Muffaletta sandwich (sometimes also spelled as muffUletta vs. muffAleta) - a classic sandwich with Italian roots originating from New Orleans.
First time I've ever heard of muffaletta sandwich was last year, when a friend of mine started raving about this wonderful sandwich she had the day before at a restaurant nearby. The next day the word "muffaletta" would not get out of my head (and vocabulary) so we went to that restaurant and bought ourselves 2 muffaletta sandwiches. I still remember biting into a crunchy marinated olive mix and thin slices of ham, salami, and provolone cheese - all of that goodness wrapped up in a freshly baked Italian-style bread which soaked in the olive oil and other flavors from marinated olives, enjoying every bite, wishing this sandwich never ended... It was THE ultimate deliciousness!
So what is a muffaletta sandwich (sometimes also spelled as muffUletta vs. muffAleta)? It turns out it's a classic sandwich with Italian roots originating from New Orleans. Muffuletta is actually a name for a special type of Sicilian bread used specifically to make this sandwich. You can also use a single loaf of Italian-style bread or foccacia bread - enough to serve 4-6 people, depending on your appetites. For a shortcut, I even used sandwich buns, sandwich ciabatta bread in particular goes exceptionally well.
What really makes this sandwich is the olive mix. I usually go to the olive bar at a grocery store and buy an assortment of different types of olives (black, green, and any other type you can find), pickled small peppers, and pickled vegetables, such as carrots, cauliflower, celery. Just like what you can see on this photo:
I then finely chop all these pickled olives and vegetables, using food processor, until they become almost like a spread, but still crunchy. Then, I spread this olive mix on BOTH sides of the sandwich bread - on the bottom and top pieces of bread, spreading the mix to saturate the bread with oil. Just like this, or you can be even more generous:
Finally I layer the bottom slice of the sandwich bread with salami, ham, cheese and remaining olive mix if desired and top with the top piece of bread. That's it! Muffaletta sandwich is ready, and when wrapped and refrigerated, it gets even better the next day!
Muffaletta Sandwich
Ingredients
Ingredients for olive salad:
- 1 cup marinated olives , assorted, pitted, of different colors
- â…“ cup pimiento (pickled small green and red peppers)
- â…“ cup pickled mix of crunchy vegetables , such as pickled carrots, pickled cauliflower, pickled celery
- some marinated pepperoncini , if desired
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Ingredients for sandwich:
- 1 loaf bread (Italian-style or focaccia, or ciabatta bread, enough to make 4 sandwiches, or just use 4 regular sandwich buns)
- 6 ounces salami , thinly sliced
- 6 ounces ham , thinly sliced
- 6 ounces provolone cheese thinly sliced
Instructions
- To make olive salad, combine olives, green and red peppers, pickled vegetables, capers, pepperoncini, and olive oil in a food processor. Process until finely chopped but still coarse and crunchy, just like you see on my photos.
- Slice the loaf of bread in half length-wise (optionally, you can remove a little bit of the insides of the bread to make room for the olive mix). Or, if you’re using sandwich buns, slice each bun in half.
- Spread about â…“ cup of the olive mix on the bottom and top pieces of bread, spreading the mixture to saturate the bread with oil. Layer the bottom bread with the slices of salami, ham, cheese, and remaining olive mix to taste. Top with the top piece of bread.
- Cut this stuffed loaf of bread into 4 or 6 sandwiches (depending on your appetite). Serve immediately, or, alternatively, wrap each sandwich tightly in paper or plastic wrap and let sandwiches sit for about 30 minutes to let the oil soak into the bread. Unwrap and serve!
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I just bought the ingredients to make a Muffaletta, except instead of making my own olive spread I use Olive Tapenade. It works just as well & makes it easier. Like that you toast the bread with the cheese already on it. Love this sandwich.
I love Muffaletta sandwiches, too! So true - Olive Tapenade will work great in this recipe.
Your leaving out an important detail, you should weigh down the top of the sandwich with something while it's in the fridge to compress it a little.
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I love the Muffaletta and have made many myself. I use hot giariniera mix for the olive spread because the extra heat really makes the sandwich. I also add sandwich sliced pepperoni. Proscuitto and capricola have been added from time to time as well. I also bake the meat and cheese on the bread for a few minutes to toast the bread and warm the meat before taking it out and adding olive spread. Most definitely my favorite sandwich ever!!!! Don't forget the pepperoni.....
Wow, great suggestions! 🙂 I'll have to try all of that. Love proscuitto but never thought to use it in Muffaletta sandwich. Toasting the bread and warming the cheese and meat sounds great too! I am using salami instead of pepperoni: I think they are pretty similar.
What a great idea!!! Easy, tasty, what's not to live? Thanks so much for sharing!
I have never eaten a Muffaletta sanswich but would love to after reading your post. Looks incredible!
I've never made or eaten a Muffaletta sandwich. But, they have always intrigued me. I love all things pickled!
This sounds fantastic Julia! I've never heard of muffuletta (or muffaletta!) but I can definitely understand why it'd taste so good. I am a big fan of any bread soaked in flavoured olive oil, plus I love tapenade so this seems like the best of both worlds! Thanks for the gorgeous idea. I love the fact that eating this sandwich takes you back to your ski trip also... it's great how food can carry moments, emotions and associations that never leave you 🙂 x
I used to live in New Orleans and I love Muffalettas! Yours looks so good!