Muffuletta Sandwich & How to make a Great One
Muffuletta Sandwich What it is, History and Background muffuletta; muffaletta; mufeletta [muhf-fuh-LEHT-tuh] A specialty of New Orleans, this sandwich originated in 1906 at the Central Grocery. If New Orleans ever had a 'little Italy' it was the French Quarter, after the Civil War. Among the spectacular sucess stories there was the Central Grocery, which opened in 1906. For almost 100 years, they have served up the Muffuletta sandwich, which is right up next to the Roast Beef Po-Boy as a signature sandwiches of New Orleans. The sandwich consists of the round loaf of crusty Italian bread, split and filled with layers of sliced Provolone cheese, Genoa salami and Cappicola ham, topped with Olive Salad: a chopped mixture of green, unstuffed olives, pimientos, celery, garlic, cocktail onions, capers, oregano, parsley, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, salt and pepper. While the Central Grocery was the originator, it is now a prime tourist stop, so you may find better ones elsewhere: two doors upriver, at Liugi's, for example. Weather permitting, get one and a couple of beers to go (ONE Muff will feed TWO people), and walk a block up to the river to eat it. Perhaps the best Muff in town is five blocks up-river at the at the charming Napoleon House, 500 Chartres Street, where they are served hot, along with recorded classical music. You can buy Muffs from Lafayette through Baton Rouge and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It could be made anywhere that you can get a good ten-inch round loaf of Italian bread. I cannot understand how Subway and other sandwich places have not discovered this epicurean delight... but it's probably because the bread just isn't available elsewhere. The same is probably true of New Orleans' french bread for Po-Boy's and Buffalo's Kimmelweck rolls, so essential for their 'Beef on Weck' ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From Ed Branley The muffuletta is as much a signature sandwich of New Orleans as the roast beef po-boy. New Orleans doesn't have a "Little Italy" section of town that you see in many other cities, but we have a large Italian community and lots of Italian restaurants. The passion for eating and good food that immigrants from Italy brought to this country meshed well with the Creole traditions already here in New Orleans. The muff looks at first glance like an easy sandwich to make, but that ingredients list is much more complicated. The two crucial items are the bread and olive salad. You can buy good quality meat and cheese in most supermarkets; good olive salad is another story. Good Italian bread is another problem. In New Orleans, most of the french bread bakers also do Italian bread. Most of the places that do muffs buy their bread from Angelo Gendusa's. from ... The Mighty Muffuletta by Ed Branley Recipes by Judy Dawes and Bill Dawes Now you can enjoy the authentic New Orleans Muffuletta anywhere in the world! We simplified the processing, sized things to standard store containers, and use today's common kitchen appliances. Good news: it's easy, and it's the real thing! Judy's Olive Salad takes only fifteen minutes, using a food processor. It is scaled to use the standard 44 ounce jar of olives, which is also a handy place to store the finished product. The two of us will use it up in a month or so, but we use it in lots of other places -- in tossed green salads and as a dressing in many sandwiches. Try it with diced ham in pita pockets! Olive salad does wonders for home made pizza... do this once, and you may never buy prepared pizza again! We're in Virginia, a thousand miles away from New Orleans and any store that keeps Muffuletta Bread on the shelves! Bill's recipe uses a bread machine to prepare the dough. It takes three hours, but only a few minutes work. Here's the complete sandwich, followed by the Olive Salad and bread recipes: 1 loaf Bill's Muffuletta Bread 2 oz. salami, thinly sliced (Genoa preferred) 2 oz. Italian ham, thinly sliced (Cappicola preferred) 2 oz. Provolone cheese, thinly sliced 1 cup Judy's Olive Salad Cut bread in half crosswise. Spread each half with Olive Salad. Pile on several layers of salami, ham, and cheese. Press down slightly. Cut sandwich in quarters. Makes 1 to 4 servings, depending on the appetite! Judy's Olive Salad 1 (44-oz) jar olives stuffed with pimentos, drained 3 1/2 tablespoons brine from olives 4 large garlic cloves, minced 1 ( 8 oz) jar marinated cocktail onions, drained 4 celery stalks, halved lengthwise, sliced thin 3 tablespoons capers, drained 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon black pepper 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/3 cup olive oil Drain olives, reserving 3-1/2 tablespoons brine. In a food processor, use pulse button to chop olives, a cup at a time, and place in large mixing bowl. Strain and chop cocktail onions in processor. Split celery stalks, use processor's slicing blade, and finish end pieces by hand. Mince garlic cloves. Drain capers. Add onions, celery, garlic, and capers to the large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk reserved olive brine, oregano, pepper and vinegar until combined. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour dressing over salad; toss. Spoon into the empty olive jar, seal lid. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 6-1/2 cups. ~~~~ Bill's Muffuletta Bread You can't create a Muffuletta sandwich on sliced bread -- the Olive Salad is too juicy and will make a soggy mess. In a pinch, you can use French bread or sub loaf, not bad if you want to make bite size snacks for a party. But you MUST have authentic Muffuletta Bread to appreciate the full experience. If you don't live in New Orleans, where you can buy it at most any corner grocery, use Bill's bread machine version -- it's easy! 1 cup water 1 tablespoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening 3 cups bread flour 1 pkg. (1-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast Sesame seeds Place all ingredients except sesame seeds in the bread machine's pan. Use the dough setting. When finished, form into a one inch high circle on a lightly floured surface, and place on a lightly oiled foil square. Press sesame seeds into surface and brush with oil. Cover with damp paper towel and allow to rise. Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 425F (22OC). Remove paper towel. Bake loaf on the foil square in center of preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375F (190C) and bake for another 25 minutes. The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely on a rack before slicing. http://colorpro.com/great-sandwiches/index.html -- _______________________________________________ Get your free email from www.doramail.com with 30 Megs of disk space in webhosting and e-mail storage! Powered by Outblaze ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/mvhylB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! 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