Nicoise Sandwich

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    Hi  Laurel here...
    
    
    These sandwiches turned out really good!  They are a little messy which I don't mind, but if you wanted to make them for a picnic or something I think if you put a little less filling per sandwich they would be more manageable.  
    
    
    The recipe I worked off of was from Epicurious, you can find it here.  Although I did take a few liberties...
    
    
    I ended up not using any white onion (there's already red onion and scallions I didn't see any need to turn this into a triple onion party), also I didn't add any additional olive oil.  I'm not sure about other brands but the tuna I used (Ortiz) had plenty of oil in the can to complete the dressing for my taste.  In order to let the onions do their thing I just put everything for the dressing and the tuna with oil together and let it sit for a little.
    
    
    I couldn't find good kaiser rolls so I tried an olive bread and a regular baguette.  The flavor of the olive bread with the sandwich was great, but the bread had really big air pockets in it, so I thought the baguette version turned out a little better because the baguette was better at soaking up the awesome juices of the filling.
    
    
    I also used a little less anchovy, and what I did use i chopped into quarters so you didn't end up with a big ol' mouthful of anchovy.
    
    
    I chose romaine lettuce which I thought added a nice crunch.
    
    
    Other recipes that I saw recommended using an olive tapenade instead of nicoise olives which I think would be great, also some recommended wrapping the sandwiches in plastic wrap, and squeezing them in the fridge overnight with a cast iron skillet.   I didn't try it this time but I'm intrigued to try it another time.  the only thing I would be wary about is refrigerating the tomatoes overnight but maybe those could be added the day of, or you could leave them out like in this recipe from martha stewart
    

    
    
    
    
    1/4 of white onion, thinly sliced
    1/8 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
    1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar, plus additional to taste
    1/4 teaspoon salt, plus additional to taste
    black pepper to taste
    1 6-ounce can tuna packed in olive oil (see above) including olive oil
    lemon juice to taste
    
    2 kaiser rolls, plain
    lettuce leaves, combination of Boston, green-leaf, or other green leafy lettuce
    8 tomato slices
    6-8 hard-boiled eggs slices
    4 anchovy fillets, drained
    Niçoise olives
    scallions, chopped
    radishes, slices
    
    
    
    
    Combine the red and white onion with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil,1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of black pepper in a bowl.

    Using your hands, mix and squeeze everything together for 5 minutes. (Don't rush through this part; the onions need time to release their juices and mellow.)

    Work in can of tuna in olive oil, including the oil. Season with fresh lemon juice, red-wine vinegar, and salt, then add pepper to taste.

    Cut kaiser rolls in half crosswise and spread each bottom half with lettuce leaves. Use a couple of varieties—whatever looks good—for the difference in texture.

    On top of each lettuce layer, arrange 4 tomato slices (skip this step if you don't have good—really good—tomatoes on hand). Then add about half the tuna mixture and 3 to 4 slices of hard-boiled egg.

    Crisscross each sandwich with 2 drained anchovy fillets and strew with Niçoise olives (pit them if desired), chopped scallion greens, and sliced radishes. Then drizzle generously with more olive oil and top with the remaining kaiser halves, pressing gently but firmly.