Sue Riedl/The Globe and Mail
Can you find happiness in a sandwich? My answer is yes, especially when it's filled with a savoury olive salad, thinly sliced mortadella, capicola (Italian cured ham), salami, provolone and Swiss cheese. If you've ever had a Muffuletta then you already know the chewy, dense flavour explosion I speak of. Traditionally, the bread used for a Muffuletta (a lunch sandwich created by Italian immigrants in New Orleans) is a Sicilian loaf, which has a soft exterior and a dense interior. Rosemary focaccia is a tasty alternative and by making your sandwich ahead of time you allow the delicious juices of the olive salad to soak agreeably into the bread by the time you eat it. As for the olive salad, you can often buy it premade at your grocer – or better yet – the Italian deli. One bite and you will be seriously contento.
Ingredients
Rosemary focaccia
Olive salad
Mortadella
Capicola
Salami
Provolone
Swiss cheese
Method
Drizzle some oil from the olive salad on both sides of the bread and then layer everything randomly, keeping the cheese separated by layers of meat. Pile the olive salad on the very top and cover with the second piece of focaccia. Then seal tightly in wax paper followed by Saran wrap – no leaks!
Sue Riedl