Lunch on the dock or deck doesn't get any easier than this Muffuletta-style sandwich. It is made the day before serving and will easily make 6 generous sandwich servings.
Muffuletta is a traditional sandwich made famous in New Orleans. There are many heated arguments on what constitutes an authentic muffuletta. I am borrowing the technique and filling it with my family's preferred German meats and cheeses. The hallmark of the authentic version uses an Italian sesame loaf, which is the muffuletta, filled with olive salad that is spread on top and bottom bread portions, and topped with layers of salami, ham, mortadella, swiss cheese and provolone cheese slices.
Ingredients & Substitutons
- You can use any round loaf like pumpernickel or focaccia. You want the bread to be fairly sturdy and a bit dense so it doesn't end up soggy from the olive salad. Sourdough may not be a good option if it has a chewy crust. I don't know where to source a true muffuletta loaf in my area so I made my Beer Bread in an 8" round pan.
- I used Turkey Kielbasa slices, Salami and Swiss cheese. You can use any combination of cold meats and cheese slices you like. Note that using 2-3 deli meats adds interest.
- Olive salad is a signature part of the sandwich. There is a muffuletta salad mixture in the condiment aisle of my grocery store now. I have included instructions for a quick olive salad in the recipe card. (I actually used my homemade Antipasto which was absolutely delicious in this. You could also use the Costco Antipasto version.
- It was hard for me not to slather a layer of mustard over some of the salami layers but I held back and was glad I did. The olive salad adds a salty vinegary touch much like the sauce on a a submarine sandwich. It was definitely enough flavour!
- I threw in a couple of layers of crisp sweet pepper rings and red onions to add a bit of crunch. These layers are optional but recommended.
Chef's Tips
- This sandwich is very high with all the layers of filling and the substantial loaf. You will hollow out some of the soft inside of the top and bottom halves of the loaf. Don't skip this step because it is too high to bite into a wedge from top to bottom (for most people anyway). Scooping out the inside will help with this.
- Secure each wedge with a bamboo or wooden skewer to help hold it together.
- Wrap the cut wedges in parchment paper to catch any stray bits of the filling or olive salad. Similar to how a submarine sandwich has a paper wrapper.
- Some recipes say you can serve this as soon as you make it but resting with a heavy weight overnight helps meld the filling and the bread so it holds together much, much better than when freshly made.
The ingredients I have listed below were for the 8" round loaf. You overlap them in concentric circles so you may need a bit more if you use a large loaf of bread.
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Wine Pairing
Well... let me state the obvious... since my version of this sandwich is made with beer bread-albeit there is only a very light hint of beer flavour- a cold beer would be an ideal accompaniment.
This kind of casual sandwich may cry out for a cold beer to go with it!
For white wine look for something with some herbal or savour notes like a Sauvignon Blanc, a Soave or a Pinot Grigio.
A dry Rosé wth herbal notes, perhaps in Provence style would go well.
For reds consider a spicy Cab Franc, Zinfandel or peppery Syrah.
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German Style 'Muffuletta'
Ingredients
Olive Salad
- 1 ½ cups commercial muffuleta salad mix + for 3-4 Tbsps juice (discard excess juice)
- OR To make your own
- ½ cup mixed pickled vegetables finely chopped (Cauliflower, carrots, onions etc)
- 1 tablespoon liquid from pickled vegetables
- ½ cup sliced pimento stuffed olives
- 1 tablespoon liquid from olives
- ¼ cup kalamata olives slices
- 1 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsps olive oil
Muffuletta
- 8" round loaf of dense bread focaccia, pumpernickel or you choice
- 12 oz slices of Turkey Kielbasa thinly sliced. I used Ziggy's.
- 6 oz dry cured Hungarian Salami
- 10 oz Swiss Cheese slices
- 1 sweet bell pepper cored and sliced horizontally
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- white vinegar to cover onion slices
Instructions
Olive Salad
- Mix all ingredients and allow to sit while you make the rest. Can be made a day or two ahead.
Muffuletta
- Submerge the red onion in white vinegar and allow to stand about 10 minutes. Can be made the day ahead. Drain off vinegar before using.
- Cut the loaf in half horizontally. Hollow out some of the soft centre of the top and bottom leaving them ¼ to ½" deep.
- Spread half the olive salad on the inside of top and half on the bottom of the bread. The bread will absorb some of the juices and tenderize a bit overnight.
- Layer in concentric circles to the bottom of the loaf - add a layer for each of Kielbasa slices, sweet pepper, Kielbasa, red onion. For the top half layer Swiss cheese, Hungarian Salami, sweet pepper, Swiss cheese, Hungarian Salami. (Order of layers is not critical as long as you alternate).
- Quickly and carefully flip the top half of the sandwich onto the bottom.
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Weight down with a cast iron skillet or some other weight and allow sandwich to rest in the fridge overnight or up to 2 days.
- When ready to serve, remove wrap and slice into wedges. Serve wedges wrapped in parchment paper.
Notes
- You can use any complementary kinds of deli meats and cheeses you like however 2-3 types of meat and 2 kinds of cheese are recommended for maximum interest.
- You can find commercial olive salad in the condiment aisle of your grocers. You can also use an antipasto mix that uses a lot of olives.
- The sandwich is best prepared a day in advanced and weighted down overnight to meld the layers and flavours.
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