Simple Antipasto
There's so much you can add to a plate of meats and cheeses to make it crazy and unique and delicious. But none of that is really needed. The beauty is in the simplicity. "There are only two things in life that are so simple and so perfect: The body of the woman you love, and antipasto."
Servings 3
Ingredients
- Prosciutto sliced
- Salami sliced
- Fresh Mozzarella sliced
- Olives
- Sun-dried tomatoes optional
- Peppered Bacon optional
- Roasted Red Peppers optional
- Parmesan sliced, optional
For dipping
- Ciabatta Bread toasted
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
- All you have to do is arrange everything on a plate. Seriously, that's it.
- If you're trying to impress someone or you're doing this for a party, you may want to stress presentation. There's something about a well organized and properly presented plate of antipasto that just feels right.
- Heck, when it's just the wife and I, I still have to fix up the plate instead of just throwing everything on there. I could give you a few tips on presentation, but seriously, it's not rocket science. You really need to try and mess up in order to make a plate of arranged meats and cheeses look bad.
Notes
- Again, I can't stress enough to substitute or add anything you'd like. You're making a plate of your favorite stuff, not mine.
- What can you use? Straight from an old article on the Houston Press Food Blog by Brooke Viggiano, here's a great list of various things you can use in an antipasto:
- Thinly sliced deli meats like prosciutto, ham, salami, capicola, pancetta, bresaola, pepperoni or soppressata; chunks of dried sausages, like chorizo, pepperoni, salami, sweet and hot Italian sausage, andouille or kielbasa; slice or wedge chunks of your favorite cheeses like parmesan, pecorino, provolone, gruyere, manchego, ricotta salata, gouda, feta, brie, blue cheese or goat cheese; sliced celery, tomatoes, marinated sun dried tomatoes, pickled eggplant and zucchini, roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted asparagus, carrots, stuffed cherry peppers, marinated mushrooms, cauliflower, chickpeas, mixed green and black olives, roasted cipollini onions, capers, small pickles, or pepperoncini peppers.
- The list can go on and on. It's a pretty sweet article with a good story, lots of info and tips so check it out.
We get our prosciutto from the deli. At about 6 or 7 slices for quarter of a pound, it gave us 2 good days of antipasto. If you want to get more than a quarter of a pound, be my guest! But $14-something a pound is absolutely insane, I don't care what it is.Lately we've been all about the pre-packaged stuff. It's been landing just find and isn't horribly expensive compared to the deli counter. These days I would not go to the deli counter for anything as it is generally too expensive. Especially for something like prosciutto. Yikes.- Ok, I'm lying, prosciutto is totally worth it.
- The pre-packaged stuff can be found around the deli area. Or check your clubs like Costco and BJ's, they usually have great packages ready to go with a variety of stuff.
- I love BJ's. Just wanted to say that.
- Seriously, the bulk is just right and not too much to handle. Costco is fantastic but only worth it if you're cooking for a family of 15 every day.
- You're disgusting, btw. You know what you did.
- I love using ciabatta bread because it gets nice and crispy outside while still being nice and chewy inside. If you have a favorite bread to use then it'll probably work here.
- The oil and vinegar are of course for dipping. So if you want to skip it, by all means. We had it so I put it out and I had no regrets.
- Again, kidding. Don't you dare skip the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Matter of fact, you should make a balsamic reduction and cut up some tomato wedges as a punishment for thinking it was ok to skip the dipping oil and vinegar. I am more ashamed now than I was 3 bullet points ago.
- You can buy fresh mozzarella just about anywhere. Like I mentioned in the Capresé post, (which has the recipe for the balsamic reduction you are now tasked with completing) I get mine from BJ's in a 3 pack for $8 or so. You can also use the little balls of that come in a bucket of water. The mozzarella ball is in your court.
