Muffaletta Wedge Salad & 40+ Mardi Gras Recipes! #SundaySupper

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Add a little Mardi Gras magic to a boring wedge salad with our Muffaletta Wedge Salad! This hearty side salad has all of the flavors of a muffaletta sandwich over a crisp iceberg lettuce wedge – and wait until you try the easy olive dressing!

Strike up the band, sling your beads around your neck and grab a fork! With Mardi Gras just a few days away, I am channeling the flavors of New Orleans today with a delicious wedge salad! Inspired by my absolute favorite sandwich – the muffaletta – this salad is packed with flavor: ham, salami, provolone cheese, homemade croutons and a ridiculously delicious 4 ingredient olive dressing!

Muffaletta Wedge Salad

The origins of the muffaletta sandwich are said to be Italian immigrants that settled in New Orleans. With layers of mortadella, ham, salami, mozzarella cheese and a marinated olive salad layered on thick bread, that sounds about right. In the decadent spirit of Mardi Gras, I’ve layered all of those delicious ingredients on top of a lettuce wedge and the Muffaletta Wedge Salad was born!

Our Muffaletta Wedge salad starts with a head of good ol’ iceberg lettuce. Just cut off the core, remove any outer leaves that are wilted or damaged and cut the remaining head of lettuce into 4 wedges.

Then, get the homemade croutons baking in the oven. Yes, there are homemade croutons and yes, they are worth it.

Traditional muffaletta bread is tough to find outside of New Orleans, so I just used a day old ciabatta roll from our bread drawer to make the homemade croutons. You can also use a hunk of any crusty bread. Just cut the bread into cubes, mist it with some olive oil (I love, love, love this olive oil mister) and add a few cracks of fresh black pepper. Bake the croutons until they are crispy and allow them to cool while you make the easy olive dressing and chop the salad toppings.

Now, I’ve mentioned the olive dressing a few times. So let’s finally get down to business! A muffaletta sandwich would not be a muffaletta without the olive spread. That salty, oily spread or salad is a combination of olives, spices, giardiniera (pickled vegetables), vinegar, garlic and oil. My easy version turned salad dressing only has 4 ingredients: mixed olives, giardiniera vegetables, oil and the briny liquid from the giardiniera. Pop it in your blender or food processor and let it do its thing. I left my dressing a little rustic so bits of the olives and vegetable are still visible.

(I found giardiniera in my grocery store but you can also grab it on Amazon.The hubby has already used the leftover pickled vegetables on our homemade cheesesteaks and a regular chopped salad.)

Now all that is left to do is chop and top! Ask your deli to cut a thick slice of good quality ham and salami. My slices were about 1/2 inch thick. Since the dressing and salami are salty, I used a sweet ham to cut the richness just a bit. Cut the ham into thin strips and cube the salami.

Finally, assemble the Muffaletta Wedge Salad! Top each wedge with a few generous spoonfuls of olive dressing (serve the rest on the side), pile on the ham, salami, shredded mozzarella cheese and a handful of homemade croutons.

Once the lettuce is chopped and all of the ingredients are mixed together on the plate, the full flavors of a traditional muffaletta sandwich are front and center! The hearty meats and thick shredded cheese complement the crisp cool lettuce. The homemade croutons, which are crisp on the outside and still soft on the inside, are the perfect bites of bread to sop up any leftover dressing. Oh yeah!

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Now, laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll) with over 40 more Easy Mardi Gras inspired recipes from the #SundaySupper movement!!

Appetizers

• Andouille and Crawfish Pimento Cheese Fries by Soulfully Made
• Hot Louisiana Shrimp Dip by Sprinkles and Sprouts
• Mardi Gras Muffaletta Dip by For the Love of Food
• Piquant Shrimp Balls by Food Lust People Love
• Trinidadian doubles by Caroline’s Cooking

Main Dishes

• Andouille and Chicken Gumbo by Delaware Girl Eats
• Bananas Foster French Toast by A Mind “Full” Mom
• Bananas Foster Baked Oatmeal by Cooking With Carlee
• Blackened Shrimp Pasta by Seduction in the Kitchen
• Cajun Courtbouillon by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Cajun Pasta Carnivale by Palatable Pastime
• Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo by The Freshman Cook
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta by Wholistic Woman
• Creole Beef and Rice Bowls by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
• Easy Shrimp and Grits Recipe by Life Tastes Good
• Gluten Free Gumbo by Cricket’s Confections
• Gumbo Z’herbes by Monica’s Table
• Hawaiian Jambalaya by Shockingly Delicious
• Overnight Muffuletta Sandwich by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Slow Cooker Jambalaya by The Crumby Cupcake
• Spicy Jambalaya Flatbread by My Life Cookbook
• Tenderloin Grillades with Cheesy Grits by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Vegetarian Muffaletta Sandwich by Hardly A Goddess

Sides

• Creole Potato Salad by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Easy Buttermilk Cornbread by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Muffaletta Wedge Salad by Shaken Together
• New Orleans Brandy Milk Punch by Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Not So Dirty Rice by Simple and Savory
• Red Beans and Rice by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Desserts

• Bananas Foster by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Basic Bread Pudding by What Smells So Good?
• Bourbon Vanilla Cherries Jubilee by Pies and Plots
• Mardi Gras Cheese Ball by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Easy Mini King Cake Bites by Family Around The Table
• New Orleans Mardi Gras Beignets by Big Bear’s Wife
• Pecan Praline Cookies by Sunday Supper Movement
• Traditional Mardi Gras King Cake by Curious Cuisiniere
• White Chocolate-Raspberry Bread Pudding by Gourmet Everyday

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