Tulo

Muffuletta

A round muffuletta sandwich cut into wedges on a wood board, showing layers of salami, mortadella, and provolone against a bread interior stained green from chopped olive salad.
Photo by Wijs (Wise) on Pexels

Hollowing out some of the bread's soft crumb gives the chopped olive salad and its oil somewhere to sit instead of sliding out, and pressing the whole sandwich overnight forces that oil and brine down into the bread so every layer, not just the top, tastes like the olive salad by the time it's sliced.

Prep
25 min
Cook
0 min
Total
8 hr 25 min
Servings
8

Ingredients

Servings8
  • 1 loaf round Italian sesame-seed loaf (muffuletta bread), about 10 inches across
  • 1 cup giardiniera, drained and finely chopped
  • 1 cup pitted green olives, chopped
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
  • 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 6 oz thinly sliced mortadella
  • 6 oz thinly sliced Genoa salami
  • 6 oz thinly sliced capicola or ham
  • 6 oz thinly sliced provolone cheese
  • 4 oz thinly sliced mozzarella

Nutrition per serving

Calories
632
Protein
26g
Carbs
33g
Fat
44g

Based on the recipe as written, one serving. Recalculates if you swap an ingredient above. An estimate only, exact values depend on the specific ingredients used.

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Instructions

  1. 1Make the olive salad: in a medium bowl, combine the chopped giardiniera, green olives, kalamata olives, celery, garlic, capers, and oregano. Stir in the olive oil and red wine vinegar. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days, so the flavors meld.
  2. 2Slice the round loaf in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Using your fingers, pull out and discard about half of the soft crumb from the inside of both halves, leaving roughly a 1-inch-thick shell of bread on each side.
  3. 3Spoon about a third of the olive salad, including its oil, over the cut side of the bottom half, spreading it evenly out to the edges.
  4. 4Layer the mortadella, salami, and capicola over the olive salad, folding or ruffling the slices so they cover the bread evenly rather than lying flat and dense.
  5. 5Top the meats with the provolone and mozzarella.
  6. 6Spread the remaining olive salad over the cut side of the top half of the bread, then set it olive-salad-side down onto the cheese to close the sandwich.
  7. 7Wrap the whole sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and set it on a baking sheet. Place a flat, heavy object on top, such as a cutting board weighted with a couple of cans, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24.
  8. 8Unwrap the sandwich, cut into 6 to 8 wedges, and serve cold or at room temperature.

Tips & variations

  • Use an actual round Italian sesame-seed loaf if you can find one; a baguette or ciabatta doesn't have the crumb structure to hold the olive salad without falling apart.
  • If serving the sandwich the same day instead of pressing it overnight, layer a slice of provolone directly against each cut side of the bread first, it acts as a barrier that slows the oil from soaking through too fast.
  • For a spicier version, use hot giardiniera and add a few pepperoncini, chopped, to the olive salad.
  • The olive salad alone keeps well and is worth making a double batch of; it's good on its own as an antipasto or spooned over grilled chicken.

Storage & reheating

Keep the assembled sandwich wrapped tightly in plastic in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; it's meant to be eaten cold or at room temperature, not reheated, since warming melts the olive salad's oil out of the bread. Leftover olive salad on its own keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Tips from the Tulo kitchen

  • Salt the chopped olive salad ingredients lightly, if at all, since capers, olives, and giardiniera are already briny and cured meats add more salt on top.
  • Let the sandwich sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing straight from the fridge; the cold cheese and bread cut more cleanly and taste less muted.

FAQ

What is a muffuletta, exactly?

It's a New Orleans sandwich created by Sicilian immigrants at Central Grocery in the early 1900s: a round sesame loaf filled with Italian cold cuts, cheese, and a chopped olive salad, traditionally sold whole and cut into wedges to share.

Can I make the olive salad ahead of time?

Yes, and it improves with age. Made up to a week ahead and refrigerated, the olives, garlic, and giardiniera continue to release flavor into the oil.

Why does the sandwich need to be pressed overnight?

Weighting it down forces the olive salad's oil into the layers of bread and meat, which is what gives a proper muffuletta its distinct soaked, savory bread rather than a dry roll with toppings piled on top.

Can I use a different bread if I can't find a muffuletta loaf?

A large round Italian or Sicilian sesame loaf, roughly 10 inches across and sturdy enough to hollow out slightly, is the closest substitute. Soft sandwich rolls or baguettes tend to fall apart under the weight of the filling and oil.

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