Sicilian Muffuletta bread with cheese and salami

Ingredients:

• 1 round loaf Italian sesame bread (15 cm)
• 170 g thin slices of provolone
• 170 g thin slices of mortadella
• 110 g thin slices of dry-cured salami sopressata
• 0.5 cup + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Half a medium carrot, thinly sliced
• Half a stalk of celery (with leaves), thinly sliced
• 0.5 cups small cauliflower florets
• 0.5 tsp dried oregano
• 0.5 tsp dried thyme
• 3/4 cup large pitted green olives, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pitted black olives, such as Kalamata, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped canned pimento peppers (sweet)
• 0.5 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup olive oil, carrots, celery, cauliflower, oregano, thyme, and 3 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a small bowl and toss with the olives, black pepper, and salt. Set aside to cool.
2. When the vegetable salad has cooled, add parsley.
3. Cut the bread in half lengthwise. Using your hands, scoop out the crumb from each half to create a shallow pocket. Brush the inside of the top half with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
4. Fill the bottom half of the bread with the olive and vegetable salad and press it down with your hands. Place the provolone, mortadella, and sopressata on top of the salad (nothing should hang over the sides). Cover with the top half of the bread and wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap. Place the sandwich on a cutting board or baking sheet and press it down with a weight, such as a cast iron skillet, for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
5. Remove the film from the sandwich and cut it into four or six pieces. Serve.
   
   Serving suggestion: Serve the sandwich with a Caprese salad to soak up the butter. Caprese Salad.