Being invited to New Orleans for my good friend’s 30th birthday was an opportunity too good to pass up. It is a truly vibrant city with amazing culture and food (all the jazz, all the street cocktails, all the history). The Muffuletta, a sandwich with layers of olive salad, meat, and cheese, is a dish I view as synonymous with The Big Easy—you’re essentially eating a cheese & charcuterie board, but in sandwich form. This sandwich is intended to be made ahead, so it’s perfect for a picnic or party and makes for fantastic leftovers.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pitted, mixed olives (such as a combination of cerignola [or other green] and kalamata)
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
- 1/2 cup giardiniera (if unavailable, pickled peppers)
- 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 muffuletta-style roll, ciabatta, or other (see note below)
- 1/3 lb thinly sliced mortadella
- 1/3 lb thinly sliced mozzarella (see note below)
- 1/3 lb thinly sliced soppressata
- 1/3 lb thinly sliced provolone
- 1/3 lb thinly sliced capicola
Combine olives, capers, roasted red peppers, giardiniera, parsley, garlic, vinegar, and oil in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until chopped (the texture you’re going for is slightly larger than a mince, or pieces smaller than 1/4 inch). Let mixture sit at room temp for half an hour, or up to a few days in the refrigerator.
Slice roll in half, horizontally. I like to pull out some of the “innards” of the bread so that there’s more room for the filling. Layer half of the olive salad on each half of the roll. Next, begin layering meats and cheese. You’ll want a layer of meat, followed by cheese, meat, cheese, meat, top piece of bread. Tightly wrap in cling or plastic wrap.
Next comes the waiting game. Place the wrapped sandwich on a sheet pan or plate, then place an inverted sheet pan or plate on top. Weigh down with something moderately heavy like a cast iron skillet, or a few large cans of tomatoes (or whatever large cans of food you may have in your pantry). Let sit at room temperature for at least one hour. If letting sit longer than an hour, refrigerate, although bring to room temperature before serving. These sandwiches are ideal within the first few hours of being made, although stay good for up to two days.
Notes
- If you’re really extra, you can have muffuletta style rolls shipped to you from New Orleans, but for anyone that doesn’t want to spend $1M on a piece of bread being overnighted, look for a large roll that’s semi-firm but semi-soft—think something like the texture of ciabatta. The main thing is you don’t want a crust that’s too crusty (like a baguette)—otherwise the filling will squish out when you bite down.
- Mozzarella: I can’t stress how important I usually think fresh mozzarella is; however, in this instance, you really want a dry, more processed mozzarella to avoid some of the wetness that can make your sandwich soggy. Most delis have mozzarella you can get sliced when you order your meat and provolone.
- If you have trouble finding soppressata or capicola, look for other pork-based cured meats like salamis. It’s not the end of the world if you can’t find, but definitely worth having, if possible.
