Make Ahead

Vegetable Muffuletta

October  4, 2022
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

I lived in New Orleans for one year. One memory I will never forget is a huge muffuletta perched atop a deli counter in an open-air market. It was the biggest, most glorious sandwich I had ever seen!

The traditional version comes layered with meat and cheese and an olive salad. As a vegan, the third of those is the only one I’m interested in. I love olives and am always looking for dishes that feature them. So I decided to focus on that. The result is what I served at my Smorgasburg booth a few weeks ago, where I do something different every week. This one was, by far, the most visually stunning. It prompted an amazing response. I made ten of them, and by the end of the market, only had one left for me and my husband to take home and share for the week!

The special thing about this recipe is that it evolved with a lot of help from food52. I posted a question on foodpickle and an answer from Sam1148 inspired the addition of artichokes to the olive salad, and the trick of adding bread to the remoulade to help hold the sandwich together. Both of Sam’s tricks worked brilliantly and demonstrate how useful foodpickle is not just to home chefs in distress, but to chefs looking for inspiration in moving an existing recipe forward. Thank you, Sam1148!

This dish travels well, so it is great for summer picnics.
Anitalectric

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Vegetable Muffuletta Sandwich
  • 1 12" round loaf of bread, or two 8" round loaves (Italian, sourdough, whole wheat, etc.)
  • 2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 carrots, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
  • 8 ounces spinach leaves, rinsed and dried
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup pitted green olives, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup pitted black olives, chopped fine
  • 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped fine
  • 3 tablespoons thyme, chopped fine
  • 2 tablespoons oregano, chopped fine
  • 1 lemon, juice and zest
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • celery root remoulade (recipe below)
  • Celery Root Remoulade
  • 1 cup mayonnaise (or vegenaise)
  • 1 cup celery root, shredded
  • 3 stalks celery, minced
  • 3 green onions, minced
  • 1/4 cup prepared mustard
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
  • salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Vegetable Muffuletta Sandwich
  2. Preheat oven to 350?F. Toss the mushrooms with ¼ cup of the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes until tender and browned around the edges.
  3. To make the olive salad, combine the olives, artichokes, parsley, herbs, lemon & remaining olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Cut a circle into the top of the bread about 1” in from the sides. Use the knife to cut underneath it and pry it off in one piece. (Like cutting lid into a jack-o-lantern). Scoop out the bread, leaving about 1” layer on the bottom and sides. Tear two cups of the bread into small pieces. Save the rest for another use, such as making breadcrumbs.
  5. Add all the olive salad to the scooped out bread, and press down on it to form an even layer. Repeat with the carrots, spinach, mushrooms and remoulade. By the time you add the remoulade, the toppings should be piled pretty high. Replace the lid of the bread and squish downward to make everything fit. Wrap the loaf tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  6. Serve sliced into wedges, chilled or at room temperature.
  1. Celery Root Remoulade
  2. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the bread pieces reserved from part 1 and toss to coat.
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  • Anitalectric
    Anitalectric
  • Navegante
    Navegante
  • hardlikearmour
    hardlikearmour
  • SKK
    SKK
  • aargersi
    aargersi
I am a self-trained vegan chef, pastry chef and baker. More recently, I founded Anita's Yogurt in Brooklyn, NY. Anita's Coconut Yogurt is now available from coast-to-coast and for nationwide delivery from our website. I still frequently bake desserts for my daughter and post recipe videos on instagram. Currently baking: Kombucha Muffins From Jerrelle Guy, Genius Nut and Seed bread from Sarah Britton.

6 Reviews

Anitalectric August 11, 2011
Thanks for the comments! It was a lot of fun to make, and I hope that people will have fun with the recipe and put their own twist on the fillings.
 
Navegante August 11, 2011
Very creative! Never thought a vegan muffuletta was possible or that it would look so delicious!!! Great recipe.
 
hardlikearmour August 11, 2011
This looks amazing. Your remoulade is pure genius.
 
SKK August 10, 2011
Love this!
 
aargersi August 10, 2011
I love muffaletta too and this sounds like a terrific version - and one that won't weigh you don like the meat and cheese kind does (delicious, but heavy, you know?)
 
lapadia August 10, 2011
Great job creating your recipe, great photo, too!