Cooking: Pan Bagnat

I can't remember the first time I saw a Pan Bagnat being made on a cookery show, it must have been at least 10 years ago. I thought it looked very cool and the perfect picnic food, but never got round to making one. It's not something you see very often in the UK.

However, last week I suddenly got the urge to make one and my trip to watch the Ashes seemed the like the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

A Pan Bagnat is a stuffed bread. It's not really a dish that you need a recipe for. You buy a round loaf, cut off the top and scoop out all of the bread inside. Fill it with some of your favourite ingredients and enjoy!

It looks very cool when you cut it open.

I followed this recipe and adapted it depending on what I had in the fridge and fancied putting in.

Ingredients:
Loaf of bread
Some of your favourite ingredients:
- Aubergine / eggplant
- Courgette / zuchinni
- Mushrooms
- Red pepper / capsicum
- Salami
- Sundried tomatoes
Mozarella, sliced
Oliver oil
Two cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Mixed dried herbs

Method:
1. Slice all of the vegetables into strips. Marinade in the olive oil, garlic and dried herbs.

2. BBQ the vegetables until cooked. Place the red pepper in a bowl covered with cling film to steam and remove the skins when cool. Place all of the other vegetables on kitchen paper to cool. It is important all of your vegetables are dry so that they don't make your bread soggy.

3. Cut the top third off the bread. Hollow out the soft inside of the bread and lid, leaving 2 cm next to the crust. Layer up the vegetables, salami, mozarella and sun dried tomatoes inside the bread until it is full.

4. Wrap the stuffed bread in clingfilm. Place a plate on top of the loaf and weigh it down with ~1kg (I used a full tub of yoghurt!) for around an hour.

5. Take to your picnic and serve.