Muffuletta-Style Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 round crusty loaf (or ciabatta), split
• Olive salad: 1 cup mixed olives + ½ cup giardiniera or pickled veg + 2 tbsp capers + 1 garlic clove + ⅓ cup olive oil + 1 tsp oregano, all chopped together
• 6 oz sliced provolone or mozzarella
• 6 oz sliced deli meats (or grilled zucchini + roasted peppers for the meatless build)

Method

1. Chop the olive salad ingredients together until confetti-sized and stir with the oil and oregano — it should look like edible mardi gras.
2. Hollow a little bread from the loaf halves to make room for ambition.
3. Spread olive salad on BOTH cut faces, generously — its oil soaking the crumb is the muffuletta mechanism.
4. Layer the cheese and meats (or grilled vegetables), close, and WRAP TIGHT. Press under a skillet for 30+ minutes.
5. Cut into wedges. The press marries everything; hour-two muffuletta beats minute-one muffuletta, which is why it's the picnic king of New Orleans.