Muffaletta

By Taraespo

Ingredients

• One 10-inch round loaf Italian bread
• 1 cup mixed pitted olives, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup pickled vegetables, such as giardiniera, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 pound salami, deli sliced
• 1/2 pound provolone, deli sliced
• 1/2 pound capicola, deli sliced
• 1/2 pound smoked mozzarella, deli sliced
• 1/2 pound mortadella, deli sliced

Preparation

Step 1

Divide the bread lengthwise. Scoop out some of the dough-y interior and reserve for another use.

Combine the olives, oil, pickled vegetables, red peppers, parsley, vinegar, garlic and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Spread half of the olive tapenade on the bottom half of the bread. Layer the salami, provolone, capicola, mozzarella, mortadella and the rest of the olive tapenade. Top with the other half of the bread and wrap the entire loaf in plastic wrap. Top the wrapped sandwich with a cast iron pan and set aside to rest for 1 hour. To facilitate easy cutting, skewer the muffaletta with 4 skewers and cut into 8 even triangles.