American

Molly Baz's Niçoise Sando With Smashed Eggs & Black Olive Mayo

by:
October  4, 2022
4.5
11 Ratings
Photo by PEDEN+MUNK
  • Prep time 25 minutes
  • makes 2 sandwiches
Author Notes

This was originally destined to be a niçoise salad, my attempt at taking a fresh look at the beloved French classic of tuna, olive, potato, and egg. I quickly realized that as a salad, the niçoise is perfect and iconic as is, and that I have no business trying to reinvent it. However, if you take all of those same flavors and rearrange them in the form of a sandwich (sorta à la pan bagnat), then I do have reason to get involved. Whatever you do, invest in the highest quality canned tuna you can find, and be sure it’s oil-packed for best flavor. The boiled eggs here are cooked for exactly 9 minutes, which means they’re just shy of hard-boiled (read: NOT chalky), perfect for a sandwich that is already quite juicy.

Reprinted from Cook This Book. Copyright © 2021 by Molly Baz. Photographs copyright © 2021 by PEDEN+MUNK. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.

For more Molly (and more sandwiches), check out our new podcast The Sandwich Universe, a show that uncovers the far side of 10 iconic deli sandwiches.Food52

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Ingredients
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/3 oil-cured black olives
  • 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 (10-inch) soft hoagie rolls
  • 1 (6.7-ounce) jar high-quality oil-packed tuna
  • 1 ripe medium tomato
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves
  • 2 handfuls potato chips
Directions
  1. Cook the eggs: Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower 4 eggs into the water. Set a timer for 9 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with ice and water. Once the eggs are cooked, transfer them to the ice bath to chill for at least 5 minutes to stop the cooking.
  2. Make the olive mayo: Smash ⅓ cup oil-cured black olives with the bottom of a measuring cup and discard the pits. Finely chop the olives and combine them with 6 tablespoons mayo in a small bowl. Finely grate 1 garlic clove into the olive mayo and mix well to combine. No need to season this mayo, since oil-cured black olives are inherently very salty.
  3. Prep your other elements: Cut the hoagie rolls in half lengthwise and pull out some of the bread to hollow them slightly so that the ingredients have somewhere to sit. Drain the oil from 1 (6.7-ounce) jar of oil-packed tuna. Slice 1 medium tomato about ¼ inch thick. Season the slices with salt and black pepper and set on paper towels to drain (no soggy sandwich!). Wipe down that cutting board.
  4. Assemble: Slather the olive mayo on all 4 hoagie halves, dividing it evenly. Peel the eggs. Tear each egg into a few pieces, then place them on the bread. Using the back of a fork, smash each egg down so that it sits more evenly on the sandwich. Season the eggs with salt and black pepper. Layer the sliced tomatoes on the bottom halves of the sandwiches. Flake apart the tuna and arrange it in an even layer on top of the eggs. Drizzle 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar over the tuna on each sandwich. Top with some basil leaves, a handful of potato chips, and the top of the hoagie roll. Press down firmly to compress everything.
  5. Wrap and serve: Wrap the sandwiches in parchment paper or foil to keep them tidy, then slice each sandwich in half before serving.

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9 Reviews

Priya S. March 10, 2023
this was great. i had some tinned fish i bought as a souvenir fr Portugal and this recipe did it justice. the supermarket didn't have fresh basil, so subbed in basil paste that u find in the produce section.

it's a keeper!
Tenni W. August 21, 2021
THIS IS NOT A SANDO. STOP with the appropriation.
panaceus December 14, 2021
I believe that by "sando" Molly meant the general "sandwich", not the Japanese version. Molly loves clipping words (cae sal, moz, morty-d, cukes etc), if you're familiar with her Bon Appetit videos.
ahncj February 7, 2022
Chill. Even if she were inspired by the Japanese abbr., Sando just means... Sandwich. Which has its roots in European culture. By your logic the Japanese "appropriated" Western food first.
Vannes_Et_Sa_Femme October 21, 2022
Thank you. It's so obnoxious how everyone calls a sandwich a sando.
Joy B. August 12, 2021
Incredible sandwich. Also followed recipe exactly except I used a baguette. It ticks all my taste boxes. Can't wait to make it again.
Liz M. August 9, 2021
Absolutely delicious! Made it exactly as written. I have 5 additional cans of tuna and I’ll make at least 5 more times in the next few weeks!
Thank you Molly Baz!
Sheila August 7, 2021
This is a very elevated tuna sandwich that I highly recommend. I used a can of lovely tuna belly and agree with the header notes that it's worth splurging on the good stuff here as you can really appreciate both the flavor and texture.
Two small quibbles: If you truly mash your olive-cured olives into the mayo, you will end up with a brownish spread - delicious but not like the photo. The instructions are a bit confusing where you are first instructed to smash the eggs down on to the bread and then to put the tomato slices on the bottom - would that be underneath the previously smashed eggs? Minor quibbles. Delicious sandwich!
Sheila August 7, 2021
Re-reading the recipe, I see the olives were only to be smashed to remove the pits, then chopped, so the brown olive spread was my fault!