Day 3 of Vegan Mofo
A traditional muffuletta sandwich is a loaf of bread split horizontally and covered with layers of marinated olive salad, three types of deli meat, and two different kinds of deli cheese. The salad consists of olives, celery, cauliflower, and carrots with oregano and garlic. We tailored the salad to our taste, plus narrowed the cheeses down to one and meats down to two.
The muffuletta sandwich has its origins at the Central Grocery in the French Quarter of New Orleans. So what better place to enjoy a muffuletta on the west coast than our own New Orleans Square in the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland! You can half the recipes for seitan and cheese we used here or try Daiya’s awesome new Provolone slices! This is the ultimate rustic, full-bodied sandwich that is perfect for packed lunches and all your picnicing needs.
Vegan French Quarter Muffuletta Sandwich
Ingredients 1 small sourdough round 1 pack hickory smoked Tofurky Homemade Seitan, sliced and grilled briefly Swizz Cheez adapted from Jo Stepaniak’s Uncheese Cookbook 1 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 tbsp agar powder 1/2 cup chopped cashews 1/4 cup nutritional yeast 3 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp tahini 2 tbsp mustard 1 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp coriander 1/4 tsp salt Olive Salad 1 cup green pimento olives, minced 1cup black olives, minced 1/3 cup olive oil 1/4 cup roasted red pepper, diced 3 tbsp capers 2 tbsp celery, diced 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp dry basil 1 tsp oregano or italian seasoning 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp smoked paprika salt to tasteCombine all ingredients of the olive salad and let marinate at least 24 hours.
For the cheese, grease a small bowl or medium tupperware container. Combine the water and again in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring constantly until the agar is completely dissolved—about 5-10 minutes. Transfer mix to a blender and add all the remaining cheese ingredients. Process for a few minutes until smooth. Scrap into your prepared container. Cool, cover, and chill before slicing.
Slice the top of the bread open like an inverted pyramid. Cut out all the bread on the inner loaf, leaving about 3/4 an inch of crust. Layer your fillings from bottom to top: olive salad, tofurky, cheese, homemade, and olives again. Squish the bread ‘lid’ back down on top and let flavors mingle before eating.
It will take a whole pack of tofurky and about half the cheese. You’ll have just a little olives and seitan left over. It depends on the size of your bread too. We used a 7-8 inch round loaf.
Here’s where we had our packed, pressed sammich—in the fun corner of New Orleans Square, next to the French Market! No crappy salad options for us—Packed lunches galore! Giving the finger to the man by packing my own sandwich, that’s the way to go.
The flavors of this sandwich are absolutely amazing. If you are any kind of sandwich lover, I strongly suggest you go out and make one right now!
I make a muffaletta olive salad on a regular basis as it ends up being delicious in any sandwich you’re making. Love the idea of bringing your own veganized version of a menu to an authentic eating location, or even better to the exact place that made the meaty version famous. Seems like a fun idea for a flash mob.
That’s a great activist idea!
I can’t help myself, I love themed outings!
I’ve been meaning to try one of these pressed picnic sandwiches for ages. Maybe next summer!
Ok, yeah. Need to make this. Wow. Yum.
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That looks absolutely gorgeous, now I’m hungry.