Ingredients
1/2 cup coarsely chopped, pitted ripe olives
1/2 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 tablespoon snipped fresh
parsley2 teaspoons
lemon juice1/2 teaspoon dried
oregano, crushed
1 tablespoon
olive oil
1 16-ounce loaf ciabatta or unsliced
French bread1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove
garlic, minced
6
lettuce leaves
3 ounces thinly sliced salami, pepperoni, or summer
sausage3 ounces thinly sliced cooked
ham or
turkey6 ounces thinly sliced provolone, Swiss, or
mozzarella cheese1 or 2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground
black pepperDirections
1. In a small bowl stir together ripe olives, green olives, parsley, lemon juice, and oregano. Cover and
chill for 4 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. To assemble
sandwich, using a serrated knife split loaf of bread horizontally and hollow out the inside of the top half, leaving a 3/4-inch-thick shell.
Stir together olive oil and garlic. Using a
pastry brush, brush the bottom half of the bread with olive oil
mixture. Top with lettuce, salami, ham,
cheese, and
tomato slices.
Sprinkle tomato slices with
pepper. Stir olive mixture. Mound olive mixture on top of the tomato slices. Add top half of bread. To serve, cut into six portions. Makes 6 sandwiches.
3. Giardiniera-Style Muffuletta: Prepare as above, except omit the olives, parsley, lemon juice, and oregano and omit Step 1.
Drain one 16-ounce jar of pickled mixed vegetables (giardiniera), reserving the liquid.
Chop the vegetables, removing any pepperoncini stems if present. In a medium bowl stir together chopped vegetables; 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid; 1/4 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives and/or pitted ripe olives; 1
clove garlic, minced; and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Assemble sandwich as above, spooning the pickled
vegetable mixture on top of the tomato slices.