Molly Baz's Niçoise Sando With Smashed Eggs & Black Olive Mayo Recipe on Food52 (2024)

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

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.