Muffaletta Ring Food

MUFFULETTA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the oil, the carrot, celery, cauliflower, oregano, thyme and 3 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are somewhat tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a small bowl and stir in the olives, pimento and salt. Set aside to cool.
• When the olive-vegetable salad has cooled, stir in the parsley.
• Slice the bread in half lengthwise. Using your hands, scoop out the inside of each bread half to make a shallow pocket. Brush the inside of the top half with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Fill the bottom bread half with the olive-vegetable salad and pack it down with your hands. Layer the provolone, mortadella and soppressata over the salad (without letting any hang over the sides).
• Cover with the top bread half and tightly wrap the sandwich with plastic wrap. Place the sandwich on a cutting board or baking sheet and weigh it down with a heavy object, such as a cast-iron skillet, for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
• Remove the plastic wrap and cut the sandwich into fourths or sixths. Serve.

MUFFALETTA WITH OLIVE TAPENADE

Steps:

• Divide the bread lengthwise. Scoop out some of the dough-y interior and reserve for another use.
• Combine the olives, oil, pickled vegetables, red peppers, parsley, vinegar, garlic and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Spread half of the olive tapenade on the bottom half of the bread. Layer the salami, provolone, capicola, mozzarella, mortadella and the rest of the olive tapenade. Top with the other half of the bread and wrap the entire loaf in plastic wrap. Top the wrapped sandwich with a cast iron pan and set aside to rest for 1 hour. To facilitate easy cutting, skewer the muffaletta with 4 skewers and cut into 8 even triangles.

NEW ORLEANS MUFFULETTA RECIPE

Steps:

• Slice the round bread in half and open both sides on a flat surface.
• Brush both inner sides of the bread with oil from the Olive Salad or extra virgin olive oil, go a little heavier on the bottom.
• Begin layering thre ham, salami, and mortadella on the bottom half of the bread. Top with cheeses.
• Next, add the olive salad from the center out and spread it, leaving about a half-inch around the edge. Place the top half of the bread over the olive mixture, and press down to let the bread absorb the olive salad juices.
• Using a bread knife, slice into 4 to 6 wedges.
• Optional: place the whole sandwich, before slicing, on a large baking sheet, and toast/warm-up in a 350F preheated oven for about 5 minutes.

MUFFULETTA

Steps:

• Drain the giardiniera and olives. Chop coarsely in a food processor.
• Remove to a bowl and add the olive oil, garlic, oregano, ground black pepper, and stir well. Set aside and allow to marinate for one hour.
• Spread 1 tbsp olive salad on each side of the rolls.
• Place 3 slices of pastrami on each roll, followed by three slices of ham and 2 slices of salami.
• Top each roll with 2 slices of cheese and place under a broiler until the cheese has melted and the sandwich is warm. Place the top on the roll and serve immediately.

TURKEY MUFFULETTA

Steps:

• Cut ends off bread; slice in half lengthwise and hollow out both halves, leaving a 1/2 to 1 inch shell.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of dressing on both halves, then place turkey on bottom half, top with provolone cheese, then olives, pepper rings, tomatoes and then sprinkle Romano cheese last.
• Put the second half of bread on the top and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to meld the flavors.
• Cut into slices and serve.

THE MUFFULETTA

Steps:

• To make the olive salad: combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl; stir well to combine; cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow flavors to blend.
• Bring to room temperature before using.
• To make the oregano onions: separate onion rings and place in a mixing bowl, add in remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
• To make the sandwich: all ingredients should be brought to room temperature before assembling the sandwich.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Slice the loaf of muffaletta bread in half horizontally; place bread on a baking sheet and heat in the oven for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted.
• Remove bread from oven; evenly distribute slices of mozzarella cheese on the top half and evenly distribute slices of provolone cheese on the bottom half.
• Return the bread to the oven and bake 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is softened but not melted; remove from oven.
• On the bottom half, layer the meats, beginning with the Genoa, then the mortadella, the capicolla, and finally the ham.
• Press down lightly on the meats to creat a level surface and spoon on the olive salad.
• Add oregano onions and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.
• Cover with top half of bread; slice into quarters and serve immediately.

MUFFULETTA (COOK'S ILLUSTRATED)

Steps:

• For the olive salad, mix everything together. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
• To make the sandwich: Drain olive salad, saving the marinade. Cut the bread in half horizontally and remove most of the soft interior. Brush both inside pieces of the bread with the reserved marinade.
• Place half of the olive salad in the bottom half of the hollowed-out bread. Top it with the cold cuts. Put on the rest of the olive salad. Put top half of bread on top of it all.
• Wrap in plastic wrap. Put it between two dinner plates. (It might work best to turn the top plate upside down, depending on if the plates have any curvature to them or not.) Put 2 or 3 heavy cans on top of it to work as weights. (Mufuletta is pressed-down sandwich). Chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
• To serve, unwrap and cut into wedges.