Muffulettas were invented in 1906 at that very same Central Grocery in New Orleans. It’s a sandwich built on a whole loaf of round sesame bread — the whole loaf turns into a sandwich. Muffulettas are then stuffed with salami and ham, loaded with Provolone and made unique with a perfectly greasy olive salad – the oil soaks into the bread for the perfect February treat. The flavors came from a late 1800s, Sicilian wave of workers that entered New Orleans in big numbers, bringing their tasty cuisine to Southern Lousiana. If you really want to eat like a local, eat your muffuletta with local Zapp’s potato chips and you’re set for the season.
When serving, muffuletta sandwiches are delicious with red wines like Purple Cowboy Trail Boss Cabernet and Purple Cowboy Tenacious Red – the salty mix of olives and salami brings out the fruitiness of the wines.
Here’s the Wine Sisterhood’s take on the Muffuletta sandwich – happy munching!
Olive Salad Ingredients:
1 cup chopped green olives
1 cup chopped black olivesed
1 tablespoon capers
1/3 cup diced roasted red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped fine
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sandwich Ingredients:
1 round loaf of Italian bread — anywhere between 6 and 10 inches in diameter, cut in half crosswise with the insides scooped out
at least 4 ounces each thinly sliced salami, deli ham and mortadella
at least 4 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
Directions:
At least 6 hours before preparing sandwich Make the olive salad by mixing together the chopped green and black olives, capers, roasted bell pepper, celery, parsley, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Set in a non-reactive bowl and put the bowl in the refrigerator.