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What exactly is a muffuletta? A muffuletta is a deli sandwich topped with fresh olive salad. It’s also made on a 9″ round italian bread.
The “locals” are very particular about where they buy their muffulettas. Personally, I love the ones from Central Grocery by the French Market.
Since I live in suburbia, going to Central Grocery to pick up one of these is not an option -a ninety mile round trip would make it a very expensive sandwich!
The key to a good muffuletta is the quality of the ingredients in it. Most importantly, where your olive salad is made being the biggest factor.
A funny story: I went to the store to purchase olive salad and they were out of “my” brand. I purchased one that said Muffuletta Olive Salad (warning! warning!) and brought it home. When I opened the glass jar, it tasted funny… I looked at where it was made… and it said made in Chicago. What?! (nothing against Chicago).
Off I went again to my local WinnDixie and purchased a New Orleans brand. Whew! Seriously, it’s not the same.
Let’s go through some of the key ingredients so you too, can make your own at home. Shall we?
The Bread: 9-10″ round Italian bread.
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Olive Oil: I like to moisten my halves with some good Spanish extra virgin olive oil.
Then you have the Capicola ham and salami. Ask the person behind the counter to slice them thin.
Thinly sliced mozzarella and smoked provolone…
Start placing the olive salad in the middle and then work your way out.
This is the most beautiful pie I’ve seen in a long time…
Oh.my.goodness. The combination of the salty meats, the smoked cheese, the strong olive oil flavor and the crunch of the olive salad… Please. refrain from licking or biting your screen. Your device will not like it.
We like to quarter our muffulettas and eat them for lunch (ok, anytime is good too). If you want, you can toast the whole muffuletta, prior to cutting, in your oven for a few minutes to give the bread a little crunch and melt the cheese.
Oh lordy. Yes, I am finished. You may proceed to printing the recipe and make your own.
- 1 10″ round loaf Italian bread with Sesame (or a soft round Italian bread)
- 1 cup Olive Salad
- ¼ lb Genoa Salami
- ¼ lb Capicola or deli ham
- ¼ lb Mortadella (I omit this but the real thing has it)
- ⅛ lb Sliced Mozzarella (3-4 thin slices)
- ⅛ lb Provolone (3-4 thin slices)
- Cut the bread in half length wise.
- Brush both sides with the oil from your Olive Salad or really good extra virgin olive oil, go a little heavier on the bottom.
- Begin layering your ham, mortadella and salami on the bottom half of the bread. Top with your cheeses.
- Next, add the olive salad from the center out. Put the lid on and press it down without smashing the bread.
- Optional: toast/warm up in you oven for a few minutes.
- Quarter it. You’ve just created pure heaven!
9 comments
Oh my goodness – that looks SO GOOD! I love olives and crusty bread! Mmm! Love that you shared a little bit of you with us too! eHugs, Kelly
e hugs!!
I have never heard of a Muffuletta before now! It looks beyond dlish and savory. Thanks for the recipe! Now I have to try and see if I can make it look and taste as good as your pics look!
Nothing quite like being in NOLA at Central Grocery munching on the utmost very best Muffuletta!!! Thank you so much for bringing back precious memories!
thank you Margie!
Saw you on Pinterest and just HAD to stop by! This looks delicious! New follower
Thanks for sharing.
Michelle
let me know how your family enjoys them Michelle!
That’s actually authentic – good job. So many recipes don’t use mortadella or specify capicola or even Genoa salami. A lot of New Orleanians will use Chisesi ham instead of capicola, but it’s similar. One tip, though. The top half of the bread should be scooped out to allow for more olive salad. If you look at the ones from Central Grocery (which are the original recipe), the top is hollowed out to hold a mound of olive salad.
Also, try the toasted muff at Napoleon House. That’s the only one that comes close to topping the original, and it’s probably been around nearly as long.
Thank you! I love love toasted muff! Thanks for mentioning the hollowing the top if the muff, I do that but it doesn’t picture as nicely