flipPan-bagnat du maquisard (Maquis fighter's pan-bagnat)
Pan-bagnat du maquisard (Maquis fighter's pan-bagnat)
Why this dish? The round bread soaked in oil and salad, which keeps in a satchel and fears no road: the perfect snack for anyone walking from Céreste to the Albion plateau. One imagines it slipped next to the Resistance notebook of Captain Alexandre, Char's nom de guerre in the maquis.
A round bread stuffed with tomato, hard-boiled egg, anchovies, olives, and olive oil, pressed so the bread soaks up the juices. The longer it waits, the better it gets: Provence's nomadic snack.
This one, you slip into your satchel and you walk. The bread must drink the oil and the tomato juice to the core — you press it, you let it rest, and it's at the end of the road that it's best. In the maquis days, a crust stuffed like this was worth all the provisions; we'd share, we'd move on. Hunger too, you see, is part of the freedom we defend.
- •Round bread — one per person (nomadic support)
- •Ripe tomatoes — according to the bread (juiciness, acidity)
- •Hard-boiled egg — one (filling)
- •Anchovies or tuna — a few (umami, salt)
- •Black olives — a handful (flavor)
- •Olive oil and vinegar — a drizzle (dressing)
Pan-bagnat du maquisard (Maquis fighter's pan-bagnat)
A round bread stuffed with tomato, hard-boiled egg, anchovies, olives, and olive oil, pressed so the bread soaks up the juices. The longer it waits, the better it gets: Provence's nomadic snack.
Why this dish? The round bread soaked in oil and salad, which keeps in a satchel and fears no road: the perfect snack for anyone walking from Céreste to the Albion plateau. One imagines it slipped next to the Resistance notebook of Captain Alexandre, Char's nom de guerre in the maquis.
This one, you slip into your satchel and you walk. The bread must drink the oil and the tomato juice to the core — you press it, you let it rest, and it's at the end of the road that it's best. In the maquis days, a crust stuffed like this was worth all the provisions; we'd share, we'd move on. Hunger too, you see, is part of the freedom we defend.
Ingredients (period version)
- Round bread — one per person (nomadic support)
- Ripe tomatoes — according to the bread (juiciness, acidity)
- Hard-boiled egg — one (filling)
- Anchovies or tuna — a few (umami, salt)
- Black olives — a handful (flavor)
- Olive oil and vinegar — a drizzle (dressing)
Ingredients
- Small round bread (ciabatta type) — 1 (support)
- Ripe tomato — 1 (juiciness)
- Hard-boiled egg — 1 (filling)
- Anchovy fillets or oil-packed tuna — 3 fillets or 50 g (umami)
- Black olives — a handful (flavor)
- Spring onion — a few rings (bite)
- Basil leaves — a few (flavor)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (dressing)
- Wine vinegar — 1 tsp (acidity)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Cut the bread in half and remove some crumb to make room for the filling.
- Rub the inside with garlic if desired, drizzle generously with olive oil and a splash of vinegar.
- Fill with tomato slices, hard-boiled egg, anchovies (or tuna), olives, onion, and basil; season with salt and pepper.
- Close the sandwich, press firmly under a weight, and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Wrap in a cloth and take along: it improves on the road.
How it was made : Pan-bagnat ('bathed bread' in Niçois) is the popular snack of the Provençal coast, designed to be prepared in advance and carried by fishermen and workers. Its traditional version never contains cooked vegetables, only raw ingredients bathed in oil.
The contemporary twist : Chic picnic version: sourdough bread, line-caught tuna, heirloom multicolored tomatoes, and purple basil, tied with a strand of raffia.
René Char · Charactorium
