Lunch at your desk… again? Look forward to a classic Italian sandwich. The muffuletta sandwich originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1906. The Italian-style sandwich was created at the Central Grocery, where they are still sold today. They usually use a round loaf but I like making mine with a baguette. My version has smoked provolone instead of regular and sun-dried tomato pesto instead of the olive salad and I opted for the mortadella instead of salami ham. Yield is 4 sandwiches.
ingredients
Sundried Pesto
Grilled Vegetables
Assembly
directions
In a food processor, combine the pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, basil, and garlic and pulse until finely chopped.
Add the 2 tablespoons of the oil and process until smooth.
Season the pesto with salt and pepper.
Set aside.
Preheat grill.
Brush the bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill over a medium-high heat or broil for 12 to 15 minutes, turning, until lightly charred all over and very tender.
Transfer the bell peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool.
Peel, core and seed the bell peppers and cut into quarters.
Set aside.
Slice open the baguette and discard the center, leaving a scant 1/2-inch of bread all around.
Spread a thin layer of pesto on both sides of the baguette.
Layer each ingredient in this order: half the eggplant, half the zucchini, half the roasted pepper, 4 slices mortadella folded in half, 4 slices provolone cut in half, the arugula.
Top with the remaining ingredients in reverse order, this makes for a good looking sandwich!
Press the other half baguette on top, press down the sandwich firmly and roll it in parchment paper.
Tie with string at four equal intervals to make four equal-sized sandwich sections.
Slice the sandwich between the strings to make four sandwiches.