New Orleans Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Note: It is important that at least two kinds of lettuce is used and the lettuce is very dry. I wash the lettuce, spin it in a salad spinner and then lay out on a clean kitchen towel to dry.
• Mix all the dressing ingrediants, including dried basil if using, in a bowl and whisk briskly at least 1 minute. If using fresh basil, toss with the lettuce.
• Toss the lettuce with the tomatoes and the shredded basil if using fresh. Pour salad dressing over and toss thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate at least 3-4 hours, or longer if you have time.
• To serve, toss the salad again. Use salad bowls and add a couple of tablespoons of the liquid from the bottom of the bowl to each serving.

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.