Super Food for Super Bowl Sunday

Forget the foot long sub and the nachos and cheese. What a good football team needs to win is a muffuletta, a linebacker sized sandwich stuffed with Italian cured meats and cheeses. An impressive muffuletta is as good as it gets for the Super Bowl.

The best part is that you make it a day ahead of time, so while you are laying in supplies like 6 packs of beer and respectable wine, you can get all the ingredients for this right in your grocery store. Some say the sandwich originated in New Orleans, and it may be that Sicilian immigrants, of which New Orleans has a lot, made a version of this hefty sandwich. But it is more likely that the muffuletta originated in Calabria where it was called a pitta. This was a two crusted pie made from bread dough and filled with anchovies, tomatoes, capers and cheese. Over the years and with immigrant embellishment, the pitta has evolved. The point is that no matter who dukes it out in this year’s game, the muffuletta is a sure winner. 

Muffuletta
Serves 8-10

Salad Filling

1 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted
1 cup green olives in brine, drained and pitted
2/3 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup jarred marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 small sweet red pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2  cup chopped mixed fresh basil, flat-leaf parsley, and fennel leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt to taste
One 2 pound boule ( round loaf) sourdough bread

MEAT AND CHEESE FILLING

1/4  pound thinly sliced Genoa salami
1/3 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
1/3 pound thinly sliced capicolla
1/2  pound fresh or packaged mozzarella, sliced
1/2 pound thinly sliced provolone

Put the olives, celery, marinated artichokes, and pepper strips, in a food processor and coarsely chop. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the garlic, chopped herbs, and olive oil. Blend well and season with salt. Cover the bowl and set aside to marinate for several hours.

With a bread knife, cut  a 1/2 inch thick lid off the top of the bread and set aside. With your fingers, pull out the interior crumb of the bread, leaving about a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Reserve the inside crumbs of the bread for another use such as bread crumbs.

Spread half the marinated salad ingredients evenly in the bottom of the bread shell. Layer the meats and cheeses alternately on top of the salad. Spread the remaining salad over the top. Replace the bread lid. Wrap the bread tightly in aluminium foil. Place a heavy weight such as a cast-iron skillet or two clean bricks on top of the bread and refrigerate it for at least 6 hours or, even better, overnight.

An hour before serving, remove the foil and place the muffuletta on a serving plate. With a bread knife, cut it into wedges while it is still cold (this will ensure neatly cut wedges). Let come to room temperature before serving.

Comments

[Ann Marie]

Hi Mary Ann, I love your show and I was wondering if you ever have shows in Staten Island, New York.

[John & Peg Donatelli]

Hi Mary. We miss your 2 p.m. show on CH. 17 in the Buffalo, NY area. Why did they drop your show after all these years? It is missed ! I have a couple of your cookbooks but the show helped with making your recipes. Your e-mail & webSites always have so many free recipes. It is great you share these with people. An Italian lover of food! JOHN

[mary Ann Esposito]

Hi John, Nice to hear from you; hmmm, for being a Buffalo girl, I am not sure why my show is not seen there; ALL our shows are given free of charge to EVERY PBS station so it is their decision to run it or not. Call and tell them you miss the show; too bad because we have some great new programs shot in Italy this season. All the best, Mary Ann

[mary Ann Esposito]

Hi AnnMarie, we have no plans to shoot any shows on Staten Island anytime soon, but I would love to get back there.I will be at the Whole Foods in Flushing on Feb 8th to do a cooking demo and book signing. Thanks for writing. Mary Ann

[Carol]

It seems like you are on hiatus in Philadelphia(WHYY) also. I have a feeling there are so many programs, and they don't know what to show, but right now, they are airing a barbecue show.

[mary Ann Esposito]

Hi Carol, we give all our shows free to PBS stations nationwide; these individual station programmers decide what they want to air; if you love Italian, you'll love our latest series; we have a new series out every year.