Ever since my trip to New Orleans I have loved this sandwich. For those who have never had it, it is a most delectable concoction of what is know as Olive Salad on a special Italian bread with Capicola ham, salami, mortadella (I will explain later), provolone and mozzarella. Central Grocery in New Orleans (the best muffaletta) serves theirs cold, which I prefer. But you can eat it hot.
Your first step is to prepare the olive salad a week in advance. I use the recipe from one of my favorite food blogs new orleans cuisine here it is:
Muffuletta Olive Salad
1 1/2 Cups Green Olives, Pitted
1/2 Cup Calamatta Olives (or Black) Pitted
1 Cup Gardiniera (Pickled Cauliflower, carrots, celery, Pepperoncini)
1 Tbsp. Capers
3 each Fresh Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/8 Cup Celery, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. Italian Parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Fresh oregano (When I have it in my garden) or 2 tsp. dried
1 tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Pimientos (Roasted red peppers) Recipe follows
1 Tbsp. Green Onions, thinly sliced
Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground pepper To Taste (salt may not be necessary)
Crush each olive on a cutting board with your hand. Combine all ingredients. Cover with:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil about 1 - 1 1/2 Cups
Put into a bowl or jar, cover and let the flavors marry for about a week.
Next you'll make your own bread. My mom was able to make some Italian bread that was very close to the muffaletta bread I remember so well. I was slightly less successful, but here is the recipe I used and it was very good.
Italian bread:
2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 scant Tablespoon "no-proof" yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Add yeast to flour and mix gently, wait 30 seconds and then add the rest of the ingredients in order. I use a Kitchen Aid mixer and knead on low for about 5 minutes. Pour a little more Olive oil over dough, turn to coat and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. Flour a work space and turn out dough, knead till compact again and divide into 6 equal blobs and let rest for 15 minutes. Shape each blob into an 6-8 inch flat round, set onto a corn meal dusted cookie sheet and pierce all over with a fork. Let rise another 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool on a wire rack.
And lastly you'll need to go to a respectable deli and purchase meat and cheese. While a traditional muffaletta calls for Capicola ham and Mortadella, I bypass both of these and just get regular ham. Capicola is very hard to eat-it does not bite and you will end up pulling out pieces from your sandwich and making a mess. And Mortadella, as I promised I would explain, is essentially ground up ham and pressed with additional fat, originating from Bologna it is the original form of what is now known as Bologna (think Oscar Meyer). So here is your purchase list and don't skimp, get a good quality. I mean you've already gone through the trouble of making olive salad and your own bread.
1 lb of thinly sliced Ham
1 lb of thinly sliced Salami
1 lb of sliced Mozzarella
1 lb of sliced Provolone
To construct:
Slice each round of bread in half, I like to gently toast mine. Top each half with olive salad (1/4-1/3 cup on each side). Layer with the 4 deli items to your liking. Put the sides together. Mangia!
P.S. the olive salad on some toasted bread (think bruschetta) is amazingly good. See above picture.
