My favorite sandwich for entertaining, it makes a nice presentation. I don't know what instructions you were given so I can't add to.

I order a 2 pound round loaf of Italiam bread from the bakery or make my own if I have time.
I have a special platter that I serve it on and usually serve Dilled Potato Salad.

Welcome enjoyingspring.....sure wish I was ! LOL

I've made Weed's Muffaletta several times. It is delicious and always a big hit. I don't serve it with anything except a beverage. It's an all in one meal to me, bread , veggies, cheese, and cold meats !

Real N'awlins Muffuletta (Weed)

1 Cup pimento-stuffed green olives, crushed
1/2 Cup drained kalamata olives,crushed
2 Clove garlic, minced
1/4 Cup roughly chopped pickled cauliflower florets
2 Tbl drained capers
1 Tbl chopped celery
1 Tbl chopped carrot
1/2 Cup pepperoncini drained
1/4 Cup marinated cocktail onions
1/2 Tsp celery seed
1 Tsp dried oregano
1 Tsp dried basil
3/4 Tsp ground black pepper
1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
1/2 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup canola oil
2 (1 pound) loaves Italian bread
8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami8 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham
8 ounces sliced mortadella or cappicola
8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
8 ounces sliced provolone cheese

Directions
1. 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.~
2. 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.

3 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.

The Italian deli in Culver City that I go to has a muffaletta salad in a jar, which makes it particularly easy to make the sandwiches, and so I make them often. You can also use an Italian Giardina mix that is similar. I like the ones that have a lot of pickled cauliflower. I add extra garlic to the muffaletta salad mix that I buy in a jar, and I also add some fresh oregano (and basil if I have it). To make the spread, I put the salad mix in a mini food process and chop it to relish size. You really need to have Mortadella to make a true muffaletta, I think, but I'm fine with variations.

Lars

Think you will find this web address of some interest!

Here is a link that might be useful: Muffuletta Salad.....and more!

stacy3 sent me Boscoli's olive salad and I haven't been without a jar in my fridge since. You can buy it at cajungrocer.com.

I don't eat pork so I make mine with TJ's eggplant cutlets, cheese and the Boscolis!

Yep - I was going to suggest Weed's recipe too - it is fantastic. I would defnitely recommend wrapping and keeping it refrigerated for several hours, it really does improve when the flavors have a chance to get to know each other ;-)

Alexa

I'm with Alexa it's best refrigerated for a few hours but then I like to bring it close to room temp when serving.

Now I need an excuse to make it!!!

Oh wait, oh wait!!!!!

Super Bowl what a perfect dish! Thanks enjoying spring you have solved my menu problems!

Oh, they are SOOOO good! I have not tried Weed's recipe, but now that I know about it, I will!

Sharon, that is a good idea for a super bowl party!

Here is the one I make. It is really wonderful, and even better the next day! You can click on the image to make the photo larger.

Mufulettas
Source: Giada DeLaurentis

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup olive oil
10 large pitted green olives, chopped
1/3 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (1-pound) round bread loaf (about 7 inches in diameter and 3 inches high)
4 ounces thinly sliced ham
4 ounces thinly sliced mortadella
4 ounces thinly sliced salami
4 ounces sliced provolone
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 ounces arugula leaves
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.

Linda

I wrap my Muffaletta so tight that it looks like it's about to bust open. Then I put a heavy book on top of it before I pop it in the fridge. You really want as much of the goodness to spead through out the bread.

Weed's recipe is right on! But I have also used this one. Of course I don't have the ratio broken down...

Make your own Muffaletta!

This is not just a bunch of cold cuts and cheese. Anyone can make that. That's not to say that the meats and cheeses aren't important \-\- they are. You can get good quality Italian meats and cheeses in most good supermarkets, but you'd be better off at an Italian market (especially for the mortadella, which isn't always easy to find at a conventional supermarket. To make this, you need two very important ingredients \-\- the bread, and the olive salad. In a pinch any good Italian bread will do, but for an authentic muffuletta you need a muffuletta loaf. It's round, usually sesame\-seeded and about 10 inches in diameter. I'm told that many New Orleans muffuletterias (a new word I just made up) get their bread at Angelo Gendusa's bakery. If you want a Liuzza's\-style "Frenchuletta", use a good light\-bodied crispy\-crusted French bread. Then ... the olive salad. The Holy Grail of sandwich fillings. The olive salad recipe is the Number One single most\-requested recipe on The Gumbo Pages. While Central Grocery do not give out their muffuletta olive salad recipe, lots of folks have tried to duplicate it, with varying degrees of success. I've been saying for years now that I'm going to get a jar of olive salad from Central and reverse\-engineer it, but until then, this will do quite nicely. New Orleanian cook and cookbook author Chiqui Collier was kind enough to share this recipe with me for this site, and says, "It is my pleasure to send you the recipe for the original muffletta sandwich that was created by the grandfather of a lady i worked with 28 years ago." (Presumably that was Signor Salvadore.) "The recipe for the olive salad is the exact way it was given to me. It makes over a gallon, but since your comments indicate that you love it, i'm sure you won't want to cut it down. It stores very well in the refrigerator for many months and makes great gifts along with the recipe for the sandwich. It does appear in my cookbook, "Cookery N'Orleans Style" For the olive salad: 1 gallon large pimento stuffed green olives, slightly crushed and well drained 1 quart jar pickled cauliflower, drained and sliced 2 small jars capers, drained 1 whole stalk celery, sliced diagonally 4 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced diagonally 1 small jar celery seeds 1 small jar oregano 1 large head fresh garlic, peeled and minced 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 jar pepperoncini, drained (small salad peppers) left whole 1 pound large Greek black olives 1 jar cocktail onions, drained Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or pot and mix well. Place in a large jar and cover with 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 Crisco oil. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Allow to marinate for at least 24 hours before using. For the sandwich: 1 round loaf italian bread 1/4 pound mortadella, thinly sliced 1/4 pound ham, thinly sliced 1/4 pound hard Genoa salami, thinly sliced 1/4 pound Mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 pound Provolone cheese,sliced 1 cup olive salad with oil Split a muffuletta loaf or a loaf of Italian bread horizontally. Spread each half with equal parts of olive salad and oil. Place meats and cheeses evenly on bottom half and cover with top half of bread. Cut in quarters. Enjoy! Serves four timid dieters, two hearty New Orleanians or one incredible maiale. Here is a link that might be useful: [Gumbo Pages](http://gumbopages.com/food/samwiches/muff.html)

Whatever RiverRat says--she's the authority here! Thanks for sharing these tips Karen good timing with Saints Bowl--I mean the Super Bowl around the corner.

And welcome back Judy.

Yes I have eaten and made it and love it. I've used Martha Stewart's recipe and Rachael Ray's and they are both good but I'm liking the others posted here. And I also flatten it to the hilt (Martha said to use a brick - I saw her make it on her show many years ago).

The perfect picnic sandwich to take when we go and pick apples during the Fall.

RiverRat,

I would love to make your muffaletta olive salad as a gift to our Superbowl hosts. I'm a bit confused (and concerned) about the salad's storage abilities. I've always avoided storing oil & garlic together for botulism concerns.

Question: Does the brine solution from the green & black olives, cauliflower, plus the capers provide enough vinegar to retard the risk of bacteria growth? A gallon would take them a few months to use up & I don't want to poison anybody...they are friends! :)

Thanx,
Tricia

Sharon, you read my mind. Muffaletta for Superbowl!

Jim

SusieQue (by the way, where is she?) made a fabulous muffaletta salad for a get-together at Alexa's house. I have her recipe somewhere, but I'll have to find it. I've never had it as a sandwich!

Tricia, The one time that I made the gallon size amount I stored small jars in the fridge, with a ribbon wrapped around the top, and gave away as small gifts after a party. I didn't keep any around for any length of time and told my friends to eat it right away. I had the same concerns as you do. Yeah, I like my friends too :-) I think I may serve Muffaletta's on Super Bowl Sunday. Great idea!

Annie may be able to answer the bacteria growth question.

Oh Annie, where are you...

Cathy, LOL, Saints Bowl!

Thanks for all your responses, I didn't realize just how popular a Muffaletta was.

Okay I'm confused. I always thought muffalettas were Italian, not New Orleans. Which is it?

Judging from the ingredients it clearly has it's roots in Italian cuisine but, for whatever reason, New Orleans owns it now.

I made Weed's several year ago up at the lake. I'm thinking this could be part of my SB menu too. YUM!

David

Hi Pam!! I'm here!!

I just made the salad again for our Christmas feast-there are pics of the salad on my FaceBook page!

The recipe is on my old computer so I just wing it and use all sort of salami, ham, provelone-toss in some raw veggies such as bell pepper, celery and onion for crunch. I only use Barilla tiny bow ties for the pasta-I just like the way they look and they are the perfect size. toss everything together with Jardines Muffeletta Spread and there you have it!!
I'll most likely make it next time Amy comes home.

Cheers!
Susie

I can vouch for Susie Q's mufaletta salad, yum!