Muffaletta Club Casserole
Gameday fans will cheer for this baked multi-layered meat, cheese and bread casserole covered with egg custard. Emeril Lagasse's Turkey Club Casserole is the inspiration for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups giardiniera, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted green Sicilian olives, finely chopped
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 1-pound loaves sandwich bread, such as Pepperidge Farm, very thinly sliced (40 slices)
- 1 pound Genoa salami, thinly sliced
- 1 pound capicola, thinly sliced
- 1 pound ham, thinly sliced
- 1/2 pound provolone cheese, thinly sliced
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream and milk. Set the egg-cream mixture aside while you prepare the sandwiches.
Grease the bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Using a serrated knife, cut the crusts off the bread slices. In a medium size bowl, mix together the chopped giardiniera and olives. Lay eight slices of bread in the baking dish, then spread each slice with 1 teaspoon of the giardinera mixture, top with one slice of salami, one slice capicola, one slice of ham, one-half slice of provolone, another slice of bread and another teaspoon of the giardinera mixture. Repeat the layering with the remaining meat and bread. In the end, there will be five layers of bread and four layers of sandwich fixings.
When all the sandwiches are positioned in the casserole dish, pour the egg-cream mixture evenly over the top. Place a piece of the parchment on top of the casserole and place a second casserole dish on top of the paper to weight the casserole. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours. The bread should absorb most of the egg mixture.
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and remove the casserole from the refrigerator.
Slice the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into eight pieces and place one piece on top of each sandwich stack. Bake the casserole, uncovered, until puffed and golden, about 40 minutes.
Let the casserole rest for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
