Muffulettas

I've only been to New Orleans once. It was a sad and humiliating experience that I will have to share some other time...but not today! Today I'm talking sandwiches! Again. Because (cue record) it's baseball season and I need food on the table fast.

I have no idea if these muffulettas taste like the real thing though. I know I've blocked out a lot about that trip but I don't think I tried a muffuletta while I was in New Orleans. I don't even think I tried a beignet. I did have a whole heaping of parental disappointment though! But Cooking Light insists that this recipe captures the essence of the New Orleans Muffuletta and that's good enough for me because I love Cooking Light and would never make it feel like a huge, fat failure by laughing at it in the middle of a dinner party. Never. But I digress! Let's get to the recipe shall we?



Muffulettas (original recipe from Cooking Light)

1 1/2 cups bottled giardiniera, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
10 pimiento-stuffed manzanilla (or green) olives, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 Kaiser rolls, cut in half horizontally
4 slices reduced-fat provolone cheese
4 ounces skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast, sliced (about 1 breast)
4 thin slices Genoa salami
4 thin slices ham

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; mix well.

2. Layer bottom half of each roll with 1 provolone cheese slice, 1 ounce chicken, 1 salami slice, and 1 ham slice; top each portion with about 1/3 cup olive mixture and top halves of rolls. Wrap each sandwich tightly in plastic wrap; chill at least 1 hour or overnight. Remove plastic wrap; cut each sandwich in half.

Like I said, I don't know what real muffulettas are supposed to taste like but I love this version!