Summer

A French Twist in the Medina: Pan Tunisienne Lunch Pail

by:
September 30, 2010
4.5
4 Ratings
A French Twist in the Medina: Pan Tunisienne Lunch Pail
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

I love making meals by the seat of my pantry. In a Zingerman’s catalog, their annual “Fall Food Buyer’s Guide” I read about this delicious sounding sandwich Tunisienne. Foreign intrigue. It was less recipe than road map drawn on the palm of your hand. It calls for things I typically keep in the pantry; those being really good oil packed tuna, preserved lemons and harissa. But it recommends a few other paths to follow. So into the kitchen tent I went. I came out with a sandwich that is somewhere between my favorite pan bagnat and a muffaletta sans pork products. For the “picnic” theme I’m also including a couscous “tabbouleh” Provençale. This is based on a recipe I’ve been making for years from the inspiration of Patricia Wells. It substitutes couscous for bulger, and it works perfectly. Please remember that tabbouleh is a very green salad so be generous with the parsley and mint. If your lunch pail aka tiffin has compartments you can wrap the sandwich in parchment and save it in one and in another you might keep tabbouleh. - pierino —pierino

Test Kitchen Notes

This was a very good and original twist on pan bagnat. The use of couscous instead of bulgur in the tabbouleh was excellent. – Alain —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Pain
  • 1 or 2 Italian loaves or the equivalent in ciabatta etc., but sturdy enough to handle olive oil, depending on shape
  • 1 10 ounce (200 gm) can of oil packed tuna (As Do Mar, or Ortiz “conserva” are highly preferred)
  • 1 Preserved lemon, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon salt packed capers, rinsed in cold water
  • 1/2 cup Moroccan style oil cured olives, pitted
  • 2 Anchovy fillets (optional)*
  • Harissa to your own tolerance
  • Extra virgin olive oil (arbequina is our favorite for this)
  • fleur de sel (or other sea salt)
  • *Note to cook regarding anchovies; the flat tins from Morocco are terrible. Read the label for country of origin. You are better off using the flat jarred ones OR if you go through a lot of anchovies, the big tinned type packed in salt. A little more work
  • Couscous tabbouleh
  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley
  • 1 cup very fresh mint
  • 1 cup dry couscous
  • 1/2 cup (approximately) cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
  • 1 shallot, roughly chopped
  • ¼ cup (approximate) extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt (as in fleur de sel)
  • 1 Joey Ramone action figure to rock your casbah (optional)
Directions
  1. Pit the olives, drain the capers. Place in a food processor bowl along with anchovies (if you are using). Give this a quick couple of pulses. The texture should be coarse---esssentially it's a minimalist olive salad.
  2. Split your bread, which ever type you are using, on the horizon. Lay the halves out on a sheet of plastic wrap. On one cut side drizzle some olive oil. On the other half side smear some harissa.
  3. Build the sandwich. Spoon out some of your olive/caper mixture onto the oil half of the bread. Open the can of tuna, don't cut yourself, and spread over the oiled half.
  4. Depending on the size of your preserved lemon you may need only 1/2 or 1/4 of the whole. You decide. Distribute chopped lemon. I'm not holding your hand on this step.
  5. Give it a grind of pepper and a little more salt (it won't need much). Close up the sandwich, wrap tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the couscous.
  6. Wash and dry the parsley and mint. Chop them together. Meanwhile (the "meanwhile" step) cook the couscous according to package instructions---time varies according to size and shape.
  7. Drain the cooked couscous. Add shallot, tomatoes and the parsley-mint mixture. Add some olive oil. Use your clean hands to work this all together. Add salt to taste.
  8. For the lunch pail, unwrap the pan tunisienne and cut in half (or quarter depending on size of loaf). Wrap that up in parchment, tape closed if neccessary. Stick it in the lunch pail. In a separate container portion out the tabbouleh.
  9. Optional but good, slice up some melon. Wrap and add to the pail.
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  • QueenSashy
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  • Sagegreen
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  • pierino
    pierino
  • testkitchenette
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pierino
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.

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16 Reviews

QueenSashy
QueenSashy April 11, 2016
Loved the sandwich. It's a blast of flavors... Btw, I had extra of all ingredients and for sake of experimenting mixed them with the couscous - it made for one great salad!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames June 11, 2013
Really appealing -- and well written! -- recipe (as usual). Something happens to me when June rolls around that makes me crave a really good tuna sandwich. Alas, no Joey Ramone in my kitchen, but my Chipper Jones bobble head will be a fine substitute, don't you think? ;o) P.S. Please don't ask me how I own a Chipper Jones bobble head. I'm a Giants fan!!
 
pierino
pierino June 11, 2013
Hey! I like Chipper. He played the game the way it's supposed to be played. I wouldn't mind owning a Chipper bobble to go along with Ichiro and Luis Gonzalez in my office.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames June 11, 2013
My feelings exactly. It's why I own a bobble head of a player who was a really tough out for the Giants for so many years. I like your choice of bobble heads, too. Gonzalez was so much fun to watch during his stint with the D-backs (though painful in many a game vs my favorite NL team), and Ichiro, well, he's a player for the ages. ;o)
 
pierino
pierino October 10, 2013
AJ, I now have a Buster Posey bobble which I picked up at a Fresno Grizzlies game this summer.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames October 10, 2013
I'm so jealous! (Both that you got that bobble head, and that you were able to attend a minor league game.) ;o)
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen February 27, 2012
Why does this week seem to have the names of all your kitchen tools all over it. Love all your recipes, pierino!
 
pierino
pierino February 27, 2012
And there is one more on its way....
 
pierino
pierino October 1, 2010
Thanks all, I know per the rules that no extra points are added for side dishes but given that a tiffinwalla pail was the photo accompanying the competition and Amanda's own at that, I figured if you have a compartmentalized container why not work with something else to make it lunch. The couscous tabbouleh was the first thing that came to mind as complement to the tunisienne.
 
boulangere
boulangere February 26, 2012
Note to self: pick up Joey Ramone AF. Couscous tabbouleh, oh yeah.
 
testkitchenette
testkitchenette October 1, 2010
I spy a Joey Ramone doll...this one (as all your are) is a keeper.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames September 30, 2010
P.S. Really like the melon idea. You're a genius. ;o)
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames September 30, 2010
Brilliant! The perfect combination of simple, straightforward, clear-tasting ingredients, deftly assembled. I want some of that couscous for lunch. Today. You rock, Mr P. ;o)
 
TiggyBee
TiggyBee September 30, 2010
Wonderful!! I was so happy to see the pan bagnat again too! : )
 
ellenl
ellenl September 30, 2010
I love this entire recipe, including the intro. Can't wait to make it!
 
mrslarkin
mrslarkin September 30, 2010
This tiffin will most definitely rock the casbah.