New Orleans Cuisine

My Creole & Cajun Recipe Page

This is my blog dedicated to New Orleans & Louisiana cooking! I'll give links to great Creole & Cajun recipes and sites, as well as some of my own recipes. I love talkin' New Orleans, food and otherwise! Incidentally, I'm from Detroit. Go Figure. Lets just say I figured out "what it means, to miss New Orleans" and this site helps ease the pain.

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"Leaving New Orleans also frightened me considerably. Outside of the city limits the heart of darkness, the true wasteland begins."
-Ignatius J. Reilly from A Confederacy of Dunces
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Monday, March 21, 2005

Muffuletta Olive Salad Recipe

This is my version of the Olive Salad for the New Orleans Cuisine classic sandwich, The Muffuletta! My friend Tom and I always make at least one stop at the Central Grocery on Decatur during a visit for Mardi Gras. Grab a Muffuletta Sandwich, a beer in a go cup and sit up at the Riverwalk to watch the barges roll by on the Mississippi, or just sit in the street like a common Hobo, depending on how hungry you are. Back to the recipe, I would make this at least a week ahead, it improves with age. Use good quality olives, Hey, good quality everything, right! I'm fortunate enough to have a great Italian market, about a mile from my house called Ventimiglia's. I also make my own Pimientos, the jarred variety are mushy, and they're super easy to make; recipe follows. This recipe makes enough for a Muffuletta and a few Bruschetta (recipe follows):

Muffuletta Olive Salad

1 1/2 Cups Green Olives, Pitted
1/2 Cup Calamatta Olives (or Black) Pitted
1 Cup Gardiniera (Pickled Cauliflower, carrots, celery, Pepperoncini)
1 Tbsp. Capers
3 each Fresh Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/8 Cup Celery, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. Italian Parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Fresh oregano (When I have it in my garden) or 2 tsp. dried
1 tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Pimientos (Roasted red peppers) Recipe follows
1 Tbsp. Green Onions, thinly sliced
Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground pepper To Taste (salt may not be necessary)

Crush each olive on a cutting board with your hand. Combine all ingredients. Cover with:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil about 1 - 1 1/2 Cups

Put into a bowl or jar, cover and let the flavors marry for about a week.

Roasted Red Peppers (Pimientos)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Place 2 Red bell Peppers (remove the blasted sticker!) on a baking sheet, place in the oven. In 15-20 minutes flip it over. Leave it in the oven for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven, place in a container and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for about 10-15 minutes, this makes the skin come off more easily. Uncover and remove all of the skin. Run under cold water, remove the stem and seeds, careful they're hot! Refrigerate. Great in a number of dishes, Paella, Jambalaya, Sauteed Chorizo or Andouille, Olive salad, you name it.

Olive Salad Bruschetta

Slice a Baguette into 3/4 inch thick slices on the bias, Pop them under the Broiler until they're golden brown. Break a Garlic clove in half and rub it onto the slices. Top with generous heaps of Olive Salad with plenty of oil & liquid. Serve immediately.

Muffuletta sandwich recipe

9 Comments:

Blogger Cynthia Gallaher said...

It's wonderful to find an authentic muffuletta olive salad recipe. The others I found use mayonnaise, which can spoil, and not as many tasty ingredients. More ingedients are fine since you can make it ahead and keep.

3:13 PM  
Blogger Christine said...

Seems like a lot of oil, but I know that helps preserve it, and I'm planning to use the excess (later) for cooking.... Mmmmm-mmmm!

2:51 PM  
Blogger kirwoodd said...

Excellent recipe, I have made it several times.

I added 2 chopped pepperoncini to my version, NOT required, but I like it. :)

Definitely make the olive salad at least a day in advance. I also like to take it out of the 'fridge at least an hour in advance of using it to let it get to room temp.

If you aren't going to make your own bread, then be sure to buy good bread! Bad bread can really taint this recipe.

AND...
My sister suggested that I (lightly) fry the meat.
OHMYGOD
I gave it a try and it really brings out the flavor.

Thanks for the recipe!

11:48 AM  
Anonymous turk said...

Yey... i did the same things at the same place.. with a bottle of coke or a bud... lovely food , great oliv salad.. it was back in 1978 and on..now in istanbul missing new orleans.. thanks for the great work done here..

5:23 PM  
Anonymous philippines catering services said...

I really like it,but for some reason I never make it. I should - it's a perfect holiday treat! Sounds yummy!

zonia

9:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just wanted to post about this wonderful salad. We have "first saturdays" at work....the first Sat. of each month everyone brings food for breaktime. Tonight (I'm a night worker) one of my co-workers brought this salad and it went over sooo very well, everyone loved it. I had her email me the recipe and from her emailed attachment I found this blog. So very tasty. I just had to let you know.

6:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey brother thanks for what you are doing. You have a great site here. I don't use it all the time but when I need you your always there God bless. I was born in Newark Orleans, and grew up in the coastal region of Ms. I have most of my recipes down but I live in Arizona now and can't find alot of my ingredients. So thanks so much. Anyway it is impposible to find Louisiana,or new Orleans hot sausage out here. Do you have a good recipe for that. I would love to just have a list of spices that are used. I can experiment from there.but anything even close Patton's would be great. Thanks for all you do bro. I gauratee hehen tonight its dads stuffed peppers uncle Ben's origanal and asparagus marinated in ominous and vinagar.

6:24 PM  
Anonymous Marchia said...

Honestly this might be the first recipe I didn't fail in my entire life xDD not including recipes in cooking games website Papa's Games... I used a bit less Oil but still very good, thanks alot.

10:51 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This sounds sooo good, I cannot wait to make it! Especially since the stuff I bought at a local Cajun restaurant was sorely lacking. Couldn't have been homemade. The capers in your recipe are what got my attention, btw! 😊

2:57 AM  

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