of a non-relevant C-list actor in a blockbuster movie because the director knew he needed the money for back taxes. Honestly, I want my $24 back. However, I might try to salvage this by simply chopping everything and making an actual tuna salad out of it minus a lot of the olive oil. At least the left over capers can go in mashed potatoes.
I made this exactly as instructed, and was it messy. But, oh my gosh, was it GOOD! Be careful to find the right bread, since I think that’s important in making this so delicious. It certainly can be tweaked for one’s own tastes, but my family found it excellent as written. A keeper for sure!
Came out good. A little salty from all the salty ingredients. Of course. I think balsamic next time to counter that.
Yummy!!!! I watched the video for this and had to have it. I used a baguette-style bread because that’s all the bakery had, but was delish.
Very good! Made as directed