Saturday 30 August 2008

The Muffuletta



The Muffuletta is a Sicilian specialty sandwich that is affectionately called The Muff. When the Italians came to America The Muff was adopted by the southern states and specifically New Orleans. The Muff was made famous in 1906 by the Central Grocery shop of New Orleans. The Muff is like the ultimate club sandwich and then some. The Muff is made of a 10 inch wide round loaf or ciabatta. The loaf is traditionally hollowed out and stuffed full of cured meats like Parma ham, Mortadella, Pepperoni and Milano salami layered upon eachother. Then add a couple of different types of cheese like mozzarella and provolone and to finish it off with an olive salad made up of sundried tomatoes, black and green olives, capers, basil, parsley and extra virgin olive oil. Idealy you make up an olive salad the day before to let the flavours marry.

Once The Muff is made press it all down, wrap in shrink-wrap and leave in the fridge for 2-3 hours. It is best to add some added weight to compress the sandwich and so that the oils and flavours get absorbed into the meat, cheese and bread. I think the type of holed cheeses I used enhances this process. I like it warmed slightly in the oven for 5 minutes so that the fats run out of the meat into the bread and the cheese melts. This creates the ultimate warm ham and cheese sandwich or manwich might be more accurate. Apparently warming the sandwich is a big no, no for a Muffuletta. I also made mine more into a Mediterranean sandwich and not strictly Italian. I added Chorizo and Serrano ham, mainly because I couldn't’t get Parma ham. I also added German peppered salami and Jarlsberg and Emmental cheese. I have seen Peter Gordon do a version were he added some beetroot and carrot, I guess to put a New Zealand spin on The Muff. When I did mine I added the roasted beetroot, but not the carrot. The addition of the beetroot adds a wonderful vibrant colour to the layers when you cut into The Muff. Making and eating this sandwich is an experience, one that needs a napkin for all the juices that dribble down your chin.

Hope you like the slideshow and that it inspires you to give it a go.

My ingredients bill came to about £15, a proper sized sandwich will feed four, or 2 really hungry people.






3 comments:

DJ said...

Wow!

Now that's what I call a sandwich!! Did you polish it off in one go? Can you tell me the fat content and how many calories per sandwich? On second thoughts i don't want to know!

Maybe you could bring one to the next picnic without the olives and anchovies though.

droach75 said...

Hey DJ,,it was Delish

I had some for Saturday night tea, again for a midnight snack whilst watching The Big Easy. Ironically the film is set in New Orleans, and in 1 scene there is even a Muff on the table.

I then had another quarter for Sunday dinner. Then as we had a indoor BBQ for tea, I sliced the sandwich into 1 inch parts and put a skear through the middle,,so you could eat it off a stick.

I would say it was better on the 2nd day.

As for the Olive/Ancovey paste/tapenade,,its just a salty olive paste,,you cannot really taste the Anhovey.

Providing I am not away on a weekend stag do,,I should be able to make a Muff for the next picnic.

DJ said...

It's always good to see a muff out on a picnic