Muffuletta Sandwich
The Muffuletta Sandwich is beautiful, loaded with vegetables, and dressed with a tangy fat-free dressing. Eat it hot or cold, you choose. Crunchy on the outside and warm and comforting inside, this sandwich is a low-carb vegan delight.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 205kcal
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Vegan Sour Dough Bread
- 1 large Hot House Tomato Sliced thin
- 1 large Yellow Onion Sliced thin
- 1 medium Yellow Summer Squash Sliced thin
- 1 medium Zucchini Sliced thin
- 3 cups Fresh Spinach Depends on the size of bread
- 1 Red Pepper Sliced thin
- 3 Portobello Mushrooms Sliced thin
Dressing
- ⅛ cup Pure Maple Syrup
- ¼ cup Dijon Mustard
Instructions
Preparing the Bread
- Take a whole round loaf of bread, and cut the top off like you would a pumpkin.
- Gently remove all the bread from the top and base (I put the bread removed in a bag to use to dip in soup another day)
- Once all the bread is removed, you have a bowl.
- Leave a thin layer of bread inside the bowl and on the top.
- Set aside.
Saute or Grill Vegetables
- Grill or saute the portobello mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers, and zucchini.
- Grill on a medium-low grill in a grill basket for 12 minutes.
- Leave the spinach and tomatoes uncooked (Raw).
- Separate the vegetables on a platter so you can easily layer your sandwich.
Dressing
- Mix Dijon mustard and maple syrup together.
- Using a spoon or a brush, coat the inside of the bottom of the bread bowl with dressing.
- Do the same to the top.
- You should have about ⅓ of the dressing left. Set it aside.
Layer the Vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- The way the vegetables are is critical so your sandwich does not get soggy.
- Start with half the fresh spinach. You do not want to cook spinach (it will cook in the oven).
- Put the spinach into the corners of the bread base, making a layer of spinach on the bottom. Push down to pack in.
- Then add the tomato slices, slightly overlapping each other.
- Now, add grilled/sautéed portobello mushrooms. Again, cover the bottom, pushing them into the sides in a single or double layer.
- Then add the red peppers; again, cover the base and push into the corners. It should be a single layer. Brush with dressing.
- Then layer onions the same way. Brush with more dressing.
- Layer the summer squash; brush with the dressing.
- Layer the zucchini, brushing with the dressing.
- Top with the rest of the fresh spinach.
- The top has a hole, so don't worry if the spinach is falling out of the top.
- *It should be overflowing.
- Add the top of the bread, brush with dressing on the inside, and push any remaining spinach back inside the bowl.
- *The fresh spinach is a barrier for sautéed vegetables, so they do not make your bread soggy.
- Wrap the entire bread bow with the vegetables inside in aluminum foil.
- Wrap the entire bowl, top, and all in aluminum foil.
- Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven.
Serve
- Slice sections when the outer bread cools enough to touch.
Notes
- Choose a large hard exterior round bread such as sourdough or Italian loaf.
- The cooked vegetables should be layered between the raw vegetables to create a barrier, preventing the sandwich from getting soggy.
- The traditional sauce for the Muffuletta is olive tapenade, so it is a great alternative if you prefer this olive spread instead of the maple/dijon dressing.
- Before cutting the sandwich, wait until the bread's exterior is cool.
- Serve with Italian Potato Salad, Italian Chopped Salad, or Vegan Minestrone Soup.
- Use the reserved bread pulled from the bread bowl to dip in soup, stew, or toast and food process into bread crumbs.
Nutrition
Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Sodium: 444mg | Potassium: 507mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1814IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 3mg