Celebrate Italian-American ingenuity and the lore of New Orleans with this iconic sandwich
In "Bibi's Gulf Coast Kitchen," columnist Bibi Hutchings takes you on a culinary journey across the coastal south. Come for the great food writing, stay for the delicious recipes.
The muffaletta (also spelled muffuletta), like the po'-boy, was created in what I like to think of as my own (extended) backyard: the incomparable city of New Orleans.
Of Sicilian origin, muffuletta is actually the name of the Italian bread that holds the virtual charcuterie board of ingredients that make up this massive sandwich together. If you've never seen one, muffaletta bread is a large, round, somewhat flat, sesame seed-topped loaf, traditionally baked and wrapped in paper during religious holidays in Sicily. It is now, of course, synonymous with the sandwich; and like beignets, jambalaya and pralines, it is quintessentially New Orleans.
The origin of this (unusually large) sandwich was between 1890-1920 when nearly 300,000 Italians immigrated to New Orleans, Louisiana. Most set up shop in an area of the French Quarter that soon became known as Little Palermo and one such man, by the name of Salvatore Lupo, opened a small Italian-American grocery store in 1906 called Central Grocery. It was there — at 923 Decatur Street in the heart of what was Little Palermo, where he sold Italian meats, cheeses, breads, olives and such — that he would soon combine the ingredients and create what is now known as The Muffuletta.
Now owned and operated by the third generation of the Lupo family, Central Grocery is still in business. It actually remained in the same location, 923 Decatur Street, for 115 years, serving paper-wrapped muffaletta and so much more. Unfortunately, Hurricane Ida (August 29, 2021), a Category-4 storm that came onshore exactly 16 years to the day of Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005), inflicted heavy damage on the building when a brick wall fell onto its roof. Restoration is still not complete at the time of this publication, but hope remains the family will one day be able to return.
"My" recipe is an homage to the Central Grocery/ Lupo family original, but it is simpler to make and just as satisfying to eat. It was given to me by a retired chef named Brenda, who moved to Mobile, Alabama in the early 1990s from Chalmette, Louisiana, a little town not far from New Orleans. She was a kind and patient teacher and I soaked up all I could during our time together.
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This is one of the best sandwiches ever and another gift from all the cultural melding that took place in the South, in New Orleans in particular, at the turn of the 20th century. It would be nice to think the Italians were welcomed with open arms, that their work ethic and all they brought to the table was appreciated, but that was certainly not the case. Luckily, these hard-working, entrepreneurial people survived the xenophobia and endured. As a result of their perseverance, we are the lucky recipients of their flavors and cooking methods they brought with them from their native Italy.
This sandwich packs a punch from the briny, garlicky olive salad and spicy cured meats, but the creamy cheeses and fluffy, chewy bread mellow and balance its flavors absolutely perfectly. And it is everything your body craves after a sweaty day of fun in the sun.
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