Pickles and Antipasto, Recipes, Special Starters

A Homely and A Classical Antipasto, Starring Army Salami and Oceania Olives

We sweated in contemplation, salivated in desire and strained our eyes to envision a feast of succulent fruits, thinking long and hard about the sweet things on offer during the summer season in our previous post. Thus, it seemed only right to introduce the more dominant and exciting flavours and colours of the warmer weather, with a herald offering of boastful bites in a recipe for an ostentatious, delicious and decorarative antipasto. For a starter that is so appealing and so wonderfully diverse, the best methods in making a mouthful involves more than just good style; you’ll notice first upon this post the antipasto pictured above, in a setting more picturesque than the one beneath. It’s not an eye-test nor a game of spot the difference, but rather a demonstration of the versatility of this starter in providing what your guests crave most of all.

It all started one stinking hot summer day, during the birthday of a relative celebrated at our grandmother’s home. Amidst the plethora of dishes on offer from chilled and cooked seafoods, scintillating salads with grilled meats and warm potato salad with a drizzle of virgin oil and freshly churned cream and chives, I made a decision that would change my life… for a few minutes. A giant antipasto dish occupied the centre of the table and put on offer some of the most exotic-looking meats and most pungent smelling olives I have ever encountered. Being young and thus impetuous as I was, I decided that waiting for the communal dinner time was not worth it; who wouldn’t be tempted to reach for a small sample of that mysteriously tasty looking selection? In what I suspected to be a bundle of fennel (aniseed) layers, which I chewed greedily, actually turned out to be a bundle of coarsely cut uncooked brown onion. My eyes watered, my mouth burned, my fingers tingled. Reaching for water or soft drink seemed to be my only option, but it didn’t help. So in my desperation, I decided to fill my mouth with even more of the offerings on the platter regardless of what it was. And in a moment reminiscent of Lady and The Tramp, the combination of subtle and strong flavours counterbalanced the bitter, biting attack of the onion and made for a miniature barbecue in my mouth instead. Come to think of it, you could call that unusual taste combination a kind of gourmet delight, where the mushiness resembled a spicy olive tapenade and the counterbalancing agents acting through the Swiss cheese and cured pork sausage.

Now, not to get the wrong idea here. Antipasto is there to be savoured and enjoyed, nor devoured as I have shown myself incapable of resisting. But when the antipasto is as tempting as the first platter (the foremost photograph of this post), arranged and prepared with ingredients that seethed, marinated, bubbled over the chilly winter months, some depths beneath my grandmothers’ house… there’s little resistance left over. It put on offer some juicy, freshly plucked vine-ripened tomato, tender, thin slices of prosciutto ham, seasoned chicken breast, Jarlsberg cheese, homemade cacciatore salami and home-made bottle-aged green olives. The latter was prepared in my kitchen with a focus on supermarket provided goods and an obvious departure from the traditional roots of the dish with a continental array of fresh vegetables. Essentially, it doesn’t matter so much how closely you stick to the “original” recipe, for after all the concept of antipasto means for a few appetizing bites before proceeding to the next course. Various regions of Italy (and even countries around the world) will mention their own variations by including artichoke hearts, anchovies and even a few spicy pieces of whole garlic cloves. So whatever your taste, whatever your desire, an antipasto dish can cater perfectly to your ‘appetizing’ needs.

BASE INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 large brown onion, diced
1 head of iceberg lettuce
pinch salt, pepper

OPTIONS
cucumber
carrot
artichoke
cacciatore (salami)
prosciutto ham
mortadella ham
bocconcini cheese
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Grana Padana cheese
chicken breast
tomato
olives
Jarlsberg cheese (or vintage cheddar)
anchovies
marinated, grilled eggplant, zucchini
chorizo sausage

  1. Dice the garlic and keep it aside for the moment. Prepare vegetable ingredients, beginning with dry and being sure to remove vegetable moisture spots, such as seeds from tomato and cucumber.
  2. Rinse and de-core the lettuce head, being sure to remove dirty outer layers. Wash each leaf thoroughly under running water and shake to release excess water.
  3. Arrange layers of the lettuce leaves on the platter. First cover the base with two sets of lettuce leaves for strength. Make a ‘U’-shaped cut at the base of each lettuce leaf to loosen the elasticity and allow the leaf to ‘cup’.
  4. Carefully scoop your ingredients into each of the lettuce leaf pockets, being sure to segregate dry and wet ingredients from each other. Use weight strategically to hold down stray lettuce leaf edges and also be sure not to overburden each cup with excessive ingredients.
  5. Finish your arrangement with a sprinkle of freshly prepared dressing of olive oil and garlic combined with salt and pepper. If not being served immediately, place into the refrigerator with a covering of cling wrap.
6 December 2008   ·   4 comments

4 comments to “A Homely and A Classical Antipasto, Starring Army Salami and Oceania Olives”.

Olechka — December 10th, 2008, 11:21 am

Thanks for the post. Nice to see such great ideas.

Katy — December 23rd, 2008, 9:14 am

Loving the recipe, was looking for ideas for the New Year’s Party we are hosting. Appreciate your time and effort.

stef — December 31st, 2008, 6:41 am

that is a gorgeous plate :) of briny, meaty and cool.

Matt — January 10th, 2009, 12:53 pm

Thanks, Stef. The best part about an Antipasto platter is the variety.

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