Balancing act

Planning is key

Consider the rest of the meal, your guests’ preferences and the ingredients available. Next, give the antipasto a focus. Try theming it in one of the following ways:

Ingredient-led
Eg, mostly meats, mostly seafood, or mostly vegetables.

Seasonal
Peas and asparagus can star in spring alongside fresh cheeses; courgettes, aubergines and tomatoes in summer; mushrooms in autumn; and pickled and preserved foods and hard cheeses in winter.

Regional
Hone in on one region, such as Veneto, Liguria, Tuscany, Campania, Puglia or Sicily – a good Italian deli should be able to sell you regional specialities.

Whatever you do, keep your selections simple – three to five items will be enough, and will allow you to appreciate each one.

Ingredient ideas

Here is a list of easy-to-find ingredients that can be used in varying combinations.

Cheese

Semi-hard and hard

• Parmesan should be aged for at least 24 months, and have white crystals within Provolone, from the south, is made in a similar way to mozzarella, but is harder and more piquant.
• If you like Manchego, try Pecorino, a ewe’s milk cheese from Tuscany and Sardinia.

Soft

• Buffalo milk ricotta is popular, but my favourite is one made from ewe’s milk
• Stracchino and Squacquerone, from Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna respectively, are smooth and tangy
• Buffalo mozzarella is famously from Campania, but is also made well in Puglia. It’s utterly delicious at its best, but one to avoid if you’re unsure of its quality.

Cured meats

• Bresaola, a cured beef from Lombardy, is a subtler alternative to cured pork
• Prosciutto crudo, cured ham, is most famously from Parma and San Daniele, but is made everywhere
• Lardo is a Tuscan speciality of cured pork back-fat, sliced into gossamer-like melting strips of joy
• Finocchiona is a heady, perfumed salami
• Nduja, a spicy Calabrian cured sausage, is soft and spreadable, like a pâté.
   

Olives

• Try small black gaeta olives, and the greengage-sized green cerignola olives.

Preserved fish

• Salted anchovies have a red/brown colour, while pickled anchovies are white
• High-quality sardines, mackerel and eel can be bought in delis, canned with onions, vinegar, bay leaves and saffron.

Menu suggestions

The simplest of plates can make the most satisfying antipasti, such as a mound of fresh ewe’s milk ricotta, a bunch of rocket, some fresh walnuts and a fruity olive oil with crusty fresh bread. Here are a few antipasti suggestions using store-bought and home-made dishes.

Seafood-based:

Marinated anchovies, octopus salad, Sardines in saor, Baby courgettes in umido

Meat and cheese:

Bresaola, pancetta, salami, nduja sausage, stracchino cheese, Parmesan

Vegetable-based:

Baby courgettes in umido, Peas with spring onions and basil and Grilled red peppers, grilled treviso (chicory), mozzarella or ricotta

Northern Italian:

Sardines in saor, Peas with spring onions and basil, bresaola, lardo, grilled treviso

Central:

Pecorino, prosciutto, Grilled red peppers, finocchiona salami

Southern Italian:

Baby courgettes in umido, mozzarella, anchovies, nduja sausage