A New Orleans Classic

While most people are familiar with the po’boy sandwich, not everyone is as familiar with another of the city's iconic sandwiches-the muffaletta.

 upload stories, videos, pics
 printer friendly version
 email this page to a friend
 rate this story
 comment on this story

This story's category:
Printed Recipes

The muffaletta was developed by a Sicilian grocery store owner in New Orleans’ French Quarter in the early 1900s. The sandwich itself is a complex combination of ingredients—mortadella, hard salami, lean ham, mozzarella and provolone cheese, and olive mix (a delicious combination of pickled vegetables and spices), all arranged between a 7-inch round of crusty Italian bread.

Numerous restaurants in New Orleans serve a good muffaletta, but you can’t do much better than the place where it was invented—Central Grocery on Decatur Street. Just across from the French Market, Central Grocery, in business since 1906, serves hundreds of these delicious meals-on-a-roll each day.

For those whose travel plans don’t include a trip to New Orleans, here’s a recipe for a muffaletta sandwich. And to serve on the side, try this week’s crispy, light Cucumber Salad recipe, submitted by Barb Jones, of Panama, Ill.

Muffaletta Sandwich

Photography: Mark Boughton; Styling: Teresa Blackburn

Printer Friendly Version
Do you like to print recipes and add them to your collection? You're in luck. Use our printer friendly version of this recipe.

 

add to my recipe box

 share your recipes
 email this recipe to a friend
 buy our cookbooks

Find more recipes with:
olive , sandwich , olives , celery , pepper

You’ll have about 4 cups of olive mix—enough to make 3 sandwiches.

Ingredients

New Orleans-Style Olive Mix

2 cups chopped pitted green olives with pimientos (10-ounce jar)
3/4 cup chopped black or kalamata olives
2 tablespoons chopped celery
3/4 cups chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil

Sandwich:
1 loaf round Italian bread
1 to 1 1/2 cups olive mix
1/4 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
1/4 pound sliced provolone cheese
1/4 pound lean ham, thinly sliced
1/4 pound hard salami, thinly sliced
1/4 pound mortadella, thinly sliced (can substitute good quality
bologna)

Instructions

1. To prepare olive mix, combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Stir well. Spoon into a 1-quart jar with lid. Refrigerate about 1 week
before serving. Will keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator.
2. To prepare sandwich, slice Italian bread evenly in half. Spread olive
mix on both halves. Layer cheeses and meats evenly on top. Place two halves of sandwich together. Slice into wedges. Serves 8.

Recipe by Brooks Hamaker, "Relish the American Table," Feb. 11, 2007.

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 370 calories, 22g fat, 45mg chol., 20g prot., 24g carbs, 1g
fiber, 1220mg sodium.

Story and recipe by Brooks Hamaker, a food writer in New Orleans.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

 Start Uploading Now!

Discuss this Article