Leftovers Done Right: Green Bean Pan Bagnat Recipe

Nobody eats the leftover green beans after Thanksgiving, and let me tell you why: They're either properly cooked or overcooked by the time they get to the table. If you reheat them, they'll turn to mush. The solution: Don't reheat them! Let them come to room temperature (it'll take about half an hour), then stick 'em in your leftovers sandwich. This isn't your typical leftovers sandwich in that we're leaving pretty much all the other prepared food for other (equally delicious) leftovers sandwiches. The pan bagnat is a French-Mediterranean baguette sandwich that stars tuna, hard-boiled eggs, roasted red peppers, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and any riff on a vinaigrette. Crisp (or at least moderately crisp) green beans, no matter how they're prepared, are a great addition.

And hey — things you may have left over from a big holiday meal: a baguette, assorted olives, salad fixins, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and vinaigrette, an egg or two and, somewhere in your pantry, a can of tuna. I accidentally got myself addicted to the fancy oil-packed stuff in a jar, so I'm using that, but any good tuna will do the trick (or you can omit it altogether to keep it vegetarian). This is exactly the kind of respect leftover green beans have been waiting for.