A culinary twist: Transforming the humble baguette

I picked up this idea at a recent gathering at a friend's house, and now I make my version for the family. A cold stuffed baguette is an easy way to delight your family at breakfast and impress guests during meals.

The basis is a classic wheat baguette. I don't recommend the rye or so-called rustic version because they slice and stuff differently. The filling's flavour primarily comes from eggs, cheese, and mayonnaise, but a delicious and crunchy addition is pickled cucumbers and peppers. This is my suggestion because I often use the last few cucumbers from the jar or leftover peppers not used for a stew. Instead of red pepper, you could use yellow or green, and pickled cucumbers can be replaced with dill pickles. If you want a lighter version, swap mayonnaise for thick natural yoghurt—but carefully check the filling's consistency so it's not too runny. You'll find the specific steps of the recipe below.

Preparing this kind of snack is no rocket science, but you should pay attention to certain steps so that nothing falls apart when slicing. You can serve such a filling separately on sandwiches, but it looks tastiest with a baguette.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized wheat baguette,
• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise,
• 2 hard-boiled eggs,
• 100 grams of grated yellow cheese,
• half a red pepper,
• 2 medium pickled cucumbers,
• salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Hollow out the inside of the baguette very carefully, so you don't tear the bread's crust.
2. Tear the inside of the baguette into smaller pieces.
3. Press the eggs through a vegetable press or chop them finely.
4. Dice the pepper and cucumbers finely.
5. In a bowl, combine all ingredients, adding the mayonnaise while mixing.
6. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
7. Stuff the baguette, packing the filling quite tightly. Wrap in foil and refrigerate for about 25 minutes.
8. Before serving, slice into pieces, preferably with a sharp knife.