Muffaletta With Split Pea Soup

Muffaletta With Split Pea Soup
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 large round sourdough bread loaf
1- 1 1/2 cups Creole Olive Salad, recipe follows
4 ounces mortadella, thinly sliced
4 ounces each of cappocolo, culatello, or other cured Italian ham, thinly sliced
4 ounces mozzarella, thinly sliced
4 ounces provolone, or fontina, thinly sliced
Pickled pepperoncini, garnish
Creole Olive Salad:
1/2 cup pitted brine-cured black olives, such as Nicoise, sliced
1/2 cup large (queen) pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced
1/2 cup peppadew chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp minced shallots
1 tbsp finely chopped celery
1 tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp minced garlic
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Slice the bread in half horizontally, and remove enough of the doughy insides to make room for the fillings. Spread about 1 cup of the olive salad and its oil on the bottom, spreading to saturate the bread with oil. Alternately layer the bottom bread with the meat, cheese, and remaining olive salad to taste.
Wrap tightly in butcher's paper or plastic wrap. Let sit for 90 minutes in refrigerator for the flavors to marry and the oil to soak into the bread. Unwrap, cut into wedges and place on a large serving plate with the pepperoncini.
Serves 4-6

Ingredients for Split Pea Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups yellow onions chopped
Salt
black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
1 pound dried green split peas, picked over and rinsed
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk

Directions
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onions. Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaf, and split peas and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, until the peas are tender. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Add the milk and, using a hand-held immersion blender, process until smooth. Serve hot.
Serves 6