Italian Antipasto

Italian Antipasto is one of the most versatile dishes of the Italian kitchen. It is usually served as an appetizer, but more and more it is eaten as a main meal.

Europeans like nothing more than to sit at a table with friends and enjoy good conversation with their antipasto, which is rich in flavour, texture and colour, just like the people who enjoy it. Antipasto is an expression of the chef’s style of cooking using local specialities and there are no rigid rules as to what can be served as antipasto and no rigid rules as to how it should be prepared. At its best it is a creative statement with a Mediterranean flavour.

The only must on the antipasti table is olive oil which is an essential ingredient that can transform the simplest of ingredients into a finished exquisite dish.

Antipasti can come in many forms: savory breads and pies, crostini with all kinds of toppings, fish and shellfish, meat, vegetables, polenta, rice and salad dishes, both hot and cold.

Nowadays authentic Italian ingredients and products can be easily found at specialty markets or the delicatessen. Items such as imported Italian cured meats and cheeses, cured fish, together with fresh vegetables are easily available in countries outside Italy. With imagination and creativity any one can create true family-style antipasto at home guaranteed to capture the flavors, colors, and textures of Italian culture.

So try this: Take a bite of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, some slices of black Italian olives , served on slice of peasant bread drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil or traditional basalmic vinegar...close your eyes and regale your palate with the pleasures of Italian antipasti.

Buon apattito…and remember WHEN IN ROME, do as the Romans do… Eat antipasti!!!

Traditional Italian Antipasto ingredients

Meat: Coppa, prosciutto, Parma ham, Genoastyle salami, beef, veal, lamb

Poultry: Chicken, duck, turkey breasts

Fish: Anchovies, sardines, shrimp, tuna, mussels

Soft cheese: Goat cheese, provolone, fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola

Hard cheese: Asiago, Parmesan, pecorino

Grilled vegetables: Eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash

Marinated vegetables: Artichoke hearts, mushrooms, pattypan squash, garbanzo beans, kidney beans

Preserved vegetables: Pickled eggs; kalamata, cailletier, gaeta, nafplion, nicoise and/or nyons olives