Muffuletta Sandwiches

I love olive salad. I love it even more when it's on a muffuletta sandwich.


I made up a big batch of olive salad and had it on a bagel muffuletta ala Cajunlicious and also on sliders. The longer you let the olive salad get happy in the fridge before using it, the better it is.



For the olive salad:

Makes: About 3 cups
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: A few days
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups green olives, pitted and coarse-chopped
• 1/2 cups Kalamatta olives, pitted and coarse-chopped
• 1 cup Gardiniera, coarse-chopped
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/8 cup celery, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

1. Roast the red bell pepper on your grill or in the oven. Let cool. Remove skin and seeds then chop. (Alternatively, you can use a few jarred roasted red bell peppers).

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Start with using just 1 cup of the oil. Add more if necessary. Cover and refrigerate for at least one day, up to a week, stirring occasionally. Add more oil if needed.

For the muffuletta bagels:

Makes: 2 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive salad (see above), or more
• 2 bagels, sliced
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• 4 slices hard salami
• 2 slices Canadian bacon (or mortadella, pimento olive loaf, or bologna)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place half of olive salad on each bagel bottom. Top with cheese and meats. Add remaining olive salad and top bagel bun.

3. Wrap bagels in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

For the muffuletta sliders:

1. Make the muffuletta bagel recipe, above, except using slider buns. Cut remaining ingredients in half, and bake for only 10 minutes.