The French Picnic Baguette - Pan Bagnat - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 baguette, the wider type such as Pain (or 4 ciabatta rolls)
1 garlic clove, peeled
extra virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and thinly sliced
200 g good quality tuna
3 -4 ripe tomatoes, sliced
6 salted anchovies
pitted black olives
1/2 red onion, finely sliced into rings
1/2 cos lettuce, leaves roughly torn (or something similarly crunchy)
white wine vinegar

Preparation

Cut the baguette into even size portions.
Then cut the baguette pieces or bread rolls in half lengthways, and scoop out some of the bread filling. (You use this for a gratin-type affair later in the week or for breadcrumbs).
Rub the garlic over the inside of both halves, drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and season well.
In one hollowed-out half, pack in the egg slices, tuna, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, chopped red onion and lettuce leaves.
Drizzle with more oil, and a little white-wine vinegar.
Put the other half of the baguette or bread roll on top, wrap snugly in tinfoil and place on a flat surface. Lay some big books on top to weigh it down. (I use a Larousse Gastronomique!).
Leave for an hour or two. Then remove the tinfoil and wrap a band of greaseproof or brown paper around the middle of each portion, and tie tightly with kitchen string.
These can then be stored overnight in a covered container until next day. (This is not necessary - but can be handy to avoid all the fuss next day!).
Take them on your picnic with wine, fruit and good company!
Sublime!