Muffuletta

By MaryEllen

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups Olive Salad (recipe follows)
• 1 (1-pound) loaf round Italian bread
• 4 ounces thinly sliced provolone
• 4 ounces thinly sliced ham
• 4 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella
• 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
• For the Olive Spread
• Olive Spread
• 3/4 cup finely chopped green olives
• 3/4 cup finely chopped black olives
• 3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons drained and rinsed capers
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1 clove garlic, de-germed and finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from newsobserver.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the Olive Spread:
MIX all ingredients. Cover and let rest at room temperature, 1 hour.

For the Sandwich:

SLICE bread in half horizontally. Open and pull out some of the crumb (save for breadcrumbs another day).

PILE half the olive salad onto the bread bottom. Layer on cheese, ham, cheese. Stir tomatoes into remaining olive salad and pile on top. Cover with bread top.

WRAP sandwich securely in plastic. Balance something flat on top and weight it down with something heavy. Let rest at room temperature, 30 minutes.

SLICE into 6 wedges.

half the olive salad onto the bread bottom. Layer on cheese, ham, cheese. Stir tomatoes into remaining olive salad and pile on top. Cover with bread top.