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waiting for napoleon bonaparte muffaletta sandwich (the remix edition)

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Waiting for Napoleon Bonaparte Muffaletta Sandwich (The Remix Edition)

One of the greatest traditional food items to come out of New Orleans is the muffaletta sandwich. Central Grocery is renowned for theirs, but you can also taste a fine one on the café menu at Napoleon House on Chartres in the French Quarter. Napoleon House gets its name from the fact that in 1821 it was offered as a residence to Bonaparte during his exile. Being an unapologetic Bonapartist myself, my recipe title is a tribute to Boney.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Spanish pimento olives
  • 1/2 cup pitted black olives (Kalamatas work fine)
  • 4 to 6 cornichons
  • 2 cloves garlic (see note below)
  • 2 teaspoons dried Italian oregano
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • one 6-ounce crusty Italian roll
  • A little creole mustard
  • 1/4 pound thinly sliced premium cooked or cured ham (even prosciutto or jamon Serrano)
  • 1/4 pound thinly sliced capicola (as the name suggests, this is most often made from pig neck)
  • 1/4 pound sliced provolone cheese

Directions

  • It’s easy to make the olive salad in the bowl of a food processor using the olives, cornichons, garlic, oregano, olive oil, vinegar, and black pepper. Give everything a few quick pulses. It should remain a bit chunky -- somewhat more coarse than a tapenade.
  • Spoon the olive salad into a non-reactive bowl and cover it with cling wrap. It should then go into the refrigerator to rest for at least 5 to 8 hours, and it will keep overnight.
  • To assemble, use a sharp bread knife to divide the loaf into two halves horizontally like a giant hamburger bun. Smear some mustard on the bottom half and top with ham, capicola, provolone, and a generous amount of olive salad. Cover with the top portion of the roll and divide into halves or quarters. Bring napkins.
  • Notes to the cook: For the garlic, I use a “garlic confit” that I learned from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon cookbook. What that consists of is about 40 peeled cloves of garlic covered in canola oil and poached for about forty minutes -- a flame tamer is advised. Store the garlic and oil in a sealed container in the refrigerator. After a few days the oil will be highly perfumed. I think the little Corsican would like that touch. It’s handy to have on hand and you can add a little of the oil to the salad. Otherwise, use fresh garlic cloves.
  • The cornichon included in the olive salad is untraditional but one of my New Orleans friends really liked it, so I think it really works. Don't be stingy with the olive salad.

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