Real N'awlins Muffuletta

These gigantic muffuletta sandwiches were invented a century ago at Sicilian Deli here in New Orleans. The spicy, tangy olive salad is what really sets this meat and cheese sandwich apart. A genuine muffuletta should be made on oven-fresh Italian bread topped with sesame seeds. Be sure to use high-quality ingredients as it really makes a difference! Since you're going to all the trouble of making the olive salad, consider doubling the recipe so you'll have some extra waiting around for when you get another muffuletta craving — it keeps for at least a month. Use round bread loaves for real muffulettas.

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Calories: 987 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, crushed
• ½ cup drained kalamata olives, crushed
• ¼ cup roughly chopped pickled cauliflower florets
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 tablespoon chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon chopped carrot
• ½ cup pepperoncini, drained
• ¼ cup marinated cocktail onions
• 2 (1 pound) loaves Italian bread
• 8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami
• 8 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham
• 8 ounces sliced mortadella
• 8 ounces sliced provolone cheese

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.

Step 2

Make the olive salad: Roughly chop together green olives, Kalamata olives, pepperoncini, cauliflower, cocktail onions, garlic, capers, celery, and carrot. Combine with oregano, basil, black pepper, and celery seed in a medium bowl. Add in olive oil, canola oil, and vinegar. Mix together and transfer the mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). Pour in more oil to cover if needed. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least 8 hours to overnight.

Step 3

Make the sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts of the olive salad, including oil. Layer bottom half of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella, mozzarella, and Provolone slices. Replace top half on each loaf and cut the sandwiches into quarters.