Antipasto Platter Recipe

Antipasto Platter

This obviously is a very large Antipasto Platter if you use all the listed ingredients. You can make yours as big or as small as you need. Use this recipe as a suggestion for ingredients and also ideas for presentation.

1/2 pound deli sliced prosciutto
1/2 pound deli slicedGenoa salami
1/2 pound pepperoni slices or cappicola, thinly sliced1/2 pound Provolone cheese, cut in sticks or cubes
1/2 pound fresh smoked or plain mozzarella cheese, cut in sticks or cubes
1/2 lb. Asiago cheese, cut in thin strips
1 can marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 jar roasted red pepper slices, drained
2 cups good quality large olives, available in bulk bins near deli or 1 can pitted black olives, drained
1 jar giardiniera hot pickled vegetable salad, drained
2 cups marinated button mushrooms
pepperoncini peppers
pickled cherry peppers
1 can rolled anchovy filets
cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
hard cooked eggs, quartered lengthwise
Romaine lettuce leaves (to line platter)
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, cut in chiffonade (stack leaves, roll up and cut crosswise in thin strips)
1 bottle good-quality oil and vinegar based Italian salad dressing
Parmesano Reggiano cheese, shaved into curls

Lay the lettuce leaves on a large platter to form a bed. Roll the meats into cigar or funnel shapes. Place all of the items on the platter in an attractive manner, either center to outside or side-by-side. I would use the marinated and pickled items in between the various meats and cheeses. Think of the colors as you separate. You can also nestle a few small bowls into the arrangement for the red peppers, giardiniera or artichokes . Place knives near cheeses and seafood forks in olives and veggies to serve. Place an extra ramekin out to collect pits from olives or stems from peppers. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and basil, and drizzle the dressing over the top. The Parmesan cheese curls can be randomly placed on top of the other items.
The platter can be prepared several hours ahead and refrigerated until about 30 minutes before serving.

Other ingredient suggestions:
pickled beet wedges
cucumber sticks
radishes
green onions
green olives
Chunk white tuna, in bite-size chunks
pickled herring
Italian fontina or fontinella cheese
deli sliced sweet or hot sopressata

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