Muffuletta Dip
Original recipe from Southern Living, adapted for personal taste. It's excellent as a dip or spooned onto bread rounds and toasted until the cheese melts.
Original recipe from Southern Living, adapted for personal taste. It's excellent as a dip or spooned onto bread rounds and toasted until the cheese melts.
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 t. olive oil
- 1 cup italian olive salad drained
- 1 cup diced salami (about 4 oz)
- 1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini salad peppers
- 1 - 2 1/4 oz can sliced black olives drained (i used chopped kalamata olives instead)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 4 oz. provolone cheese diced
- 1 celery rib finely chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
- Carbohydrate 9.17977 g
- Cholesterol 100.246 mg
- Fat 37.70616 g
- Fiber 2.3910999455452 g
- Protein 39.93921 g
- Saturated Fat 23.744631 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (253g)
- Sodium 1418.526 mg
- Sugar 6.7886700544548 g
- Trans Fat 2.167298 g
- Calories 536 calories
Step-by-step
- I also added some Fratesi's Italian Dressing to bind it all together. - any good quality salad dressing would work)
- Combine all ingredients and chill 1-24 hrs. before serving.
Traditional New Orleans muffulettas require a massive, round sesame loaf sliced horizontally and stuffed with dense layers of cold cuts and pickled vegetables. Replicating that sandwich format for casual gatherings often introduces structural challenges, specifically the tendency for oil and moisture to make large sandwich breads soggy before guests arrive. Deconstructing the classic components into a scoopable bowl completely eliminates bread saturation while preserving the fundamental flavor profile.
Achieving optimal texture requires respecting a crucial resting window. Combining diced salami, provolone, chopped pepperoncini, and olive salad creates a high-sodium environment that draws moisture out of the fresh celery and red bell peppers. Allowing the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour ensures the olive oil coats the surfaces evenly and the brine from the pepperoncini penetrates the dense cheeses. Letting the bowl rest up to twenty-four hours deepens the integration of the cured meats without degrading the crunch of the vegetables.
Judging successful flavor development relies entirely on sensory evaluation rather than numerical metrics. The mixture achieves proper readiness when the individual olive oil coating loses its distinct pooling liquid and instead clings as a glossy sheen across the diced meats and grated parmesan. If serving the components warm on toasted bread rounds rather than cold, monitor the provolone closely under a broiler. The cheese reaches its proper melted state precisely when the edges bubble slightly and turn translucent, which typically takes between two and three minutes under direct high heat.
