Provencal style sandwich

This is inspired by a pan bagnat which is a sandwich filled with layers of beautiful ingredients similar to a nicoise salad.

I however, have made it my own so purists, look away, this is not a pan bagnat but it is a sandwich filled with delicious ingredients.

Provencal Style Sandwich - Serves 1

Ingredients

1 large crusty roll or an end of a small crusty loaf, you want something with a substantial but thin crust (so not sourdough) and a fluffy interior
1 garlic clove
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red pepper
1 tomato
2 tbsp grated courgette (zucchini)
A few marinated (not tinned) anchovies*
A few black olives (see note below)

Method

First of all, and ideally well before you intend to eat, roast your pepper.  To do this put under a hot grill and grill (broil) until the skin is black on all sides, turning from time to time.  Don't be scared!  When it's blackened, put in a bowl, cover with cling film (saran wrap) and ideally leave until cool as that way the outer skin just peels off a treat.  Peel off that blackened skin and remove the core and seeds.

Cut the bread or roll in half like you were making a regular sandwich but remove a good portion of the fluffy bread inside.

Rub the shells with the peeled garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil.

Slice the tomato and put on the base of the sandwich.  Top with the courgette, anchovies, then roasted pepper, season the pepper layer.

If using stone in olives, press them on a board and you will find the stone easy to remove.  Top the sandwich with them then put on the crust.

Press down well and either wrap, saving for later or eat!  You can slice in half if liked to see the lovely layers.

When buying black olives, look for ones with a purple hint to the colour.  Some black olives are actually effectively dyed using lye to look black and are pretty tasteless.  As a result I often buy "Kalamata Olives" which are from Greece, in fact a place I visited many years ago, more inauthenticity I'm afraid but I have never seen any which are dyed and they're full of flavour.  The best ones are sold stones in.

*Just to add to the inauthenticity, these are often called "boquerones en vinagre" because this is a Spanish way to prepare them

I've linked this up to recipe of the week.