Muffuletta Sandwich

Tastings by CeCe's Note:

I culled this recipe from a Mardi Gras website. The olive salad gives this sandwich its authentic taste. I made this as part of a Mardi Gras lunch at work and even folks who do not like olives enjoyed it. The mixture of pickled cauliflower, carrots, celery, and pepperoncini is called gardeniera and can be found in the relish/pickle section of your grocery. Also, I omitted the salt. Cooking time for this one is really refrigeration time for the compiled sandwich. I let the olive salad flavors meld for 1 week. It was worth it!

• Total Time: 4 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 loaf muffuletta bread (round 10 inch loaf) or 1 loaf sesame topped Italian bread (round 10 inch loaf)
• ¼ lb mortadella , thin sliced
• ¼ lb cappicola ham , thin sliced
• ¼ lb hard genoa salami , thin sliced
• ¼ lb provolone cheese , thin sliced
• ¼ lb null or ¼ lb emmenthaler cheese , thin sliced

olive salad (use 1 cup for sandwich)

• 1 ½ cups green olives , Pitted
• ½ cup kalamata olives or ½ cup black olives , pitted
• 1 cup pickled vegetables
• 1 tablespoon capers
• fresh garlic clove , thinly sliced
• 1⁄8; cup celery , thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Italian parsley , finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup roasted red pepper
• 1 tablespoon green onion , thinly sliced
• 1 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt , to taste, salt may not be necessary (optional)
• fresh ground pepper , to taste

Directions:

1. To Make the SANDWICH.
2. Split a muffoletta loaf or a round loaf of Italian bread horizontally. Remove some of the center soft bread.
3. Spread each half with equal parts of olive salad/oil.
4. Place meats and cheeses evenly on bottom half and cover with top half of bread.
5. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. Cut in quarters for huge sandwiches, or eighths for more manageable sections.
6. To Make the OLIVE SALAD.
7. To pit the olives crush each olive on a cutting board with your hand or use the end of a funnel.
8. Combine all ingredients except oil in processor. Pulse 4-5 times. You want this to be coarse chopped.
9. Add olive oil. Put into a bowl or jar, cover and let the flavors marry for about one week.

Reviews

[Perfectionist cook]

This was a great way to make a picnic lunch, much faster than individual sandwiches! I liked the fact you made it from the previous day and it looked great when you sliced it into quarters. The only change I made was to use an olive paste from the supermarket instead of making the olive salad. I was pressed for time and I am sure it would be even better with the genuine salad. Even with the shortcut I happily give this recipe 5 stars.

[Buster's friend]

awesome sandwich! Was in the mood for grinders while out on the boat but this caught my eye - used Boar's Head deli meats & made to recipe (declined additional salt). Made a gi-normous flavorful sandwich that transported & held well in the cooler for wonderful knoshing after swimming & while fishing! This is a keeper for sure! Thank you Tastings by CeCe!