Olive Salad Three Ways

It’s human nature to want what you can’t have, and today I really wanted one of those authentic New Orleans muffaletta sandwiches. As I was rummaging through my pathetically overstuffed fridge, I thought, why not make my own? I think the biggest secret to making one that is super delicious is to have good, fresh olive salad, the tangier, the better. So I made some olive salad (using up more of those wonderful olives that I bought sometime back), and the results were phenomenal.

This is something you need to try, not just for the sandwich, but also for the versatility. The next morning, while I was toasting a bagel, I decided I wanted a tasty topping, so I made my own muffaletta cream cheese by adding ¼ cup of olive salad to 8 ounces of cream cheese and beat it together. Wonderful!

The next day, I wanted an easy pasta dish, so I added a half-cup of the muffaletta salad to cooked pasta, added a bit of pasta water to make it creamy, squeezed in a little fresh lemon juice, and it was superb.

Make this easy recipe, and it will serve you in a variety of ways. Having this on hand makes future meals easy, and doesn’t that sound pretty good right now?

Olive Salad Three Ways

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 (6 oz.) can black olives, drained

1 (5 oz.) jar pitted green olives, rinsed and drained

1 (6.5 oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, undrained

1 small red onion, chopped

¼ c. red wine vinegar

½ c. olive oil

1 t. dried minced garlic

½ t. celery seed

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. dried basil

¾ t. freshly ground black pepper

Place the black olives, green olives, artichoke hearts with their juice, and onion into a food processor. Pour in the vinegar and olive oil, and season with garlic, celery seed, oregano, basil and black pepper. Cover, and process until finely chopped. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Buy Olive Oil from a source you can trust. The good old U.S.A.!