Pan Bagna Recipe

Pan Bagna Recipe

  • 3 large eggs
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, Walla Walla or Maui, thinly sliced
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 22-inch-long baguette, preferably whole-grain
  • 1 small clove garlic, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon anchovy paste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 6 imported black olives, pitted and chopped
  • 1 cup mesclun or lamb's lettuce (mache) (see Ingredient note)
  1. Hard-boil eggs (see Tip). Peel when cool enough to handle. Set aside one of the yolks for the dressing. Coarsely chop the remaining eggs.
  2. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until very tender and light golden, 10 to 20 minutes. (Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water if onions are browning too quickly.)
  3. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths. Split each piece in half horizontally. Pull out the soft bread from the center of each piece, leaving 1/2-inch-thick shells. Place soft bread in a food processor or blender and process to form fine crumbs. Measure out 1/2 cup of crumbs (reserve the rest for another use).
  4. Mash garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt with the side of a chef's knife. Transfer to a medium bowl. (Alternatively, mash garlic and salt in a mortar with a pestle.) Add reserved egg yolk and mash with a fork. Whisk in mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, anchovy paste and remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Fold in parsley, olives, reserved chopped eggs and breadcrumbs. Season with pepper.
  5. To assemble sandwiches, spread the caramelized onions over the bread-shell bottoms. Mound the egg mixture over the onions. Top with mesclun (or lamb's lettuce) and replace bread tops.
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