Muffuletta Olive Salad

By the Gracious Vegan

Muffuletta (the salad and the sandwich) originated in New Orleans, where Italian delicatessens featured muffuletta bread stuffed with cold cuts and a distinctive olive salad. The olive salad is wonderful on its own as an appetizer spread or it can star in the Vegan Muffuletta Sandwich or serve as a topping on grains, proteins, or vegetables. There are many, many variations of muffuletta olive salad. Some add giardiniera (pickled Italian vegetables), which I don’t care for. Some use a lot of oil. Some use significantly more capers and/or vinegar. If you love olives, you’ll likely love this salad!

Makes almost 1.75 cups of salad

Add the following ingredients to a food processor and process them until well chopped.

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced

• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves

• 2-3 small inner stalks of celery (with leaves), cut into a few pieces each

Add the following ingredients and pulse until the olives are chopped but not too much. 

• 3/4 cup black Greek pitted olives 

• 3/4 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives

• 2 Tablespoons capers

• 1 Tablespoon chopped shallots or mild onion

• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed

• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or more, or none)

Timing: About 20 minutes

Gluten-free