Make a Muffaletta Sandwich for your next picnic
Make a Muffaletta Sandwich for your next picnic. Or if that’s not your thing, I’m joining seven other bloggers with our best picnic ideas today! Links at bottom of the post!
We love to pack up a lunch and head to the beach, a park, the bench overlooking the Long Island Sound at the end of our street…we will do just about anything to eat outdoors when the weather is nice. There are some types of sandwiches that just do better than others when it comes to being portable…and we have found that for a picnic with a plan (this sandwich needs to be made the day before), that a muffuletta is that sandwich. It’s definitely a sandwich for meat lovers, but it has so many layers that visually it’s as pretty as it is delicious.
An easy, but pretty make-ahead sandwich for your next picnic at the beach or in your backyard
PrintA Muffaletta Sandwich
This sandwich is made from items you can pick up at any deli-counter, nothing fancy here, but when it’s all assembled…it’s quite pretty!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 large round bread, halved
- Olive Salad (3/4 cup green olives, finely chopped, 1/4 cup oil-cured black olives, finely chopped, 1 anchovy filet, chopped, 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, and parsley. Mix with 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar)
- 4 ounces sliced mortadella
- 2 1/2 ounces sliced hot soppressata
- 2 ounces sliced salami
- 2 ounces sliced coppa
- 2 ounces sliced provolone
- 2 ounces fontina cheese
- 1/2 cup halved Peppadew peppers
- 2 cups arugala
Instructions
- Remove the insides of the bread, both sides.
- Spread olive salad over the cut side of the bottom half of the bread.
- On the bottom half of the bread, layer mortadella, soppressata, salami, coppa, provolone and fontina cheeses, Peppadews, and arugula. Then place the top of the bread back onto the filled bottom bread.
- Wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap and weigh it down with a cast-iron skillet with large cans of tomatoes and place it in the refrigerator overnight. It will get much thinner from the weight.
- Remove sandwich from the refrigerator, cut in half, and then each half into thirds.
You can buy everything you need at your local deli counter. Nothing fancy here! I would advise, however, to be extra choosey about the bread. You’ll need a round loaf if you want it to look like a traditional muffuletta sandwich, but it would be equally as pretty with a ciabatta. The important thing to remember is that the bread should be a little soft on the outside.
A Muffaletta is basically a pretty layered sandwich that you can make ahead!
So what is a Muffaletta? Is it bread or is it a sandwich?
According to Wikipedia, it’s both! A Muffaletta is a type of Sicilian round sesame bread and the sandwich that’s made from it. It dates back to 1906 when Italian immigrant Salvatore Lupo created the sandwich at his sandwich counter inside his Italian-American Grocery store in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Central Grocery is still run by members of the family.
Wild Roses & Garnet Hill Table Linens
We clipped some wild roses at the beach (when we thought we would have the picnic at the beach, but the strong winds had other ideas) and used our new table linens from Garnet Hill. There’s just something special about using 100% linen tablecloths and napkins that makes any occasion feel a little more elevated. Even a sandwich, some chips, and grapes feel like a party when you are using real table linens. What I love about these is that they wash and dry beautifully! No ironing necessary, unless that’s your thing! You can see more Garnet Hill table linens in this post and in this post!
This sandwich looks soooo amazing Annie. My guys would absolutely love it, I have to make it this weekend! Yum. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes, they are always home runs with my family!! Also, your table linens are just gorgeous.
How great to have the olive salad recipe! We love the one from Central Market and now we can make our own! Thanks, Annie!
Annie! Do you believe I’ve never made muffaletta? I now need to as it is pretty much all of my favorite things wrapped in BREAD. Thank you for including me this month! xo
HOW FUNNY YOU AND CINDY DID THE SAME SANDWICH!
LOVE THE FACT IT CAN BE MADE A HEAD!
Annie I loved this about the sandwich! I had no idea if it’s history. I know my guys would love this and I am going to try it for a summer dinner. The video was great! Very helpful . I loved doing huis with you all. Lots of great ideas for us all heading into summer! x Kim
I meant loved doing this! Ugh the typos…
Annie, this sandwich looks amazing! I’ve had muffaletta in NOLA but I’ve never made one at home and now I think I will give it a try. It looks perfect for picnics, parties and more. Thank you for including me in the roundup!
Oh my gosh great minds think alike! I really wanted to add arugula to mine. I add arugula to everything! I think it is much prettier, and at least adds a little bit of green. I think we even used the same recipe!! for sure it is a great make ahead sandwich. I am going to make mine the day before next time. I almost did but chickened out! I laughed when I saw the pictures for the graphic…I thought uh oh two people are making mufulletta!
I love this! Can’t wait to make it. We had muffuletta in New Orleans and now thanks to your video I can do it. Thank you so much.
Pierrette
ahhh….where the Muffaletta was invented!
Annie,
This is a great group post. I love the ideas for simple picnics. Your sandwich looked mouthwatering. I hope you enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend.
xo
Karen
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.