New Orleans Muffuletta with Olive Salad

A giant pressed sesame loaf layered with salami, mortadella, ham and provolone and soaked with a briny, garlicky olive and giardiniera salad. It gets better as it sits.

Ingredients

• 1 round Italian sesame loaf (about 9 inches)
• 4 oz sliced Genoa salami
• 4 oz sliced mortadella
• 4 oz sliced ham
• 6 slices provolone
• 1 cup mixed green and Kalamata olives, pitted
• 1 cup giardiniera, drained
• 1 celery stalk
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup parsley leaves

From your pantry: 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp dried oregano, pepper.

Instructions

1. Make the olive salad: finely chop the olives, giardiniera, celery, garlic and parsley by hand or with a few pulses in a food processor. Stir in the olive oil, vinegar, oregano and pepper and let it sit at least 10 minutes.
2. Split the loaf horizontally and pull out a little of the soft crumb from the top half to make room for the filling.
3. Spread half the olive salad, with its oil, over the bottom half. Layer the salami, mortadella, ham and provolone, overlapping the slices evenly.
4. Spread the rest of the olive salad on the cut side of the top half and close the sandwich.
5. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, set a heavy pan or a few cans on top and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight. Cut into 4 wedges to serve.

Tip: Make it the night before: the press lets the olive oil soak into the bread, which is what makes a real muffuletta.

Nutrition per serving

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