Guide to antipasti

What is antipasti?
In Italy, antipasti (aka antipasto), literally translating as ‘before the meal’, refers to the food that typically arrives – surprise, surprise – before a meal. The boundaries of what constitutes antipasti are blurred – they could include a salad, bruschetta or little seafood plates. But in popular culture, antipasti platters in Italian restaurants may mean a platter of cured meats, hams, cheeses and an assortment of condiments as a prelude for the meal to come.

Why should I care?
Because antipasti platters are a cinch to put together when you have people over. The best part: There’s literally nothing to cook which means your amateur culinary skills will remain under wraps.

But will I look like a cop-out?
Not at all. Even if the most work you’ll be doing is unscrewing the tops of olive jars, putting out an antipasti platter isn’t as much of a faux pas as, say, emptying a packet of potato chips into a bowl.

Cool. Does this mean I can pretend to be fancy in front of my friends?
Yes.

Teach me already.
There are no hard and fast rules when assembling a platter. You can go meat-only, meat-and-cheese, or meat-cheese-and-condiments. To rake up showboat points, go for the latter. Try to complement the meats with the cheese – ie, deep-flavoured meats with deep-flavoured cheeses. Also try and include all flavour groups – salty, sour, bitter and sweet should be present.

Got it. How do I begin to choose my meats?
You’ll want a balance of meats in various degrees of fat and greasiness. Beginning with mild, buy prosciutto at a supermarket or at a deli and ask for it to be sliced paper-thin. In the mid-flavour category, go for something like mortadella, cooked ham incorporated with cubes of pork fat and, oftentimes, pistachio. At the peak of the flavour spectrum, the coppa ham fits in nicely – a thinly sliced cold cut that’s heavily salty, fatty and greasy. A beef alternative to coppa is bresaola. For heat, throw in a few discs of salami – we like the Hungarian paprika kind. To up your pseudo-gourmand profile, buy your salami in a moulded stick and slice a few rounds to arrange around it.

That’s easy enough. What next?
Cheese. With the aforementioned prosciutto, something young, creamy and soft-ripened like brie or camembert is great; the mortadella pairs a treat with semi-hard cheese like a young fontina or provolone; coppa is long-time friends with full-flavoured cheeses, so go wild with a blue cheese option like gorgonzola, or pick a matured parmesan for the win.

What about the jams and little bowls and stuff?
Just a couple of bite-sized sides in tiny bowls is all you need. We reckon olives are a must. Gherkins (aka cornichons) are a great alternative to olives and their bitey, grainy texture is something to relish (pardon the pun). We like to throw in a few strips of sun-dried tomatoes together with the oil they bathe in. Jams add moisture and sweetness, and if you can score a jar of pear or fig jam, Bob’s your uncle.

Do I need carbs?
Breadsticks (aka grissini) and a few crackers are great to dip and scoop but leave the foccacia and ciabatta for the main course.

Do I have to worry about how I arrange the stuff on the board?
Unless you’re having a conglomerate of Italian mothers over for dinner, no. The freestyle fashion of antipasti platters is what we love best; the effortless I-threw-this-together-in-a-jiffy look is celebrated rather than frowned upon.

Will I need to bust my savings to put out one of these platters?
Not if you’re smart about it. Buy your meats in small quantities – 50g each of about four cuts is adequate for a group of four (between RM12–20 for 100g). With cheeses, buy small wedges of each kind or a large wedge of a cheaper variety if you’re on a budget (cheese prices vary but generally start from RM12 onwards for 100g). Imported jams are not cheap (about RM30 a jar), but you can cook up your own pear or tomato chutney if you have a few extra minutes to spare.

Great. Is that it?
We told you it was easy. Bonus: The platter can be assembled in advance so there’s no need to pull your hair out when your guests have arrived. Just make sure to let the meats sit out at least 30 minutes before serving.

Right on. Are you sure this will work?
Yes.

Will it help me score on dates?
Yes.

As advised by Chef Andrea Rossi of Mediteca Wine Tapas (03 2181 2426/ www.meditecawinetapas.com). Meats, cheeses and condiments featured are available at all Jaya Grocer outlets. For an exceptional variety, we recommend The Intermark outlet (03 2161 1323/www.jayagrocer.com.my).