Antipasti Pan-Bagnat

So. Since last Saturday, I have been living in a dusty, tenuous environment rife with stress, unexpected destruction and tearful recriminations. No, I've not joined the Army and been deployed. I've been remodelling my house. It'll look fabulous. Really. It will. When it's done. Sigh.

Anyway. Since I've been without a stove/oven for the past 6 days, I've had to be very organized in planning my meals. Everything had to be cheap (since we'll soon have fabulous new bamboo floors, we're now dirt floor poor) and everything had to grillable (Grill-able. That's probably not a word, huh?)

We had grilled veggie sandwiches one night, then dumped the left-over veggies onto pizza crusts and grilled those the next night. And I made a surprisingly successful grilled taco salad. Luckily, my dear brother Goose had offered to cook me dinner one night, so I only had to plan 5 meals (ok, 4 meals - we went out to eat once. You would too.) But now, dear brother Goose has ditched me, bailed, tossed me over for the Portland Ultimate Frisbee Freaks (PUFF. Heh.) I have nothing fresh in the fridge. No stove upon which to cook. Oh woe is me.

But not being one for too much self-pity (it's bad for the complexion) I got over myself and my brother's betrayal and concentrated on what I had going for me: a well stocked pantry. Pan-Bagnat means "wet bread" and is a sandwich that is traditionally stuffed with Salade Niçoise. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I HATE wet bread. But this sandwich doesn't get soggy. If you use a really good bagette, the crumb becomes infused with the antipasti's oils so that the bread becomes soft and unctious, but the crust stays crispy-crunchy. It was pretty damn good for a total fluke.

Inspiration: A bailing brother
Time: 20 minutes active, 120 minutes total
Difficulty: easy
Special equipment: Plastic Wrap and something long and flat and heavy... like a cutting board!
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 really good quality baguette - you should always keep a couple of these in the freezer
1/4 cup pepperoni, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (I prefer the the fresh sundried tomatoes, not packed in oil. But you can use those too in a pinch.)
1 8 oz jar marinated artichokes, cut into quarters - reserve the marinade
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and corsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chiffonade (chiffonad'ed? - cripes, just slice it thin)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (balls of fresh mozzarella or diced provolone would also be really good in this.)
2 T really fruity extra virgin olive oil or to taste. This amount depends on what type of sundried tomatoes you use and how oily your artichoke marinade is.
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

You could also add roasted red peppers, pickled asparagus spears, or omit the meat and go veg.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Toast the baguette for about 1o minutes, until golden and crispy.

While the baguette is toasting, make your antipasti stuffing. Toss all the above ingredients, save the oil, in a small bowl. Add about half of the artichoke marinade to the mixture and stir until well combined. Now, consider your oil options. You want to add enough oil to create a cohesive mass without drowning the veggies; if things start to float - you've gone too far. Add a bit of cracked black pepper to this and set aside. What? you want to add salt too? Well sure you can - if you're on one of those wacky dehydration diets. Otherwise, the pickled and brined veggies in this are plenty salty on their own.

While the baguette is still warm, slice in half, then lengthwise, leaving a hinge. Stuff the two halves equally with the antipasti filling. Place one sandwich half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Tightly wrap the sandwich like you would a sushi roll. Repeat with the other sandwich. Lay your heaviest cutting board on top of the sandwiches and press down firmly for a few seconds. Let the sandwiches sit for 1 hour at room temperature (so that the bread gets all oily and delicious). Eat!Enjoy!