Grazing Globally: Antipasto
Introduction
Hey there, welcome to our new series on how people eat appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, munchies, snacks, grazing boards, and charcuterie around the world. We're learning a little about how each culture approaches snacking, finding ingredients, and attempting to make our own version of serving boards based on what we've learned.
Our first country is Italy, with Antipasto. Read on to learn more!
Antipasto Overview
Country of Origin
Italy
Antipasto Definition
Pasta's . . . nemesis? Just kidding, we looked it up: in Latin, ante- means before and -pastus means meal. So antipasto is just what you eat before a meal. Although we do like the idea of olives and spaghetti being mortal enemies.
A Brief History of Antipasto
When you think about the Ancient Romans (and there was a whole TikTok trend about it so I know you do), in addition to the boring Colosseum gladiatorial fights to the death, you might think about lavish feasts and banquets with people lounging around while eating. So, it makes sense that Ancient Roman society is the source of the Italian appetizer course.
Romans ate surprisingly familiar foods at the beginning of meals, including cured meats, veggies, olives, and cheese—still staples of the antipasto course today. Antipasto was designed to get guests fired up for the feast ahead, introducing flavors that could inspire the selection of dishes in later courses.
In medieval times, Italians broadened their antipasto palates to include a sweet and savory mix of dried fruits, nuts, and marinated vegetables. Yum! The spice trade also started to influence Italy’s trendiest tables, with pepper, cinnamon, sage, and ginger making a flavorful debut.
The Wedding at Cana, the largest painting at the Louvre, imagines a biblical story about Jesus converting water to wine as an extravagant Renaissance Italian banquet.
During the Renaissance, wealthy hosts attempted to one-up each other with luxurious ingredients arranged in lavish preparations. With some feasts boasting up to 1,000 dishes, there was a lot of room for the era’s professional chefs to get creative with ingredients like gold leaf and truffles.
Antipasto Today
Whether Italians today are dining out or eating at home, antipasto is often on the menu. Many of the foods served today are modern takes on the traditional cheeses, cured meats, olives, artisanal breads, and marinated vegetables that have long been part of antipasto’s culinary tradition.
A waiter makes antipasto at a restaurant in Rome, 2018. Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash
In coastal regions, we hear that you may also find mussels and marinated seafood like octopus and anchovies. Central Italy likes smoked salmon. One notable ingredient for Midwesterners is giardiniera, which is best known here as the stuff you put on a Chicago hot dog. In Chicago, giardiniera is made with bell peppers, celery, carrots, cauliflower, and sometimes gherkins or olives, chopped into a relish. It's pickled in vinegar, then preserved in oil. It is often made spicier with serrano peppers, chili flakes, or hot peppers. The Italian version uses larger pieces of veggies and leaves out the olives, pickling with vinegar, salt, sugar, and spices.
Making an Antipasto Board
We were able to pick up most of the ingredients the week of serving via our normal Imperfect Foods grocery delivery. Along the way, we discovered that antipasto is a great candidate for an easy last-minute girl dinner. Many of the pickled and cured ingredients we used are either shelf-stable and/or long-lasting.
The cost for the ingredients we used for these boards was $38.45, with the full quantities costing $96.71. I also used a package of goat cheese that was already on hand. Since my husband and I are a family of two, we had a lot of leftovers to eat during the week.
Here's what we bought:
Bakery
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Essential Baking Co Organic Take and Bake Demi Baguette, 14 Oz (2 Ct) Total Cost: $6.49 | Board Cost: $3.25
Details
These are shelf-stable, but must be baked once opened. Used one baguette, made second to eat with soup the next day.
Meat & Dairy
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Ultco Cold Smoked Salmon, Atlantic, 3 Oz Total Cost: $4.79 | Board Cost: $3.19
Details
Used 2 oz.
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Olli Salumeria Snack Pack, Genoa, Fontina, and Crackers, 2 Oz Total Cost: $5.49 | Board Cost: $3.66
Details
Used all genoa salami and a few of the crackers. I liked the hexagon shape of the fontina snacking cheese more than the included fontina.
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Olli Salumeria Snack Pack, Sopressata, Asiago, and Apple & Mango Bar, 2.3 Oz Total Cost: $5.99 | Board Cost: $3.00
Details
Only used all sopressata, saved the rest for a snack.
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Kurobuta Prosciutto, 3 Oz Total Cost: $9.99 | Board Cost: $3.33
Details
Used about 1 oz of prosciutto.
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BelGioioso Fontina Cheese Snack, 6 Oz (8 Ct) Total Cost: $5.99 | Board Cost: $2.25
Details
Used 3 cheese snacks.
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BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced, 16 Oz (1 Lb) Total Cost: $6.79 | Board Cost: $1.70
Details
Used about a quarter pound.
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BelGioioso Parmesan Cheese Wedge, 8 Oz Total Cost: $5.49 | Board Cost: $1.83
Details
Used about 1/3 of the wedge.
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BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella Snacking Cheese, 6 Oz Total Cost: $3.90 | Board Cost: $0.65
Details
Used 2 packs of snacking cheese.
Fresh Veggies
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Organic fennel, 1 bulb Total Cost: $2.99 | Board Cost: $2.99
Details
Used whole bulb. Also used sprigs to decorate and as palate cleansers.
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Celery, 1 Ct Total Cost: $2.49 | Board Cost: $0.62
Details
Used about 1/4 of stalk, chopped some for soup, ate the rest as snacks during the week.
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Hiiro Cherry Tomatoes, 10 Oz Total Cost: $2.99 | Board Cost: $2.99
Details
Used about half.
Pantry
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Gaea Organic Kalamata Olives, Pitted, 10.2 Oz Total Cost: $6.99 | Board Cost: $0.70
Details
Used 1 Oz.
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Cento Pepperoncini, Sliced, 16 Oz Total Cost: $3.29 | Board Cost: $0.21
Details
Used less than 1 Oz.
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Kitchen & Love Quartered Marinated Artichoke Hearts, 11 Oz Total Cost: $3.99 | Board Cost: $1.00
Details
Used about 1/4 jar.
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Odds & Ends Organic Roasted & Salted Almonds, 14 Oz Total Cost: $8.79 | Board Cost: $0.95
Details
Used about 1.5 Oz.
- Poshi French Beans, Steamed & Marinated, 1.7 Oz Total Cost: $1.79 | Board Cost: $1.79
- Poshi Kosher Dill Pickles, Petite, 2 Oz Total Cost: $1.49 | Board Cost: $1.49
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Poshi Manzanilla Olives, Green Pitted, 2.8 Oz Total Cost: $2.49 | Board Cost: $0.62
Details
Used about 1/2 of bag.
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Poshi Mediterranean Three Bean Salad Total Cost: $4.49 | Board Cost: $2.25
Details
Used about 1/2 of bag.
Setup
Here is how to set up your antipasto board:
Cleaning, slicing and storing the ingredients took about 30 minutes. Setting up our boards only took us about 20 minutes total! We also braised the fennel for 30 minutes and spent a few minutes broiling the baguettes to make crostini while we set up the rest of the board.
Roasted Fennel Recipe
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
- Trim the stalks and sprigs from the fennel bulb, setting aside sprigs to decorate your board as a garnish.
- Cut the fennel bulb in half and slice thinly.
- Transfer fennel to a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the fennel is softened, tender and lightly caramelized. Remove from oven and serve warm.
What We Thought
"I am not at all an olive person or a cured meats person, but the combo? It's a hit! The biggest surprise was the fennel, which has a licorice taste when raw but really mellows out when roasted."
-Lauren, reluctant charcuterie convert
"The acid from the pickled and brined items really balanced out the fattier, rich meats. The sharpness of the cheese was also a nice contrast."
- Randall, known epicurean/Lauren's husband