Muffuletta Sandwich
This recipe is from “The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook” (America’s Test Kitchen, 2010, $34.95).
Makes 8 servings
Olive salad:
1 cup green olives, pitted
1 cup black brine-cured olives, pitted
3 ⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained
4 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1⁄4 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 garlic clove
Sandwich:
1 large (9-inch) round Italian or French bread
8 ounces thinly sliced mortadella
8 ounces thinly sliced provolone
8 ounces thinly sliced hard salami
Make olive salad: Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Put in a bowl, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
To assemble sandwich: Drain the olive salad, reserving the marinade. Cut bread in half horizontally and remove most of the interior crumb until the bread walls measure about 1 inch thick.
Brush both inside pieces of the bread with the reserved marinade, and place half of the olive salad in the hollowed-out bottom of the loaf; top with sliced mortadella, provolone and salami. Top with remaining olive salad, then top with the top half of the hollowed-out bread. Wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap and press it between two heavy plates, using a few heavy cans on top as weights. Place the weighted sandwich in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
Before serving, unwrap the sandwich and cut into wedges.