Muffaletta sandwiches can be found all over New Orleans, from delis and corner grocery stores to upscale restaurants. Here, we use more readily available focaccia for the bread, and we’ve replaced the traditional olive salad with an IPA-brined vegetable relish.
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes + 16 hours for brining and chilling
Serves: 2
IPA-Brined Veggie Relish
2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 cup cabbage, chopped
1 cup onions, large diced
1 cup celery, large dice
1 cup cucumber, peeled and diced
½ cup green bell pepper, diced
¼ cup pickling salt
2 cup (16 fl oz/473 ml) red wine vinegar
2 cup (16 fl oz /473 ml) IPA
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
3 cloves garlic, crushed
In a large bowl, combine all the vegetables with the pickling salt and mix well. Allow to sit overnight.
In a large nonreactive pot, combine the remaining ingredients over medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables from the night before, add them to the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow the relish to cool. Transfer the relish to a nonreactive container, cover, and chill overnight.
Sandwich
2 pieces focaccia 5" x 5" (13 cm x 13 cm)
2 oz (57 g) mortadella, sliced for sandwiches
2 oz (57 g) salami, sliced
3 oz (85 g) MouCo ColoRouge, sliced
2 oz (57 g) ham, sliced
2 oz (57 g) provolone, sliced
1 cup IPA-Brined Veggie Relish
Cut each of the focaccia pieces in half horizontally. Layer the bottom half of the focaccia with the mortadella, salami, ColoRouge, ham, and provolone. Top with the relish and the top half of the focaccia.
Serve cold or warm up in a 300°F (149°C), although some hard-core muffaletta afficionados think it is blasphemy to heat the sandwich.
**PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER CINA