Muffuletta Sandwhich

The muffuletta sandwich has its origins at the Central Grocery in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

According to Marie Lupo Tusa, daughter of the Central Grocery’s founder, it was born when Sicilian farmers selling their produce at the nearby Farmers’ Market would come into her father’s grocery for lunch and order some salami, ham, cheese, olive salad, and either long braided Italian bread or a round muffuletta loaf. In typical Sicilian fashion they ate everything separately sitting on crates or barrels while precariously balancing their meals on their knees. Her father suggested cutting the bread and putting everything on it like a sandwich, even if it was not typical Sicilian fashion. The thicker braided Italian bread proved too hard to bite and the softer round muffuletta loaf won out. Shortly thereafter, farmers that came for lunch began merely asking for “muffulettas”

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf Muffuletta bread (or Italian bread)
• 1 cup olive mix
• 1/4 lb sliced ham
• 1/4 lb sliced mortadella
• 1/4 lb sliced Genoa salami
• 1/4 lb sliced provolone
• 1/4 lb sliced mozzarella

-Olive Mix

• 3/4 cup pimento-stuffed olives
• 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetables)
• 2 lg. pepperoncini
• 3 – 4 pickled onions
• 2 Tbsp. capers
• 1 md. clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• A couple of grinds of blackpepper
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Olive Mix Preparation:

1. Drain all ingredients.

2. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Muffuletta Preparation:

1. Cut bread in half horizontally.

2. Spread half with olive mix then layer on meats and cheeses.

3. Cover with top. (Note: Ideally the sandwich should be made an hour or more in advance and then tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to enable juices to soak bread.)

4. Slice into quarters and serve.