Prosciutto-Wrapped Tuna Muffuletta

Name: Prosciutto-Wrapped Tuna Muffuletta
Yield: makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and crushed; 1 teaspoon lemon zest; 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; 1 garlic clove, minced; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 pound fresh tuna loin, cut into 4 pieces approximately 1/2 inch thick; Sea salt; 4 long, thin slices prosciutto (about 1 ounce each); 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, slivered lengthwise; 1/2 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives; 1 cup chopped mixed pickled Italian vegetables (giardiniera); 8 pepperoncini, stemmed and chopped; 2 tablespoons capers; 2 teaspoons minced garlic; 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley; 1/2 cup chopped celery hearts; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 6 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced; 4 ciabatta rolls, or 1 loaf ciabatta or Italian seeded round, quartered; 4 fillets of seared Prosciutto-wrapped Tuna; 1 to 1 1/2 cups olive salad; 1 bunch arugula, cleaned and dried (about 2 cups)

December 14, 2011

The fragrant, filling, dripping-with-oil muffuletta is New Orleans’s beloved version of a hero or hoagie. The sandwich originated at Central Grocery in 1906, and people still line up out the door to buy them there. In a traditional muffuletta, a sesame seed-speckled round loaf of crusty Italian bread is stuffed with slices of provolone, salami, mortadella, and a pungent olive salad (which ranks alongside hot sauce and beignet mix as the best souvenirs from the Quarter). A muffuletta is a cousin to one of the great street foods of Nice, the niçoise-salad-on-a-roll known as pan bagnat. The sandwich, which literally translates as “bathed bread,” is so named because the crusty bread is “bathed” in the rich oils from olives and tuna. With this preparation in mind, I created a tuna-driven version of the classic New Orleans sandwich. I think it’s a happy combination.

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