In honor of Italian Heritage month
I present
The Muffuletta
and a lil history behind the sandwich
The muffuletta traces its roots back to New Orleans, Its origin story is well told: Creator Salvatore Lupo was one of nearly 300,000 Sicilian immigrants who landed in New Orleans between the 1880s and the 1920s.
Lupo set up his shop, Central Grocery, in the French Market in 1906, alongside other Sicilian grocery and pushcart owners, in an area known as “Little Palermo.” This flood of immigrants brought ingredients and traditions of the Old Country, one being the flat, round, spongy loaves of bread called muffuletto that were usually made during religious holidays like All Soul’s Day and sold in paper wrapping marked with their name. When Lupo noticed that his customers, many of whom were farmers selling at the market, were buying the muffuletto loaves, plus ham, cheese, salami, and olive salad separately, he allegedly came up with the idea to slice the bread in half and put all of those items together as a sandwich, which he wrapped in the bread’s original paper.
The 4 main components of the Muffaletta are:
Bread
This is what gave the sandwich its name and is essential to its construction. Shaped into a round loaf, the bread is traditionally coated with sesame seeds. Its spongy exterior helps soak up the oil and seasonings from the olive salad.
Cheese
Provolone is the standard but swiss is a fine substitute, especially for those who go hot—these cheeses are easily meltable, which helps keep the whole stack together.
Cold Cuts
The key is thinly sliced here, as several slices of genoa salami, ham, and mortadella are traditionally layered atop one another to give the sandwich some height.
Olive Salad
Packed in oil, this chopped vegetable condiment usually includes cauliflower, carrots, kalamata olives, red bell peppers, capers, and pepperoncini, to give it a kick. The rough chop allows the peppery spices to infuse the sandwich with a zesty salinity
Photo is 1/4 of a whole sandwich