The new orleans muffaletta

I try to select a giardiniera that is prominatly red peppers and cauliflower. Also, select a round italian loaf with a dense texture. Soft french loaves won't hold up to the weight of the filling!

For the olive salad, drain all jars and add to a medium bowl. Don't forget to roughly chop the cocktail onions, giardiniera mix and banana peppers! Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Set aside while preparing the rest of the sandwich—the longer it sits—the better!

Slice the loaf of bread in half to make a top and bottom of the sandwich. Hollow out some of the bread so it won’t be too tall to fit in your mouth!

Drizzle some of the olive salad juice on the bottom half of the loaf. Layer the ham, provolone, salami and swiss on the sandwich.
Top the meats and cheeses with a generous portion of olive salad and add the bread top. OR lively adventurously--fill the hollowed-out bread top with salad, place the bottom half over it, and FLIP! Cut into pieces and serve!

*The olive salad will make twice as much as you need for one big sandwich. You can either make two sandwiches and serve more guests, or save the rest for later. It’s great as a green salad topper or with an antipasto platter. I just like to make a large batch, rather than have extra half-empty jar in the fridge!