Classic Muffuletta
Classic Muffuletta
- Total Time: 0 hours
Description
This hearty meal-in-one sandwich is stuffed with a marinated olive salad and savory Italian cold cuts. Before serving, it rests so the garlicky oil in the salad seeps into the bread. The longer the sandwich rests the better it gets, making it ideal for a make-ahead dinner, a picnic, or in New Orleans, a parade route fare.
Rethinking the Origins of the Muffuletta
As with any iconic food, this popular New Orleans sandwich has a number of origin stories–some of them disputed. Sicilian immigrant Salvatore Lupo is often credited with having created the muffuletta sandwich in 1906 at his delicatessen, Central Grocery Co. on Decatur Street in New Orleans. The Perrone family disputes this, instead laying claim to the sandwich for their own Italian deli, Progress Grocery Co., in 1924.
It is understandable that a business would lay claim to a portable meal that is at once briny with olives and marinated vegetables, smoky with cured meats, and creamy with Italian cheese, all together a deeply flavorful and satisfying sum that is greater than its parts.
My theory is different: the sandwich was likely the handiwork of a thrifty Sicilian housewife. She hollowed out the interior of a round boule, known in Sicily as a muffuletta, then stuffed it with a salad made with olives and vegetables preserved in a heady mixture of garlic, olive oil, and either lemon juice or vinegar. She layered on cured meats and cheeses and sealed the entire affair in a square of muslin, which was tied to the end of a pole.
Her husband slung it over his shoulder for a day of backbreaking work in the fields of Sicily. This practice may have immigrated with the Sicilians when they arrived via the Port of New Orleans between 1884 and 1924.
Muffeletta, Muffaletta, or Muffuletta?
The sandwich takes its name from the seeded round Sicilian loaf in which it is assembled. The spelling varies based on regional irregularities in the Sicilian dialect: muffeletta, muffaletta, muffiletta, mufiletta, muffuletta, muffulettu, muffuletu, muffulitteḍḍu, muffulittuni, or muffuletta.
Ta-may-to, ta-mah-to. I am going with muffuletta.
Ingredients
1 small anchovy fillet, packed in oil
Extra-virgin olive oil, for the marinade
1 cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup finely diced celery (from 1/2 stalk)
1/2 cup finely diced carrot (from 1 small carrot)
1/2 cup finely chopped cauliflower florets
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons drained and chopped capers
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
For the sandwich:
1 (8- to 9-inch) round, seeded muffuletta loaf
4 ounces thinly sliced salami
4 ounces thinly sliced capicola
4 ounces thinly sliced mortadella
4 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
4 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese (not smoked)
Instructions
Mash the anchovies:
In a small bowl, add the anchovy and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Use a fork to mash the anchovy until dissolved in the oil. I like to use a wooden bowl because I find it easier to mash the anchovy against its textured sides.
Add the vegetables and seasonings:
In a medium bowl, add the mashed anchovy with the oil, kalamata and green olives, celery, carrot, cauliflower, garlic, capers, red wine vinegar, oregano, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
Add olive oil and marinate:
Add enough olive oil to just cover the salad. For the best flavor, let it marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
Stir the salad, taste, and add more black pepper or vinegar if you’d like. It probably does not need more salt because the olives, anchovy, and capers are salty enough.
You will have about 4 cups of olive salad, of which you will use about 2 cups in the sandwich. Think of the leftovers as a gift for tossing with pasta, to spoon over cream cheese for dipping, or to make another muffuletta! It will keep, covered in oil and refrigerated, for at least 1 month.
Prepare the bread:
Slice the loaf of bread in half horizontally and use your hands to hollow out each half by removing the soft bread inside. This will create cavities for the filling. Leave 1/2-inch of soft bread near the crust, taking care not to tear through the crust.
Spread the olive salad:
Stir the salad once more to reincorporate the oil and seasonings, then spread about 2 cups total on the 2 pieces of bread. Use the back of a spoon to really smoosh it down into the bread, covering the entire surface.
Assemble the meats and cheeses:
Layer the salami, capicola, mortadella, mozzarella, and provolone on the bottom piece of bread. Carefully flip the top piece of bread on top.
Wrap it and let it rest:
Tightly wrap the muffuletta with foil and allow it to sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature for the flavors to marry and the oil to soak into the bread.
Serve:
Remove the foil and cut the muffuletta into 4 wedges and serve.
Tightly wrap any leftover sandwich with plastic wrap or foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The leftover olive salad will keep for 1 month if covered with olive oil in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Notes
N/A
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hrs
