Real N'awlins Muffuletta
A genuine muffuletta should be made on oven-fresh round Italian bread loves topped with sesame seeds. The spicy, tangy olive salad is what really sets this meat and cheese sandwich apart. These gigantic sandwiches were invented a century ago at Sicilian Deli here in New Orleans. Be sure to use high-quality ingredients as it really makes a difference!
pimento-stuffed green olives, crushed
1
cup
drained kalamata olives, crushed
½
cup
pepperoncini, drained
½
cup
roughly chopped pickled cauliflower florets
¼
cup
marinated cocktail onions
¼
cup
garlic, minced
2
cloves
drained capers
2
tablespoons
chopped celery
1
tablespoon
chopped carrot
1
tablespoon
dried oregano
1
teaspoon
dried basil
1
teaspoon
ground black pepper
¾
teaspoon
celery seed
½
teaspoon
olive oil
½
cup
canola oil
¼
cup
red wine vinegar
¼
cup
Italian bread
2
(1 pound) loaves
thinly sliced Genoa salami
8
ounces
thinly sliced cooked ham
8
ounces
sliced mortadella
8
ounces
sliced mozzarella cheese
8
ounces
sliced provolone cheese
8
ounces
 To make the olive salad: Roughly chop together green olives, Kalamata olives, pepperoncini, cauliflower, cocktail onions, garlic, capers, celery, and carrot.
  Combine with oregano, basil, black pepper, and celery seed in a medium bowl. Add in olive oil, canola oil, and vinegar. Mix together and transfer the mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). Pour in more oil to cover if needed.
  Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least 8 hours to overnight.
  To make the sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling.
  Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts of the olive salad, including oil.
  Layer bottom half of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella, mozzarella, and Provolone slices.
  Replace top half on each loaf and cut the sandwiches into quarters.
  Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.
