BEACH-READY NIÇOISE SANDWICH (AKA PAN BAGNAT) / May 30, 2019 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

i’m just going to get right into this sandwich. it’s not a novel sandwich to the internet, and recipe makers i’m sure. but i know my way around a tuna salad, and had never had/made one like this. it all started out a few weekends ago with an episode of the barefoot contessa where she was making a mozzarella pan bagnat (she essentially swapped out the tuna for fresh mozzarella and basil) while amesy napped. frank came home and i was literally salivating as i was telling him about this sandwich. but mostly, i was excited at the prospect of the vinaigrette she made. not only was it wonderful with a mozzarella iteration, but i kept thinking how delicious it would be in so many applications - especially in a beach-y/picnic-y sandwich situation. so, in a nutshell, that’s where this sandwich began.

this tuna salad is mashup of all the great ones i’ve had over the years. in new york, the most prevalent tuna salad you can get is a basic deli version with a ton of mayo. but here in los angeles, i’ve found tuna salad to incorporate all kinds of ingredients, and take on various flavor profiles aside from the gloppy one i had grown up with. there have been ones made with balsamic vinegar, sliced grapes, herbs, and toasted almonds. or another with sliced apples and kalamata olives. this recipe here is mashup of all the tuna salads i’ve come to know and love, all in one serving. so, if you’re a tuna fan i think you’ll love this recipe as much as i do. and if you’re not a tuna lover (like frank), stay for the vinaigrette, and do yourself a favor by making it, and pouring it over all the things!

there are a bunch of components here, but a lot of them can be prepared ahead of time. the sliced veg can be cut a day or 2 ahead of time and stored in the fridge. same goes for the vinaigrette, which can stay in fridge for up to 2 weeks. and the tuna salad is actually more flavorful if you make it the day before. and since the weather is officially warm and even hot in some places, i thought this would be the perfect sammie for a beach day, or an afternoon at the park. i just wrapped them with a bit of parchment, stuffed them in a lidded container, and was ready to go. nothing better than a breezy sandwich for the beginnings of the summer season ✌🏼

hope you enjoy the recipes, even if you’re just making the vinaigrette! xo

NIÇOISE SANDWICH (AKA PAN BAGNAT) | GF

if you’re vegan, i could see this vinaigrette going wonderfully into a chopped/smashed chickpea mix, or perhaps another white bean of choice.
a gluten free boule or baguette would ideal here. there is quite a bit of runny bits (thanks to the vinaigrette), and a basic sandwich bread mostly likely won’t hold up.

print the recipe!

| makes 4-6 sandwiches |

vinaigrette (adapted from ina garten)

3 tablespoons minced shallots (roughly 1 large shallot or 2 small)
1 large garlic clove, grated over a microplane (or minced)
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 tablespoon drained capers
fine salt & fresh ground pepper

niçoise sandwich

gluten-free boule, or baguette (or bread of choice)
two 5-ounce cans wild-caught tuna
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
2-3 tablespoons avocado mayonaise (optional)
2 sprigs thyme, leaves chopped
1/4-1/3 cup vinaigrette
fine salt & fresh pepper

extra sandwich fixings

peeled cucumber slices
thinly sliced tomatoes
baby arugula
thinly sliced red onion

method

make the vinaigrette. in medium-sized bowl, whisk together the shallots, garlic, vinegars, and dijon. drizzle in the olive oil whisking briskly until emulsified. stir in the olives and capers, and season with salt & pepper. set aside.
assemble the sandwiches. in a large bowl, chop the tuna with the back of a sturdy fork. mix in the almonds, mayo (if using), and thyme. add 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette, if tuna is still looking dry, add the remaining vinaigrette. taste and season with more salt & pepper if needed.
slice the bread lengthwise. scoop out the doughy parts of the bread making room for all your ingredients. top one half with arugula and a good drizzle of vinaigrette, making sure to scoop some of the solids at the bottom (olives, shallots, capers, etc.) . spoon a good portion of the tuna over top. then top with sliced tomato, red onion, and cucumber. drizzle the other half of the bread with more vinaigrette. let the sandwiches sit for 30 minutes-1 hour, letting the all the flavors to blend.
serve immediately, or wrap in parchment for a picnic or beach day :) (pro-tip: serve with salty potato chips and dill pickles 👍🏼)

similar recipes:

apple-arugula grilled cheese w/ crispy red onions

cilantro-hemp salad on tahini yogurt toast

PEPITA POBLANO ROMESCO SAUCE / May 26, 2019 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

PEPITA POBLANO ROMESCO SAUCE | dolly and oatmeal

hi friends, i’m trying something new out here. you may notice that this post went live on sunday, which i never do! so here’s the “something new”:

last year i asked a favor of you readers to fill out a survey answering some questions about where you’d like dolly and oatmeal to go. to my surprise, a lot of you said that you love it just the way it is, which was so lovely to hear! but i did hear quite a bit of interest in how i feed myself, and my family. the truth is, i’m still in the muck of it. amesy still doesn’t really eat what frank and i do for dinner, so most nights i’m left making 2 completely different dinners. as such, i’ve taken up meal prep once again. i usually spend amesy’s nap-time on sundays to slow cook chicken breasts for the week, make some of amesy’s lunch and dinner components, and most importantly, i prep a few sauces for the week. sometimes it’s a sauce and a dressing, sometimes a dip, and when the stars align the sauce/dressing/dip all have the ability to serve as each one! the point i’m trying to make here is that without these small, saucy components, dinners can suffer. the truth is, life is just easier when you can grab a reliable sauce from the fridge to take your meal/salad/ side to the next level.

which is all to say, that i’m going to be here every sunday providing you some of the sauces/marinades/dips/vinaigrettes that continue to give life to our meals throughout the week, in hopes they give life to yours as well. and without spending the entire weekend food prepping. yay!!

the first one up is this delicious green romesco sauce. if you’re familiar with romesco sauce then you probably know that it’s generally made with red bell peppers and is therefore red, not green, like this version. in this recipe, we swap out the red peppers for poblano peppers, and the walnuts for pumpkin seeds. when it comes together it’s a light but luscious sauce that can used for such a variety of preparations:

served over top to your protein of choice (i used it here to top roasted salmon).
as a creamy/sauce-y component in a lunch/dinner bowl
thinned out with some olive oil for a creamy salad dressing
served as a dip with sliced veggies, crackers, etc.
or smothered over roasted fingerling potatoes for a twist on a classic potato salad

i hope you all enjoy this series as much as i’m loving creating it! it is my sincere hope these “sauce-y sunday” posts will assist you in making meals less daunting. if you have any thoughts/ideas/comments please leave them below or shoot me an email ❤️

pepita poblano romesco sauce | v

method

roast the pepper over a gas flame set to medium-low, rotating it with tongs until charred evenly - about 15 minutes (if you don't have a gas stove, you can broil it in your oven). place pepper in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap (this creates steam to help peel the skin). once cool enough, cut the pepper and discard the stem and seeds, carefully peel the skin and discard. run the peppers under water to remove any excess char, and pat them dry.
blend in a food processor with the parsley, pepitas, garlic, vinegar, and ¼ cup oil. if the romesco is too thick and pasty, add the remaining olive oil. season to taste with salt and pepper. place in a lidded jar in the refrigerator until ready to use (i like to make it a couple days in advance to let the flavors come together.)

ingredients

| makes 1 1/2 cups |

2 poblano peppers
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 large garlic clove
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/4-1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt & fresh ground pepper

CRISPY SMASHED POTATO SALAD W/ GARLICKY YOGURT VINAIGRETTE & PICKLED RED ONIONS / May 23, 2019 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

CRISPY SMASHED POTATO SALAD W/ GARLICKY YOGURT VINAIGRETTE & PICKLED RED ONIONS | dolly and oatmeal

we’re gearing up for memorial day weekend over here, aka the unofficial start of summer! i’m still not sure how it works here in LA, but back where i grew up on the east coast, pools and beaches open this weekend, and you can reliably count on warm, sticky weather until about mid-september. it also marks grilling season! and even though it’s been chilly, cloudy, and sometimes rainy here in los angeles, frank bought a small grill which just feels like we’re making a bigger commitment to cooking at home on the weekends, while also settling into our space and making it more “us” since moving in over a year ago. i’m so excited about the grill though, and since it’s not charcoal, i feel more confident to get out there and use it myself. i’m already conjuring up a bunch of recipes, i’ll share them when i do!

but memorial day weekend is also the unofficial/official start to potato salad season. if you’re familiar with my site, then you know i have quite a few potato recipes on here. around this time last year i shared a recipe for these salty smashed potatoes, and since then i’ve made a few different iterations of them. my favorite being a smashed potato salad. this one’s kind of a deconstructed potato salad as the potatoes aren’t completely smothered in a sauce/dressing (although you could totally toss it all together), rather they’re drizzled with a punchy, creamy garlicky vinaigrette, and sprinkled with sharp but sweet pickled red onions. it is by far my favorite potato salad yet! the potatoes are perfectly crunchy on the outside, and velvety on the inside. and if you’re a fan of traditional german potato salad, then you will dig this vinaigrette - at its’ base is plant-based yogurt mixed with apple cider vinegar, good dijon, olive oil, and few other pantry staples that really bring everything together. it’s the perfect, perfect side dish to bring to a bbq, serve alongside your summer meals, and while they’re best when straight out of the oven, the whole dish does make for pretty delicious leftovers.

be on the lookout this sunday, i have an announcement that i’ll be sharing with you all that i’m pumped about! until then, make this potato salad! ;)

xo!

crispy smashed potatoes w/ garlicky yogurt vinaigrette & pickled onions | v & gf

print the recipe!

new potatoes or baby potatoes yield the creamiest smashed potato. if you can, try to find fresh potatoes at a local market or baby potatoes at your grocer.
i use avocado oil spray here and it makes all the difference in even crisping. brushing it on from a bottle will give the potatoes a bit of a different flavor profile and goes on a bit thicker. if you don’r have avocado oil spray, then i suggest using an olive oil spray.
if you are not opposed to dairy, simply substitute the plant based yogurt for greek yogurt.
both the pickled red onions and vinaigrette recipes make extra. i like using the extra onions on salads, to top tacos or fajitas, etc. the extra vinaigrette can be used as a dip for sliced veggies or roasted sweet potatoes, i’ve also used it in chicken salad which was so good!

| serves 4-6 |

salt
2 pounds baby potatoes
avocado oil spray
flaky salt
roughly 1/4 cup pickled red onions (recipe below)
roughly 1/2-3/4 cup garlicky yogurt (recipe below)
2 tablespoons chopped herbs (i favor a mix of chives, parsley, and dill)

pickled onions (makes extra)

1 cup filtered water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

garlicky yogurt vinaigrette (makes extra)

1 cup plant-based unsweetened yogurt (i use kite hill greek-style unsweetened yogurt)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 clove garlic, grated over a microplane or minced
fine salt & fresh pepper

method

to a large pot, add a fat pinch salt and the potatoes. cover the potatoes with water, and bring to a boil. cover, and lower heat to a simmer. let the potatoes cook until tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 15 minutes. drain potatoes and let them cool until ready to handle.
preheat oven to 450°F and prepare 2 baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray each one with a thin coating of avocado oil. one by one, place the potatoes on the baking sheets, and using the bottom of a large glass, press down lightly and smash them. repeat with all the potatoes. spray the tops and sides with more avocado oil, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. cook for roughly 20 minutes, until tops are lightly golden, then flip the potatoes over. place back in the oven and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until edges are golden and crispy. remove from oven and let cool for roughly 10 minutes.
place potatoes on a large platter or a large shallow bowl. drizzle over the garlicky yogurt vinaigrette, and add the pickled onions. if you want, give everything a light toss, just to cover the potatoes (add more vinaigrette, if needed), and top with the chopped herbs. serve immediately.
make the pickled onions. in a bowl, whisk together the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt until everything has dissolved. place the sliced onions in a jar and cover with the pickling solution. cover with the lid and store in your refrigerator for up to 1 week.
make the vinaigrette. in a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, and garlic. season with salt and pepper. taste and adjust if necessary. vinaigrette can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.