Preheat the broiler.
Brush the tuna on both sides with the olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Place on a baking
sheet and roast as close to the heat as possible for 2 minutes. Turn and roast for another 2 minutes. The
tuna will be cooked medium-rare at this point. Remove and reserve at room temperature.
Place the eggs in cold water to cover by 1 inch. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil over low
heat. Turn off the heat and let the eggs cool to room temperature in the water.
Cook the potato in simmering salted water to cover until soft when pricked with a fork, about 15
minutes. Remove from the heat, cut in half lengthwise, and, cut side down, thinly slice. Reserve.
Prepare the remaining ingredients: Peel, trim, and thinly slice the onion; break it into rings and
reserve. Coarsely chop the olives. Trim, seed, and cut the red pepper into julienne strips. Wash the
lettuce, pat dry, and cut into 2-inch chunks. Drain the artichokes in a colander and rinse well with cold
water; drain again and squeeze as much water as you can out of them. Wash the basil leaves and pat
dry.
Peel the hard-boiled eggs and thinly slice. Thinly slice the tuna.
Make the dressing: In a small bowl or mortar, mash the anchovies. Add the garlic and mix well. Stir in
the olive oil. Add the vinegar, thyme, black pepper, and salt and whisk until creamy.
In a bowl, combine the tuna, lettuce, artichokes, onion, potato, pepper strips, olives, and basil leaves.
Add the dressing and toss gently.
To make sandwiches, first make sure that the baguettes are nice and crisp. (If they are limp, preheat
the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and recrisp the baguettes for 5 minutes before cutting them.) Cut
each baguette into 3 pieces. Cut each portion horizontally through the center without cutting all the way
through. Press the halves, cut side down, on the counter to open them. Place a generous amount of
tuna salad in the middle of each hinged sandwich. Arrange 2 or 3 slices of hard-boiled egg on top of the
salad. Partially close the sandwich and cut in half.