Antipasto platters are an Italian tradition and include cured meats, cheeses, olives, nuts, jarred vegetables and fruit. They are displayed on large trays and meant to be shared among a group. Traditionally it is served as the first course, but an antipasto platter can serve as the main attraction — and it’s easy.
These days you’ll find charcuterie platters, which are similar but heavier on the meats. These are excellent choices for holiday entertaining.
I’ll show you a few easy twists to make your platter stand out.
If you stock your pantry and fridge with some basic products, you can entertain on the fly and put together an impressive spread. With a few touches and homemade items, you can make your antipasto platter shine.
The first thing you will need is a really big tray to arrange your fare. If you don’t have one and don’t want to spend a lot of money, check out a thrift store or Dollar Tree where you can score trays. If you shop at a dollar store, consider buying plastic plates. If you’re not going to spend a lot of time cooking, why spend it cleaning later? TJ Maxx also has reasonable, lovely platters and dishes.
When selecting cheeses, I recommend a creamy cheese, like brie; then a dry cheese, like Parmesan or Manchego, and a hard but mild cheese, like Gouda. I love goat cheese, so that is prevalent on every one of my cheese trays.
Another way to set the platter apart is to flavor the goat cheese yourself. I love variety, so I slice my log of goat cheese into thirds and roll each one into different herbs or spices, such as dried dill, rosemary, lavender, paprika or blak pepper. Chopped pecans and honey are delicious on goat cheese — just have fun with it. You can buy flavored goat cheese, but it’s often less expensive to make your own.
I always keep jarred artichoke hearts, olives and sundried tomatoes stocked because those are great additions to a platter. Roasted bell peppers are popular, but I like to buy the little ones and slightly roast them instead of using jarred variety. A few fresh tomatoes liven up the plate, too.
Of course, don’t forget fresh vegetables. The more fresh veggies you have, the healthier the platter. I always use carrots, but bell peppers are good, too. If you can’t fit everything on the platter, don’t worry. You can surround the platter with bowls of fresh vegetables. I also love to offer edamame.
Olives are essential. If you don’t want to buy expensive ones, you can transform plain olives with good quality olive oil and Italian seasoning or other herbs. Drain off the vinegar, place olives in a small bowl and then drizzle with olive oil and herbs; rosemary and thyme are also nice on olives. Some fresh lemon or orange zest also doctor up inexpensive olives and make them seem special.
My favorite fruits for the platter are grapes, apples, pears and strawberries. Whenever I can find them, I buy dried figs to add, but those are hard to come by; other good dried fruit options are apricots and dates. Again, anything that can be kept in the pantry is a great idea because it has a long shelf life.
Almonds are common on antipasto platters, but you can serve cashews, walnuts, etc. If you want a sweet nut, candied pecans and walnuts pair perfectly with brie.
On a traditional platter, you will find cured meats like prosciutto; salami, coppa, etc. It’s the American in me, but I prefer summer sausage. I created an easy honey mustard to spread on the summer sausage, but use whatever meats you like.
For healthier meats, buy nitrate free or from a local farmer because the meat will likely have less preservatives. There are a variety of good chicken sausages on the market these days, so that is another way to keep it healthy.
Pickled items are always nice, either homemade or store bought. Try pickled onions, asparagus, or even okra.
These platters are incredibly easy, feed a crowd, and can be assembled quickly. So stock the pantry and get ready to entertain.
Honey Mustard Sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
Shake of black pepper
Stir together all ingredients and serve. This makes a small portion, just enough for an average platter. You can easily double or triple the recipe, as needed.
Caper Hummus
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/4 cup parsley
3 tablespoons black olives
1 container store bought plain hummus
Place olive oil, capers, parsley and black olives in a food processor and process until fairly minced.
Depending on how many people you are serving, you can stir half the mixture into half of the hummus and keep the other half of the caper sauce back to serve on the side; or stir the entire sauce into the hummus and serve.
Skinny Diping 