Mortadella

A large lightly smoked Italian sausage made with ground beef or pork, cubes of pork fat, peppercorns, and/or pistachios, and or green olives and seasonings. The Italian version, which is not imported to the U.S.,is air-dried and has a smooth, delicate flavor. American mortadella is basically bologna with cubes of pork fat or olives. The original recipes for mortadella included myrtle ("mortella" in Italian), hence the name, mortadella.