Looking for a party recipe that’s as easy as it is delicious? This big-flavored
pizza delivers on all fronts. It’s inspired by the muffuletta—the iconic sandwich from New Orleans made on a sesame roll and piled high with olive salad, Italian cold cuts, and provolone. The pizza has the same components as the namesake sandwich (with a chewy-crisp crust standing in for the sesame roll!) but is arguably even simpler to make, portion, and serve to a big crowd.
Here’s the gist: Start with your favorite pizza dough (buy it from a local pizzeria or grocery store to save time) and press it into a sheet pan to make a large-format pie. Top with olive salad, soppressata, and provolone, then bake. Out of the oven, pile mounds of mortadella on top, more olive salad, and sesame seeds for added texture. (Leaving the mortadella uncooked preserves its silkiness and pretty pink hue.) Cut the pizza into small squares and serve as a starter or as part of a bigger spread. Bonus: It’s equally good warm or at room temperature, making it ideal party fare.
A few notes on ingredients and technique:
— The olive salad. To save time, purchase the olive salad vs. making it yourself. (You’ll need 1 1/2 cups in total.) Jars are typically labeled as Italian olive salad or muffuletta spread. To brighten the flavors, stir in a little lemon juice and olive oil before using.
— The meats. Change up the Italian cold cuts and how you layer them. Any combination of thinly sliced salami, coppa, capicola, or prosciutto are all fair game.
— The cheese. Feel free to use all provolone, or a combo of provolone and mozzarella. If you can’t find shredded or whole blocks of provolone, thin slices of provolone evenly laid over the pizza will work nicely.
— The crust. A large portion of dough (about 1 1/2 pounds) works best to fill an entire sheet pan. If you can only find smaller dough balls, make a smaller pie—or bake a few—based on the size of your crowd.
Did you try making this? Let us know how it went in the comments!
Looking for a party recipe that’s as easy as it is delicious? This big-flavored
pizza delivers on all fronts. It’s inspired by the muffuletta—the iconic sandwich from New Orleans made on a sesame roll and piled high with olive salad, Italian cold cuts, and provolone. The pizza has the same components as the namesake sandwich (with a chewy-crisp crust standing in for the sesame roll!) but is arguably even simpler to make, portion, and serve to a big crowd.
Here’s the gist: Start with your favorite pizza dough (buy it from a local pizzeria or grocery store to save time) and press it into a sheet pan to make a large-format pie. Top with olive salad, soppressata, and provolone, then bake. Out of the oven, pile mounds of mortadella on top, more olive salad, and sesame seeds for added texture. (Leaving the mortadella uncooked preserves its silkiness and pretty pink hue.) Cut the pizza into small squares and serve as a starter or as part of a bigger spread. Bonus: It’s equally good warm or at room temperature, making it ideal party fare.
A few notes on ingredients and technique:
— The olive salad. To save time, purchase the olive salad vs. making it yourself. (You’ll need 1 1/2 cups in total.) Jars are typically labeled as Italian olive salad or muffuletta spread. To brighten the flavors, stir in a little lemon juice and olive oil before using.
— The meats. Change up the Italian cold cuts and how you layer them. Any combination of thinly sliced salami, coppa, capicola, or prosciutto are all fair game.
— The cheese. Feel free to use all provolone, or a combo of provolone and mozzarella. If you can’t find shredded or whole blocks of provolone, thin slices of provolone evenly laid over the pizza will work nicely.
— The crust. A large portion of dough (about 1 1/2 pounds) works best to fill an entire sheet pan. If you can only find smaller dough balls, make a smaller pie—or bake a few—based on the size of your crowd.
Did you try making this? Let us know how it went in the comments!
- Yields:
-
8 – 10
serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 10 mins
- Total Time:
- 45 mins
Ingredients
Olive Salad
- 1/2 c.
pitted pimento-stuffed or Castelvetrano olives
- 1/2 c.
mild or spicy giardiniera
- 1/4 c.
pitted Kalamata olives
- 1/4 c.
roasted red peppers
- 1 tbsp.
capers
- 3 tbsp.
extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp.
fresh lemon juice
Pizza & Assembly
- 4 tbsp.
extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for greasing
- 1 1/2 lb.
store-bought or homemade pizza dough, room temperature
- 1/3 lb.
thinly sliced soppressata or salami
- 8 oz.
provolone, shredded (about 2 c.)
- 1/4 lb.
thinly sliced mortadella
-
Toasted sesame seeds and finely shredded Parmesan, for serving
Directions
-
Olive Salad
- Step 1
In a food processor, pulse pimento-stuffed olives, giardiniera, Kalamata olives, red peppers, and capers until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add oil and lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Step 2Make Ahead: Salad can be made 1 month ahead. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
- Step 1
-
Pizza & Assembly
- Step 1Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 500°. Coat bottom of an 18″ x 13″ sheet pan with 3 tablespoons oil. Using oiled fingertips, gently pull and stretch dough toward edges of pan. When dough starts to shrink back, let it relax, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes, then stretch again so dough mostly fills pan.
- Step 2Brush dough with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, then scatter 1 cup olive salad on top. Arrange soppressata slices over dough, then top with provolone.
- Step 3Bake pizza, checking at 10 minutes, until crust is golden around the edges and crisp on the bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer sheet pan to a wire rack.
- Step 4Immediately mound mortadella (vs. laying flat for more dimension) on still-hot pizza. Sprinkle remaining olive salad and sesame seeds on top. Top with Parmesan.
- Step 5Transfer pizza to a cutting board and cut into small squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Related Video: Muffaletta
