Muffalettas

Aaron's new favorite thing to eat - Muffaletta's. I like it because I can make it in 5 minutes. If you haven't had a muffaletta, it's an Italian sandwich that originated in New Orleans. A typical muffuletta is made from muffuletta bread, split horizontally. I can't find Muffaletta bread, so instead of making that myself (I did find plenty of recipes), we bought a loaf of Italian bread. The bread is then covered with a marinated olive salad, then layers of capicola, salami, mortadella, and provolone cheese. It can be served room temperature, or heated through to soften the provolone. I prefer it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Muffulettas are usually large enough to feed more than one person, and then cut down to quarter or half sandwiches.

We found a jar of olive salad and saved some time by not making it myself. We found several varieties at Jungle Jim's in Fairfield. The olive salad is considered the heart of the sandwich, and is made of olives, along with celery, cauliflower and carrots. The ingredients are combined, seasonings are added, covered in olive oil and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours.