Mardi Gras Party: Muffuletta Olive Salad Spread

So this recipe was a bit of a surprise hit for me. Sometimes I make things because they sound delicious, sometimes I make things because they sound weird, but sometimes I make things because I can get a little Disney Theme Park.  So must admit I made this less out of genuine culinary interest and more for purposes of thematic tidiness, what with the muffuletta sandwich being a New Orleans standby.

It was one of the dishes made in a hazy fog at 3AM the night before the party. I didn’t even really taste it.  And I’d originally wanted to assemble like little muffuletta crostini or something but ran out of time and sort of threw it on the table with some sliced toasted bread (Trader Joe’s Artisan parbaked baguette) at the very last moment.

Then the party started and I lost track of it, except to notice that all the baguette toasts had been eaten. So  hurriedly toasted up another baguette, which was almost all eaten up as well.  So I think people liked it pretty well.

Then I finally tasted it the next day and I really liked it, so there’s that.

Muffuletta Olive Salad Spread

Adapted from this recipe by Emeril Lagasse on Food and Wine.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pimento-stuffed olives, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons of liquid from the jar*
• 1 cup finely chopped giardiniera (pickled Italian vegetables) (1 cup), plus 1 tablespoon of liquid from the jar*
• ¾ cup pitted Calamata olives, chopped*
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoon parsley
• Pinch of dried thyme
• Hearty pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Mix all the ingredients together well and let sit for at least an hour. Serve.

*You can also put the olives, Italian vegetables and liquids in a food processor and pulse a few times until more finely chopped. I kind of enjoyed this version better, made for a better topping for the little toasts.