Muffuletta Cooks Illustrated Recipes

Steps:

• For the olive salad, mix everything together. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
• To make the sandwich: Drain olive salad, saving the marinade. Cut the bread in half horizontally and remove most of the soft interior. Brush both inside pieces of the bread with the reserved marinade.
• Place half of the olive salad in the bottom half of the hollowed-out bread. Top it with the cold cuts. Put on the rest of the olive salad. Put top half of bread on top of it all.
• Wrap in plastic wrap. Put it between two dinner plates. (It might work best to turn the top plate upside down, depending on if the plates have any curvature to them or not.) Put 2 or 3 heavy cans on top of it to work as weights. (Mufuletta is pressed-down sandwich). Chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
• To serve, unwrap and cut into wedges.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 14 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. , Cut bread in half horizontally; carefully hollow out top and bottom, leaving a 1-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Spoon half the olive mixture over bottom half of bread. Layer with salami, ham, mortadella, Swiss and provolone; top with remaining olive mixture. Replace bread top. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut into 8 wedges.

Steps:

• Make the olive salad by combining all ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside to marinate.
• Assemble the muffuletta by slicing the loaf of bread horizontally into 2 large pieces, with the top piece 2/3 the size of the bottom piece. Hollow out the top piece by removing the soft bread inside, leaving 1/2 inch of bread near the crust. Spread half of the olive salad on the bottom piece. Begin layering the meats, starting with the soppressata and adding 1/4 of the provolone cheese between each layer of meat except for the last.
• Spread the remaining olive salad on the last layer of meat and top with the hollowed bread. Press down lightly and let sit at least 10 minutes. To serve, slice into 6 or 8 wedges. It will keep for several hours in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic.

Steps:

• Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Gradually blend in the oil. Stir in the olives and roasted peppers. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Cut the top 1-inch of the bread loaf. Set the top aside. Hollow out the bottom and top halves of the bread. Spread some of the olive and roasted pepper mix over the bread bottom and cut side of the bread top. Layer the meats and cheeses in the bread bottom. Top with the onions, then the arugula. Spread the remaining olive and roasted pepper mix on top of the sandwich and carefully cover with the bread top. You can serve the sandwich immediately or you can wrap the entire sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator a day before serving.
• Cut the sandwich into wedges and serve.

Steps:

• To Make Olive Salad: In a medium bowl, combine the green olives, kalamata olives, garlic, cauliflower, capers, celery, carrot, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, celery seed, oregano, basil, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and canola oil. Mix together and transfer mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). If needed, pour in more oil to cover. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least overnight.
• To Make Sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts olive salad, including oil. Layer 'bottom half' of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella, mozzarella and Provolone. Replace 'top half' on each loaf and cut sandwich into quarters.
• Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients; set aside., Cut bread in half horizontally; carefully hollow out top and bottom, leaving a 1-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). , Spoon half of olive mixture over bottom half of bread. Layer with turkey, Swiss cheese, salami, provolone cheese, bologna and remaining olive mixture. Replace bread top. Cut into six wedges.