New Orleans Style Muffaletta Sandwiches

This looks delicious, but I can't abide olives and there seems to be a lot in this sandwich. I wonder if there's a substitute ingredient that can be used for the olives?
 
I think they would be fine without the olives, but if they come with olives, I'd be the last to object.
 

I've made these a couple of times.
Except, I use Peda bread.

For the olives, I make an olive tapenade. Just a little to spread on. And, some banana wax peppers. Meats and cheeses, of course.
I'm making myself hungry now...
 
My parents were in New Orleans in 1942 while my father was in the service. They used to mention these sandwiches and how good they were. I never had an official one.

I want to make one just with no bread, so it is a salad since I do not eat bread. Thanks for reminding me of this!
 
I had this sandwich once, in Alabama of all places!! I was there with my brother and he took me to a little, out of the way pizza place. Brother insisted I try this sandwich. That was in 2004, and I still remember how good it was.
 
My grandmother was a master at making this delicious sandwich. I grew up eating them. I haven't thought about it in years. Thanks, Pam, for bringing up fond memories! 🙂

A little history...

The Muffuletta is Italian in origin, but unique to New Orleans.​

"The term Muffuletta originally refers to round Sicilian sesame bread. Forerunners of today’s Muffuletta Sandwich first appeared in the French Quarter area among Italian immigrants as early as the 1890s, and was commonly found in hundreds of Italian Grocery stores throughout New Orleans. This makes the Muffuletta Sandwich even older than New Orleans’ beloved Po-Boy! Today’s Muffuletta consists of layers of marinated olive salad, mortadella, salami, ham, and provolone." > https://www.muffulettafestival.com/the-festival

What The Heck Is Muffuletta? > https://www.farmersalmanac.com/heck-muffuletta-20455

"Muffuletta is the name for both the round bread and the sandwich it’s built on, that originated in the city’s French Quarter in 1906. A close look at the ingredients, however, quickly reveals that this sandwich isn’t French, Cajun, or Creole cuisine at all, but Italian. How can this be?

Being a port town, New Orleans has long been home to immigrants and foods from many countries and cultures. The muffuletta sandwich was created by Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant that ran the Central Grocery with a sandwich counter in New Orleans. Lupo created the sandwich to feed Sicilian truck farmers who sold their produce at the nearby Farmer’s Market, which was also located on Decatur Street in the French Quarter."

Marie Lupo Tusa, daughter of the Central Grocery’s founder, tells the story of the sandwich’s origin in her 1980 cookbook,"Marie’s Melting Pot":

"Most of the farmers who sold their produce there were Sicilian. Every day they used to come to my father’s grocery for lunch. They would order some salami, some ham, a piece of cheese, a little olive salad, and either long braided Italian bread or round muffuletta bread. In typical Sicilian fashion, they ate everything separately.

The farmers would sit on crates and try to eat while balancing their small trays of food on their knees. “My father suggested that it would be easier for the farmers if he cut the bread and put everything on it like a sandwich; even if it was not typical Sicilian fashion. He experimented and found that the thicker, braided Italian bread was too hard to bite, but the softer round muffuletta was ideal for this sandwich. In very little time, the farmers came to merely ask for a ‘muffuletta’ for their lunch.

This famous sandwich of humble beginnings feeds more than farmers today, as it is making its way into delis and restaurants across the nation."

Bella ✌️
 
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