- No Bake
These snappy mini muffaletta sandwiches are a great way to feed a crowd. You make one big sandwich and slice it into minis and the zesty olive salsa gives it a zip and kick that brings you back for more.
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What is a Muffaletta Sandwich
A muffaletta sandwich is a New Orleans classic, that combines Italian deli meats with cheese and a zippy olive salsa. It has Sicilian origins and was supposedly created in the Central Grocery by Salvatore “Tommy” Tusa, the proprietor. There are a few important features to consider when making a muffaletta, but overall, it is a super easy sandwich to make and it’s perfect (in fact important) to make ahead.
Ingredients for a Muffaletta Sandwich
The meats: You can really use any combination of deli meats that you like for this sandwich, but generally you should have one coarse-ground cured sausage (like salami), one emulsified sausage (like Mortadella) and one cured cut (like prosciutto or capicola ham).
The cheeses: Use relatively mild sliced cheeses like mozzarella or provolone (or both) so they don’t try to overshadow the meats.
The bread: Traditionally in New Orleans, muffaletta is made on a round, soft-crust, medium-dense bread with sesame seeds on top. Since that bread is not found all over, you can substitute a focaccia or a ciabatta bread. What you do need is a bread that has a relatively soft crust so that it’s easy to bite into. Baguette would be too crispy.
The Olive Salsa
Another component critical to a muffaletta sandwich is the olive salsa that goes inside. This is where the Sicilian influence comes into play, with it’s sweet-sour flavor profile. Use a mixture of green and black olives, along with some roasted red pepper, dried spices (including chili flakes for some kick), olive oil and vinegar. I like to pulse those ingredients in a food chopper and then stir in some capers and some finely chopped celery. I stir the celery in at the end because I want to control the shape and size of the celery pieces, rather than running the risk that the celery will be left too large in the chopper… or that by the time the celery is in small enough pieces, the olives will be puréed.
How to Layer and Build a Muffaletta Sandwich
How you put these components together is also important. Layering the ingredients helps to blend them into a more uniform flavor, rather than distinctly different flavors. Make sure you start and end with a layer of the olive salsa so that the salsa is always right next to the bread.
Making Muffaletta Ahead of Time
Finally, the last thing you need to make a perfect muffaletta sandwich is time. You need to make this sandwich ahead of time in order to get the maximum flavor possible. The goal of putting the olive salsa next to the bread is to have the bread absorb all the liquid and flavor of the salsa. To do that, wrap the whole sandwich well in plastic wrap and then weigh it down with a heavy object – a marble serving board, a large cast iron pot, whatever you can get to balance on top. Let it sit like this for at the very least half an hour, if not longer. You can even do this a day ahead of time, letting it sit, weighed down in the fridge.
Mini Muffaletta Sandwiches for a Crowd
Once you’ve pressed your large sandwich, it’s time to slice it. Spike sandwich picks down the center of the loaf, equidistant apart first. Then, slice between the picks and you’ll have mini sandwiches ready for people to pick up and enjoy.
Serving Ideas with Mini Muffalettas
Mini muffalettas are great finger food snacks and perfect for those occasions where people mill about and nosh, rather than sit down to a meal. So, serve it with other finger foods like some homemade tortilla chips and a black bean salsa, or Mexican street corn nachos. You could put it next to another sandwich twist idea by making some rueben egg rolls – also easy to make ahead and just re-heat. Most importantly, serve them with a cool beverage and some bev-naps!
Mini Muffaletta Sandwiches
Nutrition InfoPrint Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 m
- Total Time: 20 m
- Servings:
10
makes 10 mini sandwiches
Ingredients
Olive Salsa:
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup pitted black olives
- 1 cup pitted green olives
- ½ cup roasted red peppers
- 2 tablespoons capers rinsed
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Sandwich:
- Olive oil
- 1 loaf ciabatta or baguette
- ½ pound sliced mortadella cut into half moons
- ½ pound sliced Genoa salami
- ½ pound capicola ham
- ¼ pound sliced mild provolone cheese cut into half moons
- ¼ pound sliced mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- To make the olive salsa, chop all ingredients by hand and combine in a small bowl and chill for at least an hour. Alternatively, use a food chopped to chop the ingredients, starting with the clove of garlic first. Then add the olives, red pepper and capers to the chopper and pulse until the mixture is rough chopped. Stir in the chopped celery and remaining ingredients and let the salsa sit for an hour.
- Cut the ciabatta bread lengthwise. Drizzle the cut sides of the bread with olive oil. Spread ½ of the olive salsa on the bottom half of the bread.
- Build the sandwich by layering the ingredients in the following order. Mortadella, genoa salami, provolone cheese, half the remaining olive salsa, capicola ham, mozzarella cheese and the remaining olive salsa. Place the top half of the loaf of bread on top and wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap. Place a sheet pan on top of the sandwich and press it down with a heavy pot or marble board to press the sandwich. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes.
- Secure 10 to 12 sandwich picks along the length of the sandwich. Slice the sandwich in between the picks,
- Chill until ready to serve.
Enjoy,
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Nutrition Facts
Mini Muffaletta Sandwiches
Amount Per Serving (1 mini sandwich)
Calories 466Calories from Fat 279
% Daily Value*
Fat 31g48%
Saturated Fat 11g55%
Cholesterol 66mg22%
Sodium 2225mg93%
Potassium 179mg5%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 24g48%
Vitamin A 372IU7%
Vitamin C 5mg6%
Calcium 203mg20%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Comments (1)Post a Reply
Have made the little sandwiches twice now using Hawaiian Rolls. They flew off the plate. Lots of compliments.Reply
