Muffuletta Style Olive Salad Recipes

MUFFULETTA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 14 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. , Cut bread in half horizontally; carefully hollow out top and bottom, leaving a 1-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Spoon half the olive mixture over bottom half of bread. Layer with salami, ham, mortadella, Swiss and provolone; top with remaining olive mixture. Replace bread top. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut into 8 wedges.

OLIVE SALAD FOR MUFFALETTAS

Steps:

• Place the black olives, green olives, artichoke hearts with their juice, and onion into a food processor. Pour in the vinegar and olive oil, and season with garlic, celery seed, oregano, basil and black pepper. Cover, and process until finely chopped. Use as a condiment on sandwiches, or a dip for crackers. Refrigerate leftovers.

MUFFULETTAS

Steps:

• Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Gradually blend in the oil. Stir in the olives and roasted peppers. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Cut the top 1-inch of the bread loaf. Set the top aside. Hollow out the bottom and top halves of the bread. Spread some of the olive and roasted pepper mix over the bread bottom and cut side of the bread top. Layer the meats and cheeses in the bread bottom. Top with the onions, then the arugula. Spread the remaining olive and roasted pepper mix on top of the sandwich and carefully cover with the bread top. You can serve the sandwich immediately or you can wrap the entire sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator a day before serving.
• Cut the sandwich into wedges and serve.

THE BEST OLIVE SALAD FOR A MUFFULETTA SANDWICH

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Drain the green olives, kalamata olives, giardiniera, pepperoncini, pickled onions, and capers .
• Place the drained ingredients in a food processor along with the garlic, oregano, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.
• Pulse until coarsely chopped.
• Transfer to a container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

MUFFULETTA STYLE OLIVE SALAD

Steps:

• Chop up olives, giardiniera, pepperoncinis, capers, peppers and garlic very finely. A food processor would probably be helpful to ensure a minced texture, though be careful to not puree the mixture; you don't want a paste. If you do use a food processor, make sure to do the garlic separately to ensure that it is thoroughly and very finely minced - large pieces of raw garlic aren't very palatable.
• Add in oregano (or a pinch of Italian seasoning mix), lemon zest and juice. Mix thoroughly.
• Taste the mix, and add pepper if needed. At this point, you can also play with the amount of other ingredients to suit your preferences. I sometimes like a few extra green olives; my partner likes the sweetness added by the roasted peppers better.
• Now the hard part: cover and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors marry. Or not -- I find it hard to plan my cravings ahead, and it's a tasty mix even the first day, though it does get better as it sits.
• For a Muffaleta Sandwich: Cut a loaf of Italian (or French) crusty bread in half horizontally and remove some of the soft inside to make room for the fillings. Slather the olive salad on both sides of the bread, maybe with a quick drizzle of a good finishing olive oil, if you like. Layer on: thinly sliced salami, provolone cheese, ham, and mozzarella cheese -- Though it's not traditional, turkey or chicken are also delicious on the sandwich. (During my vegetarian years, I also liked to just use the cheeses, thinly sliced onion, tomato, avocado and sprouts.) Put the top on the sandwich and wrap the whole thing up tightly in saran wrap or butcher's paper. Try to let the sandwich sit for an hour or so in the fridge to let the olive salad soak into the bread. Cut the sandwich into pieces and serve; enjoy!
• A few other ideas for using Muffaleta Style Olive Salad: Butterfly chicken breasts and use the olive salad and a slice of provolone cheese as a filling. Toss hot pasta with some of the salad, feta cheese and baby spinach. Make crostini (small slices of toasted baguette) topped with the olive salad, a bit of basil and a slice of salami for an appetizer. Mix the salad with light cream cheese and use as a sandwich/bagel spread. Put a dollop of the salad on top of a bowl of tomato-veggie soup before serving.

REAL N'AWLINS MUFFULETTA

Steps:

• To Make Olive Salad: In a medium bowl, combine the green olives, kalamata olives, garlic, cauliflower, capers, celery, carrot, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, celery seed, oregano, basil, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and canola oil. Mix together and transfer mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). If needed, pour in more oil to cover. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least overnight.
• To Make 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 olive salad, including oil. Layer 'bottom half' of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella, mozzarella and Provolone. Replace 'top half' on each loaf and cut sandwich into quarters.
• 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.