Pan Bagnat

Have you ever made something and just KNOWN that it was going to be good? That describes this Pan Bagnat recipe, from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (1998). It's currently sitting in my fridge, because it's supposed to be left over night, and I can't WAIT to eat it tomorrow.

2 very ripe tomatoes, peeled
1 8-oz loaf day-old French or Italian bread--the crustier, the better
1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced (white AND green parts)
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp EVOO
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

To peel the tomatoes, cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato skin. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and drop in the tomatoes for 10-15 seconds, just until the skin splits. With a slotted spoon, remove tomatoes to a bowl of cold water. Skins should peel off easily (this is just like blanching/peeling peaches).

Halve each peeled tomato horizontally (around the fattest part--if the part where the stem was is the north pole then you are cutting along the equator). With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp. Dice the tomato shells.

Pull out the soft insides of the bread and tear into pea-sized pieces.

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, bread, cheese, parsley, scallions, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper.

Fill the bread loaf with the tomato mixture (you will have to mush it in). Close the bread and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, cut into 4 pieces.

Makes 4 servings, 4 WW pts per serving (222 calories, 6g fat, 3g fiber).

I can't wait for this to be finished! This summer, when tomatoes are ripe, this may become a staple lunch for me (I doubt The Big Geek would view this as a complete meal). As a child I used to get into trouble for using up all the tomatoes making tomato sandwiches--this is the grown-up version of that!