Nancy's Fabulous Muffaletta Sandwiches

Born in the Italian groceries of New Orleans, the muffaletta is a sandwich built around one thing: the olive salad. Briny green olives get tossed with crushed garlic, olive oil, parsley, and Italian roasted red peppers, and that tangy, oily mix is what separates a real muffaletta from an ordinary cold-cut hero.

You start by drizzling the olive salad oil and juice over both cut sides of a round Italian loaf, and the instruction is clear: use plenty. The bread should drink it in. Then comes the stack, layers of salami, provolone, a mild cheese, mortadella, and prosciutto, before the top goes back on.

For the best results, let the assembled sandwich rest so the bread soaks up all that oil and the flavors marry. Slice it into wedges and serve it cool, the way the Italian delis do.

Chef Tips

• Be generous with the olive salad and its oil; the loaf should soak it up, since that briny oil is the whole point.
• Let the sandwich rest, wrapped and weighted, for an hour or more so the flavors meld and it slices cleanly.
• Use a sturdy round sesame loaf so it stands up to the oil without going to mush.
• Make the olive salad a day ahead; it only improves as the garlic and peppers mingle.

Variations

• Add capicola or ham to the meat lineup.
• Stir giardiniera or sliced pepperoncini into the olive salad for extra crunch and bite.
• Warm the whole sandwich briefly to melt the cheese for a hot muffaletta.