antipasto platter- grain of salt
antipasto platters: there are as many variations of these as there are people. and, like people, they vary from delightful and interesting to boring and upsetting.
so, in the interest of maintaining interest, here are my three tips to a winning antipasti:
1. think outside the square (platter): in this modern-australian-contemporary-fusion crazy world of ours, we’ve become incredibly obsessed with white serving plates. while this has made maxwell & williams very happy, i often feel it is quite nice to look elsewhere for a place for my antipasto to sit. i bought the above large wooden chopping board for this very purpose, and like the natural feel it gives to the table. but why stop there? other elements such as glass, metal, or even a textured paper or card placed over a platter could create a unique antipasto base. just make sure you sand back any sharp edges otherwise you may find yourself dishing up finger carpaccio.
2. levels of success: i think the key to taking an antipasto platter to the next level, if you’ll pardon the pun, is to experiment with heights. early on in my antipasto assembling days, i’d have tapenaded, marinated, pureed and baked, spread everything out very neatly on my (likely) white platter and wonder why it didn’t look downright fabulous. i came to realise that it’s all about levels. as you can see in the picture above, i will generally put some grissini sticks (the slightly uneven ones are lovely) in a glass or jar in the middle, then work my way out. little dishes or ramekins provide another point of interest (here containing green olive & pistachio tapenade and bocconcini) which helps to break the plate up further. again this is a great place to experiment.
3. mix it up: continuing with the diversity theme, the final, and perhaps most important tip of all- don’t limit yourself with your platter components. despite what you may have heard from the antipasto gestapo, there are no rules when it comes to antipasto ingredients. in fact, the more unique the ingredient, the better. well, within reason. rounding out my antipasto here are roasted cherry tomatoes, miniature capsicums, baby beetroot, baby carrots, asparagus and my new favourite veg: broccoloflower, the greatest hybrid since the bodacious corn (look it up). there’s also marinated mushrooms, salami, big wedges of a simple herb frittata and a large portion of baked ricotta. other great ingredients include: cannellini beans, surpresa, parmesan, ligurian olives, artichokes and the like, as well as more sweet flavours such as dried fruits, figs, grapes, pear, chutney, cranberries, the world’s your… platter?
