Muffuletta

Recently, in my last post I had shared a great recipe for a side dish to bring to an outdoor get together.  Today I have a great idea of what to bring as your main meal for your next picnic.  This sandwich is not only pretty to look at but pretty flavourful too!  I brought it to a picnic not to long ago and my friend said that it looked like one of those fancy sandwiches that you pay a good amount for at a bistro or restaurant.  It may look pretty and fancy but it's rather simple to make. Once again, there's the added bonus that it can be prepared well ahead of time and it's a sandwich that has no mayonnaise but is still really tasty!  (I have to admit that I always put mayo on all my sandwiches and burgers, I often even use it as a condiment for my fries so it's hard for me to imagine a sandwich being decent without some mayo.)

This sandwich reminds me of eating an Italian antipasto plate but in sandwich form.  It has lots of salty flavours from the cured meat and briny olives but also has some balanced sweetness from the sun-dried tomatoes and the roasted red peppers.  I put some arugula to my sandwich which added some peppery taste and colourful greenery.  Traditionally, this sandwich is made with a round bread but after making it a few times I preferred using a rectangular bread because I was able to stack my meats and cheese more evenly and I prefer cutting my sandwiches in squares rather than wedges.  I hate to be cheesy but in this case, it's hip to be square!  Give this sandwich a try for your next summer outing and be prepared to have some jealous glares coming your way from neighbouring picnic tables.

I used a rectangular ciabatta bread but a French loaf would also work too.

I split the bread in half and removed most of the inner crumb. I ended up freezing the rest for whenever I need breadcrumbs for another recipe. 

I drained the olive salad and reserved the liquid to put back into the sandwich.

I brushed both pieces of the bread with the leftover liquid.

Then spread the olive salad evenly between the two pieces of bread.

I started to layer the salami, 

followed by the provolone, 

and the hot capocollo.  Afterwards, I repeated the layering process again.  

The last element to the sandwich was the arugula.

At this point the sandwich was fully assembled.

But... not ready to be eaten even though it was tempting to taking a bite out of it.

The entire sandwich was wrapped and pressed using a weight.  In this case, my Israeli couscous.

When the sandwich is ready to be cut it reveals all of the pretty layers of deliciousness.  Enjoy!

Muffuletta
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
Olive Salad
3/4 cup green olives, pitted and chopped coarse
3/4 cup black olives, pitted and chopped coarse
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped fine (1/2 cup)
4 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced

Sandwich
1 large (9-inch) square or rectangle Italian or French bread
8 ounces thinly sliced hard salami
8 ounces thinly sliced provolone
8 ounces thinly sliced hot capocollo
2-3 cups of arugula

For the olive salad: Stir all of the ingredients together, cover, and refrigerate for 4-8 hours or up to 24 hours.

To assemble the sandwich: Drain the olive salad, reserving the marinade.  Following the photos, cut the bread in half horizontally and remove most of the interior crumb.  Brush both inside pieces of the bread with the reserved marinade and, place half of the olive salad in each hollowed-out bread and top with the sliced salami, provolone, and capocollo.  Top with arugula and with the other side of bread, wrap the sandwich in plastic and press it between two plates, with heavy cans or weights.  Place the weighted sandwich in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.  (I kept my sandwich wrapped and pressed in a cooler.)  Before serving, unwrap the sandwich and cut it into 6 to 8 squares.

Source: adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook