Is this still a muffuletta? I honestly don’t know, and I’d love for you to settle it in the comments.
New Orleans gave the world the muffuletta: a round sesame loaf, a briny olive salad and a stack of Italian meats and cheese, pressed so the oil soaks into the bread. I love that sandwich. But I live in Chicago, so my olive salad gets a big scoop of hot giardiniera, and I don’t eat pork, so the meats changed too. Beef bologna stands in for mortadella, and turkey, beef salami and pastrami fill out the stack.
The other change is the bread. I didn’t have a round loaf, but I did have my sourdough pan loaf, already sliced. So I built the sandwich back into its original shape, inside a glass loaf pan lined with parchment, and pressed it under a cast-iron pan. The loaf pan works as a mold. When the sandwich lifts out, it’s a perfect block, and every cut shows clean, even layers.
Make it ahead, because it only gets better as it sits. The olive salad soaks into the bread, the layers settle together, and you have a sandwich that feeds a crowd on game day.
A Little Muffuletta History
The muffuletta was born at Central Grocery on Decatur Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter in 1906. Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant, noticed the farmers and dock workers who came in for lunch were buying bread, salami, cheese and olive salad separately and eating them balanced on their knees. He started stacking everything into one round Sicilian loaf, called a muffuletta, and the sandwich took the bread’s name. The classic version has mortadella, ham, Genoa salami, provolone and Swiss under that olive salad. Chicago has its own answer to olive salad: giardiniera, the hot pickled vegetables that go on Italian beef. Putting the two together felt natural.
Why You’ll Love This
- Perfect layers in every slice. The loaf pan holds everything square while it presses.
- Make-ahead friendly. It’s better after a few hours in the fridge, and best the next day.
- Big flavor from the jar. Giardiniera, olives, capers and roasted peppers do the heavy lifting.
- It feeds a crowd. One pan cuts into tall, stackable slabs for game day or a picnic.
Ingredient Notes
- Hot giardiniera: I use Caruso’s from Chicago. Use hot or mild, and add a spoonful of its oil to the olive salad.
- Spanish olives: I use pimento-stuffed green olives in place of the traditional mix. Kalamatas work if you like them.
- The meats: use whatever you like. Mine: turkey, beef salami, pastrami and beef bologna. For the classic version: mortadella, ham and Genoa salami.
- Provolone: goes against the bread on both sides. It keeps the oil from soaking the bread through.
- Bread: a square sourdough pan loaf, sliced. Any sturdy sandwich loaf works.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a sandwich a muffuletta?
The olive salad and the round Sicilian loaf. The classic is mortadella, ham, Genoa salami, provolone and Swiss under a briny olive salad, pressed so the oil soaks into the bread. This version keeps the olive salad idea and the press, and changes almost everything else. You decide if it counts.
Why press a muffuletta?
Pressing pushes the olive salad’s oil into the bread and locks the layers together, so the sandwich slices cleanly and doesn’t fall apart.
How long should a muffuletta sit before eating?
At least 2 hours. Overnight is better.
Can I use a regular loaf of bread instead of a round loaf?
Yes, that’s the whole idea here. Slices fit into a loaf pan, and the pan holds everything in shape while it presses.
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So, muffuletta or not? Tell me in the comments. Chicago and New Orleans, I’m looking at you.
The Recipe
Chicago-Style Muffuletta in a Loaf Pan
Ingredients
Olive salad
- 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed Spanish olives, chopped
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1/2 cup hot giardiniera, chopped, plus 1 tbsp of its oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Sandwich
- 4 slices sourdough pan loaf, about 3/4 inch thick
- 8 slices provolone
- 4 oz sliced turkey
- 3 oz beef salami
- 3 oz pastrami
- 3 oz beef bologna
Instructions
- Make the olive salad. Combine the olives, roasted peppers, capers, giardiniera and its oil, garlic, oregano and olive oil in a bowl. Stir and let it sit while you set up. Make it a day ahead and it gets even better.
- Line the pan. Line a glass 9×5 loaf pan with a strip of parchment, leaving long tabs hanging over both ends so you can lift the sandwich out later.
- Lay the base. Fit 2 slices of bread into the bottom of the pan, edge to edge.
- Build the layers. Cover the bread with provolone, then layer the turkey, salami, pastrami and bologna. Spoon the olive salad evenly over the meat, then cover it with more provolone.
- Close it up. Lay the last 2 slices of bread on top and press down gently with your hands.
- Press it. Cover with plastic wrap, then set a heavy pan on top and weigh it down with a couple of cans. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Lift, cut and serve. Lift the sandwich out by the parchment tabs and cut it between the slices into 2 tall halves. Cut each half again to serve 4.
Recipe Notes
- Make ahead: it holds wrapped in the fridge for up to 2 days. The bread softens a little more each day, which is the point.
- Serve warm? Toast slabs in a 400°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese softens.
- Dip it: spoon some giardiniera oil into a small bowl for dipping. It’s very Chicago.
- No glass loaf pan? A metal one works the same way. Just line it well with parchment.
- Gluten-free: use a sturdy gluten-free sandwich loaf and check that your giardiniera and meats are GF.
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