Pan Bagna

Yes, a Pan Bagna is a sandwich. And it's sososo good. You don't know this yet, but you looked at this blog for this recipe. In fact, your parents had you so you could one day try this sandwich. The good news is: It's incredibly easy to make.

You can use any kind of spread on this and it would probably be good. I made some sandwiches with Olive Tapenade, and some with Sun-dried Tomato and White Bean spread.
Yum.

Olive Tapenade:
15 pitted calamata olives (or any nice black olive)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic

Sun-dried Tomato and White Bean spread:
1 1/2 tablespoons crushed garlic
10 sun dried tomatoes in oil
1 can (15-16 ounces) white beans
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt to taste

Sandwich:
1 long, narrow, crispy loaf of bread (like cibatta bread:D )
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
3 vine-ripe or plum tomatoes
1 roasted red/yellow pepper (you can get these jarred or canned at any grocery store)
1 small bunch of arugula (well washed)
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Olive Tapenade- Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until somewhat smooth (it shouldn't look like paste) and you're done. Easy. [:

Tomato spread- Separate the sun-dried tomatoes from their oil. Put them into a food processor with the garlic and blend. Add the white beans and lemon juice and blend. Add salt to taste. It should look sort of like hummus.

Sandwich- Slice the bread the long way, and spread [whatever you made] on the bottom slice. Layer the following, in this order: red onion, tomatoes, salt and pepper, red/yellow pepper, arugula, and basil. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar on top of the vegetables and then the oil on the underside of the other slice of bread. Put the sandwich together. Eat. [:

*You can also wrap the sandwich up tightly with cling-wrap after you've made it, set it in the fridge, and let the flavors marinate. If you do this, though, you might want to toast your bread so it wont be soggy.*

**Pesto would be good on this, too.**

When you're finished- If you made the Sun-dried Tomato and White Bean Spread you can save it and use it as a dip[: