Muffuletta

This is picnic GOLD.  I don't like picnics, but if you served this to me on a blanket, in a park, under a shady tree, on a warm, sunny day, with a glass of good red and chased the bugs away... I might be converted.

Muffuletta

slightly adapted from here

For the Giardiniera:

1 teaspoon olive oil

200g cauliflower florets, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon fresh thyme 

3 tablespoons water

100g green olives, finely chopped (I used pimento stuffed olives)

50g black olives, finely chopped

2 tablespoons pickled red chillies, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Sandwich:

1 Sicilian Loaf (recipe here or store bought)

100g thinly sliced Italian salami (I used mild sopressa)

150g thinly sliced provolone cheese

100g thinly sliced mortadella

Make the Giardiniera:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the cauliflower, carrot, oregano, thyme and water.  Simmer for about 10 minutes, until softened.  Leave to cool.

Add the olives, chillies and parsley and mix.  Finally, add the vinegar and salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Make the Sandwich:

Cut off the top of the loaf and scrape the insides out, leaving about a 1 thick shell.  Spoon enough of the giardiniera in to cover the bottom.  Next, add a layer of salami, then a layer of provolone, then a layer of mortadella.  Repeat the layers one more time and finish with the remaining giardiniera and put with the lid (top of the loaf) on.  Place the entire thing back into the pan the loaf was cooked in (or one the fit snugly around a bough loaf), cover with a piece of baking paper and weight it down with a plate.  Put a heavy can or pot on top of the plate and place the lot into the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 150C.  Remove the can/pot and plate from the top of the muffuletta and place the pan onto a baking tray and slide it into the oven.  Warm the muffuletta for about 15 minutes.