Salami and Burrata Muffuletta with Roasted Tomato-Chili Paste

Jeff the Chef

Salami and Burrata Muffuletta with homemade Roasted Tomato-Chili Paste: what a sandwich! Super fresh cheese melds with spicy salami and is rounded out with a couple slices of nice ham, piled with olive salad, and dressed with muffuletta oil.

Salami and Burrata Muffuletta with Roasted Tomato-Chili Paste
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Salami and Burrata Muffuletta with Roasted Tomato-Chili Paste

Recipe by Make It Like a Man!Course: LunchCuisine: American
Makes

6

servings

If the paste is too much work, a top-notch store-bought tomato-chili paste might be a good substitute.

Ingredients

  • For the tomato-chili paste:

  • 1 head of garlic

  • 4 tsp olive oil, divided

  • 3/4 tsp. salt, divided

  • 1.5 lbs. yellow cherry tomatoes

  • 1 tsp. dried oregano

  • 1 tsp dried basil

  • 3/4 tsp. coarse pepper, divided

  • 6 dried California chilies

  • 1 tsp tomato paste

  • 1 tsp vinegar

  • 1/2 tsp chili powder

  • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

  • For the quick-pickled onion:

  • 1 small red onion, peeled

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1/2 cup white vinegar

  • 1.5 Tbs maple syrup

  • 1.5 tsp salt

  • For the sandwiches:

  • 12 oz. mild muffuletta (2 oz. per sandwich, or to taste)

  • 6 pretzel buns

  • 9 oz. salami (1.5 oz. per sandwich, or to taste)

  • 9 oz. ham (1.5 oz. per sandwich, or to taste)

  • 12 oz. burrata (2 oz. per sandwich, or to taste)

  • Hearty greens, such as oak leaf lettuce, baby spinach, chard, arugula, etc.

Directions

  • Make the tomato-chili paste.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Trim the garlic head so that all of the ends of the cloves (opposite where the stem once was) are exposed. Place on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Wrap the garlic up in the foil, place it on a sheet pan, and roast for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, place the tomatoes into a medium-size mixing bowl. Pour in the remaining 1 Tbs oil, and toss. Sprinkle with oregano, basil, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper, and toss again. Set aside.
  • Raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Leaving the garlic on the sheet pan, spread tomatoes into a single layer on the same pan. Roast until the tomatoes are soft, 20-25 minutes. Once the tomatoes are cool enough to taste (5 minutes), correct their seasoning. Unwrap the garlic, wait until it’s more than cool enough to handle (10 minutes), and squeeze the cloves from the head.
  • Transfer the tomatoes – including any of their juices – and the garlic from the sheet to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Remove the stems from the chilies, slit them open, and discard their seeds. Tear the chilies into roughly quarter-sized pieces and add them to the processor. Add remaining 1/2 tsp pepper, tomato paste, vinegar, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth, 30 seconds. (Small pieces of unprocessed chili will remain.)
  • Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. On medium-low heat, cook to the consistency of a spreadable paste, stirring constantly, 20 minutes. It should take 1-2 seconds for the sauce to completely fill back in as you draw a spatula through it. Once it’s cooled for a few minutes, but still steaming, it should not fill in completely at all when you draw through it, and when you mound some onto the spatula and turn the spatula sideways, most of it should cling to the spatula.
  • Quick-pickle some onion.
  • Thinly slice the onion and gently tamp it down into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Set aside. Stir the water, vinegar, maple syrup, and remaining 1.5 tsp salt over a medium-high flame until the salt dissolves. Bring it to a boil. Off heat. Pour the liquid into the onion jar. Tamp down gently on the onions to make sure they’re all submerged. Screw on the lid and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
  • Make the sandwiches.
  • Fully strain the muffuletta. Reserve the oil. Set both aside. Split the buns. Slather each of the bottom buns with a generous amount of the tomato-chili paste, keeping it mounded mainly in the center of the bun. Layer on the salami and ham. Top with pickled onion, to taste. Top that with the strained muffuletta. Top that with the burrata; breaking it up to distribute it evenly. Top with greens. Drizzle with 1 tsp reserved muffuletta oil or more to taste. (The more oil, the messier it gets, and the messier it gets, the more luxurious and fun it is to eat.) Position the top bun, push down gently but firmly, and enjoy.

Notes

  • Substitutions: cherry tomatoes of another color.
  • The roasting can be done in a toaster oven, with the rack in its lowest posltion (Position A).
"Muffuletta," from Make It Like a Man!

Intro:

The muffuletta sandwich was created in the early 1900s in New Orleans as Sicilian immigrants brought many food traditions and customs to their neighborhood in the French Quarter. Today, the muffuletta sandwich is commonly eaten on celebration days and holidays, but as far as I’m concerned, I could eat one every day.

My version is beautiful, I must say, and damned good. All the bold flavors play off one another perfectly. The luxurious tomato-chili paste, mingled with the muffuletta oil, and then the dreaminess of the burrata and the soft heartiness of the pretzel bun … it’s almost a life-changing experience.

Social Learning: Tips and Tricks

You may wind up with leftover ingredients, such as paste and onion after making four sandwiches, depending on your tastes. You may want much more meat for each sandwich, although I swear by the proportions I’ve given. In fact, full disclosure, in the photos, I used twice the amount of meat. I did it because it looks cool. You certainly can make the sandwiches that way, but I much prefer the meat amounts given in the ingredients list.

Speaking of leftovers, I’m the kind of guy who gets bothered by the fact that the garlic trimming method I’ve recommended implies that you’ll discard some garlic. Well, I don’t. I’m weird enough that I pick through the trimmed pieces and salvage that garlic. I put it into a small glass container and keep it in the fridge.

With all that paste, oil, and creaminess, this sandwich is a mess – that’s for sure – but a fantastic mess. To mitigate the messiness, you might try a hamburger-shaped bun. Also, once you assemble the sandwich, you need to eat it fairly soon. It’s not good wrapped up and leftover. However, all the ingredients are perfectly fine leftover for days. So, make everything in advance if you like, but assemble the sandwiches just in time, to order.

“Muffuletta” is sometimes also spelled “muffeletta” or “muffaletta.” The term “muffuletta” is used as the name for this type of sandwich, but it’s also used as the name of the Italian olive salad that I used as a component of this sandwich. You may have to really search hard to find a bottle of muffeletta in a grocery. Giardinana, which you’ll find just about everywhere and looks kind of similar in the jar, would not at all be a viable substitute.

Cutting the sandwiches in half will squish out some of the ingredients. That can be fun. But if you want it to be a bit less messy, halve the buns, then line them back up together tightly, before assembling the sandwich.

Adult Lunchbox

If you’re going to pack this sandwich in your lunch, place only the meats (and the greens, if they’re super hearty) onto the bun. Then wrap the bun up tightly. Pack everything else separately. I have amazing, single-ounce, stainless steel containers with silicone lids that I use for packing condiments into my Carhartt lunchbox, which is also amazing. My life is amazing. This sandwich is way too messy to eat on a park bench, though. You’re going to need a plate, a table, and a couple of napkins. And watch out, because the tomato-chili paste will stain anything it touches a brilliant orange.

Outro:

If you want a zesty, messy, sandwich – full of flavor and texture – this is it. You know how Owen Han always gets stuff on his face when he eats his sandwiches? This is one of those situations. Hope you like it!

"Muffuletta," from Make It Like a Man!
Salami and Burrata Muffuletta with Roasted Tomato-Chili Paste

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. References: Food Network, Ina Garten on Food Network, Owen Han on Instagram. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #14 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.

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50 thoughts on “Salami and Burrata Muffuletta with Roasted Tomato-Chili Paste”

  1. I’ve never had a muffuletta sandwich because, well, you know — garlic. And, while the tomato-chili past as written would kill me, I think I can make it work with shallots. When we were in NOLA, I really wanted to try one… they look so good, and yours with the buratta looks over the top amazing. Added to 2024 goals.

    Reply

  2. Jeff, that is on fine looking muffuletta.
    Many moons ago, I lived in Shreveport. La and had my first muffuletta at a small grocery store and muffuletta cafe. It was love at first bite. While living there i had many. But i don’t think i’ve had one since the 70s.
    I’ll check my local Italian market and see if he has the muffuletta spread. If so, i’m making this and see if after 50 years i fall in love with this one. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

    Reply

    • How was it living in Shreveport? I’ve never lived in the south. I was lucky to stumble onto a jar of muffuletta, but then once I started looking for it, I was able to find it here and there. If your grocery has an imported foods aisle, or an aisle dedicated to Italian foods, you might find it there if you search hard. I wonder if it’d be hard to make?

      Reply

  5. Hi Jeff,
    That is a magnificent looking sandwich. I can imagine how good it feels in my mouth and the amazing flavours from the ingredients.
    That would make for a fantastic lunch at work.

    Reply

    • It does have a great mouth feel. It’s messy, so you’d have to keep that in mind if you took it to work.

      Reply

  12. Thank you for sharing the delightful story and recipe for the muffuletta sandwich! Your passion for the sandwich and attention to detail, from the flavors to the presentation, is truly evident. The idea of a messy, zesty sandwich full of flavor and texture is certainly appealing, now i wnat to make one

    Reply

  13. This is a restaurant quality sandwich that I would pay top dollar for. So many flavors that I could sink my teeth into. Good tip on packing a plate. I’d be the one who ruined a whole outfit trying to shove this into my mouth without taking proper precautions.

    Reply

  14. Spectacular, powerful, well loaded and with a touch of chili. An explosion of flavor. I like imagination in cooking, creating and surprising.
    Happy weekend.😘

    Reply

  19. Reading this sandwich is an “almost a life-changing experience,” makes me ready to dig right in. So this weekend, just for fun, my family is coming over for a Mardi Gras themed dinner. I saw “Muffuletta” in your title and got very excited. This is one amazing sandwich, and I shall surely try to work it into our dinner party, and I think I’ll have to make a very large amount of the tomato chili paste to have at the ready for all sorts of things. Thank you! 🙂 ~Valentina

    Reply

    • I hope you like it! Making the paste was a time suck, and although it was good, I think you could do well with a store-bought paste, so long is it bigger on flavor than it is on spice.

      Reply

  21. Jeff, this is one of my favorite sandwiches. My husband will be in food heaven if I make your sandwich. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  22. Oh now this is my kinda sandwich, Jeff! As far as I’m concerned, I could eat one every day, too. Never underestimate the value of a delicious spread on a sandwich!!

    Reply

  24. I LOVE a classic muffaletta sandwich, I could eat one every day too. That olive salad is so briny and good with the salty sandwich meats and fluffy bread. Yummmm- O 🙂 Your version looks like a dreamy mess I would love the try soon. It’s gorgeous!

    Reply

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