New Orleans Muffuletta Mix (click for Aunt Sally's)

Sadly, I never had a chance to visit New Orleans before the big hurricane. Many restaurant friends would go, come back , and tell me that I belonged there and I needed to go. It was always in the back of my mind when I was waitressing at different restaurants in South Carolina. I still have the bead necklaces my friends brought back. I never asked how they earned them.

Here's my adaptation of the New Orleans Famous Muffuletta Mix (sort of like an olive tapenade but better!) It makes 4x the amount for the same price as Aunt Sally's.

1 jar of green olives drained
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1-2 cans of black olives drained
For the ingredients below, you can also substitute Italian Gardenia mix and roasted red peppers sold in jars in the pickle section of your grocery store:
1 cauliflower cut-up
2 stalks of celery cut-up
1 roasted red pepper cut-up
1-2 carrots cut-up
2 tbspns of apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tspns of minced garlic
1 pickle cut-up or 2 tspns of capers
salt to taste

Pour ingredients in food processor and pulse until spreadable, but still chunky.
Refrigerate.

The New Orleans tradition is to spread onto Muffuletta bread or Sourdough then layer with thin slices of Genoa Salami, Provolone cheese, ham & Moradella (or Bologna).

I usually eat this as a side dish with some roasted chicken.

You can also order this from Aunt Sally's Praline Shops in New Orleans at 1-800-642-7257 or auntsallys.com. They've been making this for 75 years now.

Stock up....you won't be able to stop eating it......