How To Make The Perfect Antipasto Platter?
Let’s be honest, making an antipasto platter brings me immense joy. It contains all kinds of flavors and is super easy to prepare. To make an antipasto platter, you do not need any special occasions. You can make an antipasto platter on the weekends as well.
Many people think that an antipasto platter is nothing but a bunch of random food in small quantities. However, that is not true as you cannot just add whatever food you like and call it an antipasto platter. So, in this guide, we will discuss how to make the perfect antipasto platter.
What Makes An Antipasto Platter Perfect?
To make the perfect antipasto platter, you will need a variety of items. The platter must have a beautiful combination of flavors, colors, and textures.
According to us, the perfect Italian antipasto platter contains cheese, meat, something brackish or salty, assortment biscuits, slices of bread, or crackers, something sweet, fruits, and nuts. And all of these ingredients are available here at Origini Italian Market, on our website or our store in Miami!
Now that we know what we put into making the perfect platter, let us discuss these.
Antipasto Board
To make an antipasto platter, the first thing you need is an antipasto board. No matter which board you choose, it should be able to hold a generous amount of food. The most common board types are wood, marble, and slate board.
We generally recommend that people pick a board with a regular shape, such as round or rectangle. The size of the board depends on whether you are serving the antipasto platter as the main course or an appetizer before the main course.
The Mains
Cheese
When picking out the cheese that goes on the board, make sure to always go for the high-quality cheese. You can get high-quality cheese from the local deli or cheese shop, but do not ever put processed cheese on an antipasto platter.
We usually recommend people to use at least 3 different types of cheese. It is better if you can present 5 kinds of cheese. You can also use more than 5 types depending on the number of people you are having over.
You can also choose cheese made up of different types of milk, such as cow, sheep, and goat. Make sure that you focus on the various textures of cheese.
Charcuterie
An Italian antipasto platter will be incomplete without yummy charcuterie. You will find a lot of different cold cuts available in the market. We usually recommend that people use at least 3 to 5 different cold cuts to ensure that there are various tastes and textures.
You can easily choose between mild, intermediate, and bold charcuterie or add a bit of all three to your platter. The mild charcuterie is usually the most common out of the three and is seen in most antipasto platters.
The intermediate has a smokey and distinct flavor, while the bold charcuterie comes with a heavily strong flavor and texture.
The Sidekicks
The sidekicks make sure that the antipasto platter has the perfect combination of taste, color, and textures.
Brackish Or Salty
There are various salty items that you can add to an antipasto platter. The salty items bring a different flavor to the platter and improve the overall taste.
You can add colorful vegetables to your platter, such as olives, semi-dried small tomatoes, fried mushrooms, pickles, fried or roasted eggplants, and so on.
Sweet
Nobody would enjoy having too spicy or salty food in an antipasto platter. To balance the flavors, you will have to add a few sweet items. But you must make sure that the sweet items are not too heavy.
Homemade jams and jellies are usually an excellent option for the platter. Peach, strawberry, orange jam, and jellies are the most common options. You can also add honey to the platter if you want.
If you want to add something unique and different, you can look at the Italian stores for Italian Mostarda. It's a great item and includes medium-sized chunks of fruits mixed with jelly. The taste of the jelly is a combination of sweet, salty, and spicy. Many people prefer the Italian Mostarda with cheese and cold cuts.
Fruits
Fruits add a tiny bit of freshness and crunch to the platter that people enjoy. Even people who are not big fans of fruits also enjoy various fruits on the platter.
You can consider adding grapes, apples, pears, strawberries, oranges, and so on. Exotic fruits are also an excellent choice for antipasto platters.
If you are not a big fan of fruits, you can also add vegetables to the platter. Cucumbers, celery, carrots, and bell peppers are some of the most popular vegetable choices.
Nuts
Nuts are delicious and give an excellent taste to the antipasto platter. There are various types of nuts available in the market. You can choose any nuts you want. The most popular choices are walnuts, cashews, almonds, and pistachios.
Bread and Crackers
It will always be incomplete without bread and crackers, no matter what you add to the antipasto platter.
You can add various slices of bread and crackers such as sliced baguettes, bagels, flavored or salted crackers. You can also use plain crackers if you do not want the taste of the crackers interfering with the rest of the items.
A Surprise Element
Everyone pretty much uses the same items to make an antipasto platter, but you can be a bit different and add a surprise element if you want. The surprise element can be spicy, salty, sweet, whatever you want.
How To Arrange The Items On The Board
To make the perfect antipasto platter, it is essential to arrange the items on the board properly.
·- Always start by arranging the small cups and bowls of sweet and salty items and make sure to put each item in their cups.
·- If you are adding a surprise element, then make sure to find an appropriate place for it.
·- After arranging the sweet and salty items, start placing the different types of cheese on the board.
·- Arrange the cheese cubes or slices beautifully and neatly on the board.
·- After cheese, it is now time to add the charcuterie. Do not put all the charcuterie in one place.
·- Arrange them at different parts of the board so that one does not interfere with the taste.
·- Take a look at the space on the board and fill those spaces with fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The more colorful vegetables and fruits you choose, the more beautiful your platter will look.
·- Finally, add the bread and crackers to the board, and your platter is complete and ready to serve. Do not serve an antipasto platter without drinks. Wine is typically the best drink you can pair with an antipasto board.
Final Words
Making the perfect antipasto platter is probably the dream of every host. No matter how big or how small the event or occasion is, you can never go wrong with an antipasto platter.
The best part is that you will need no longer than 15 minutes to make a complete platter. Now you know what to make in case the guests show up unexpectedly.
Here at Origini Market we personalize Italian platters to our customer's taste, and we freshly cut our meats and cheeses. You can find out more here or by coming to our store in Miami.
