Plat du Jour by Susan Herrmann Loomis

Author:Susan Herrmann Loomis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Countryman Press
Published: 2020-12-28T00:00:00+00:00

THE “RULES” FOR PAN BAGNAT

As so often happens in France, when a dish reaches icon status, a group forms to protect it. This is the case with pan bagnat. It spawned La Commune Libre du Pan Bagnat (The Free Municipality of Pan Bagnat), a group devoted to the purity of this sandwich. La Commune is strict about what a pan bagnat can—and cannot—include. Its charter states that any ingredient can be left out of the approved list of ingredients, but nothing can be added that isn’t on the list, if the sandwich is to be called pan bagnat. This is the result of a heresy noted by traditionalists, which is the addition of lettuce to a pan bagnat. “There are some who call the pan bagnat a vegetable sandwich,” bemoaned a member of La Commune, “because it includes lettuce. No pan bagnat ever includes lettuce.”

The recipe I offer for pan bagnat (page 182) respects the traditional list of ingredients (which follows), to create a gorgeous sandwich that becomes an entire meal. You may be tempted to add lettuce, but don’t. You’ll be going against La Commune, and we all know the results when that happens! (Hint: The French Revolution . . .)

OFFICIAL LIST OF PAN BAGNAT INGREDIENTS:

•Bread

•Tomatoes

•Radishes

•Scallions (preferred, but small spring onions tolerated)

•Bell pepper

•Tuna or anchovies

•Hard-cooked egg

•Olive oil

•Salt and pepper

•Fava beans

•Small artichokes

•Vinegar (tolerated)

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.