How To Make A Muffuletta Sandwich

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muffuletta sandwich The muffuletta is an Italian sandwich that originated among the Italian immigrants of New Orleans, it’s a mighty, hefty sandwich that has only has three very important components, bread, a spicy olive salad and Italian charcuterie.

muffuletta sandwich With Super Bowl coming up next weekend I thought this might be the perfect addition to your game day snacking table, but if not, please keep this in mind for summertime, it’s great for picnics and get-togethers.

ingredients for muffuletta sandwich Don’t skimp on quality when making your muffuletta you want to make sure you have the best bread you can find, a round loaf is traditional, along with fresh meats and cheese. For my muffuletta I went with a good salami, some mortadella, a spicy capicollo and a picante provolone, all sliced thin, but feel free to use your favorite cuts.

olive salad The main component is really this olive salad, you can either make your own or buy a muffuletta mix from a good Italian deli/store. I do a mixture of both, I buy a mix but add fresh ingredients into mine, but basically the salad consists of, Italian black and green olives, and a giardiniera mix of different veggies. In addition I like to add roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts to mine and always fresh chopped celery, parsley, oregano and good olive oil.

muffuletta sandwich It’s very simple to make, don’t be intimidated! Slice your round loaf horizontally then pull out some of the dense inside of the bread because you need room for all that filling to fit inside, save those insides for fresh breadcrumbs.

Spread that delicious olive salad all over the bottom and top portions of your sliced bread, then it’s all about layering.

muffuletta sandwich I like to put the cheese down first over the olive salad, it seems to cover it nicely and gives you a nice base for your layers, then go from there. I added olive salad in between some of my layers but you don’t have to, you can just have it on the top and bottom.

muffuletta sandwich When you’re done layering, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and weigh it down, this is important because it will help distribute all the flavors together nicely. As you can see I used my heavy cast iron pan and added some cans on top to weigh it down even more.

Let it sit for two hours before unwrapping and cutting into it, don’t let it sit overnight because the bread might become soggy from the oils, you want to keep your bread nice and crusty.

muffuletta sandwich Then cut it into wedges and enjoy! I cut mine quite big for the picture but honestly a small slice is better when serving other things along side it, it’s so densely filled that you couldn’t possibly eat such a huge wedge unless this was your only main course. It’s definitely a show stopper and it also feeds a crowd!

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How To Make A Muffuletta Sandwich
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 10 inch round Italian bread
  • olive salad, either a mix like I used, which I added more to, or you can make your own.
  • ½ lb each of mortadella, salami and capicollo or meats of your choice. ( you might have extra left over)
  • 1 lb or slicing provolone or a mixture of mozzarella and provolone
  • olive oil
  • WHEN MAKING YOUR OWN OLIVE SALAD, you will need;
  • a cup or more each of Italian black and green olives, chopped
  • a jar of vegetable giardiniera that has carrots, cauliflower and celery, drained and chopped
  • a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • a jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
  • fresh parsley, 1 garlic clove and fresh crunchy celery and oregano
  • toss everything into a bowl and mix well together with good olive oil
  • IF USING A JARRED MUFFULETTA MIX
  • I always add fresh chopped celery, roasted red peppers, fresh parsley and artichoke hearts. I also drain the jars and add my own good olive oil to the mix.
Instructions
  1. Cut your bread horizontally and pull out some of the dense bread inside.
  2. Fill each side, the top and bottom of the cut loaf with the olive salad.
  3. Start to layer your meats and cheese, I start with cheese, adding olive salad in between the layers if you want
  4. When finished layering, put the top of the bread on and wrap in foil or plastic wrap.
  5. Compress the sandwich by weighing it down with a heavy pan filled with heavy cans.
  6. Let it sit for at least 2 hours before cutting but never overnight because the bread will become soggy and lose its integrity.
  7. Cut into small wedges for a crowd with other snacks or lager wedges for more of a main course.

 

 

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Comments

  1. Best. Sandwich. Ever.

  2. That is one hefty sandwich indeed! And, as always with your recipes, it looks gorgeous, Marie. you have such a talent for making food look fantastic.

  3. I noticed what looks like Lupini beans to the right of the Muffuletta sandwich. Not too many people (outside of Italians) know about them or even how to eat them when they are introduced to them. Brings back memories from my childhood in New York.
    Great sandwich and thanks for the recipe Marie!

  4. Wow! Look gorgeous and biiiiggg! 😀 😀

  5. Every time I visit New Orleans I order a muffuletta sandwich! As Linda stated, they are never this full there–yours looks spectacular!

  6. I really don’t know why I open your email first thing in the morning!! The food looks so delicious that all the rest of the day the food is sort of blah!! Anti-climatic!! I’ve never had an honest to goodness Muffuletta sandwich! I love the pickled vegetables on the side. Today I’m supposed to find sandwiches for lunch — hubby is fishing. I don’t think II’ll be able to get a gen-u-ine muffuletta sandwich but I’m inspired to try! Have a great day, Marie!

  7. Marie, I made muffalettas for a road trip last summer. They weren’t layered quite as nicely as yours but everyone loved them. They definitely made a long car drive more enjoyable (if messy!). I buy olive relish from Froehlich’s, in Three Oaks, MI. I pick up a jar or two when I’m out that way, or I order it online. Three Oaks is not too far from Chicago; it’s a cute little town with old-fashioned street names like “Oak” and “Walnut.” Froehlich’s has all kinds of delicious pickles and preserves and they make sandwiches etc. Here’s their website: http://www.shopfroehlichs.com/
    Cheers, D

  8. I haven’t had one of these since I visited New Orleans but honestly, yours looks way better than what I ate there.

  9. That looks amazing!!!!

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