Anthony's Antipasto Recipe
...This is YUMMY stuff!!! :-)
Click here for a blow-up photo of the finished product. Click here for step-by-step photos of the recipe in progress with commentary. Click here for a photo gallery slideshow with no commentary.

 How to make the Antipasto Recipe...

Stuff you will need to make Anthony's Antipasto Recipe:

  • 3/4 lbs. Provolone Cheese. (fairly thin slices)
  • 1/4 lb Genoa Salami (sliced very thin, almost falling apart!)
  • 1/4 lb Hard Salami! (sliced very thin, almost falling apart!)
  • 8 oz Package of Mozzarella Cheese (Polly-O brand!)
  • (1) Large or (2) Small Tomatoes (recommend ripe vine tomatoes)
  • Some Roasted Red Peppers (the kind that come in a jar that has been marinating in yummy garlic olive oil)
  • Grilled Artichoke Hearts (the kind that come in a jar that has been marinating in yummy garlic olive oil)
  • Fresh Parsley (chopped fine)
  • Soprasatta (just a little chopped up very thin into small bits - all you need is one slice from the deli. Sliced thin, almost falling apart) - What the heck is Soprasatta you say? - This link will help. There are actually several ways to spell Soprasatta (Soppressata, Sopressata or Soppresata, although it also appears as Sopresatta, Soppresatta, Sopresata, Sopressatta, Soppressatta, Soprasatta, or Soprasata - wow!) Anyway, it's actually an Italian smoked, cured sausage.
  • Balsamic Vinegar (Recommend Rozzano Balsamic Vinegar of Modena)take a look at this hi-res photo for the type of balsamic I use, that is my absolute favorite! - )
  • Coarse Ground Back Pepper
  • Parmesan cheese (Preferably grated from a fresh block of parmesan)
  • A nice large serving platter and small bowl to place in the center (In the center of all this yummy stuff you want a bowl with some nice olives. Not shown in the photos is how I do this now. I have a bowl in the center with black olives, Italian green olives (he kind with the pits in them) and banana peppers (pepperoncini) placed around the perimeter of the bowl with the peppers leaning on the side of the inside bowl and the stems of each pepper draping over the top rim, looks great and of course is yummy as well :-) (One thing I do with the banana pepper is poke a small hole at the tip and drain out the juices, this way it's not messy when people eat them, they squirt you know ;-)

    ...
    ......

    ~ See below for VERY detailed recipe instructions...


OK, are you ready? Here we go....
Read on for Garlic Bread Recipe instructions...

This is how you build the yummy italian creation known as Antipasto!...

First...
Get a nice large platter and rub it with olive oil.

Next...
Place full slices of Provolone cheese in a circle around the whole edge of the platter, leaving space in the middle for your bowl. Overlap the provolone slices about 1" each.

Next...
Place your Genoa Salami in the same manner as the provolone cheese. Full slices in a circle around the platter overlapping.

Next...
Slice up your Hard Salami in thin slices and place that on top of the Genoa salami in a random pattern.

Next...
Add strips of Mozzarella and the sprinkle on the soprasatta. The soprasatta has a very strong flavor, you do not need much. Chop up the soprasatta into very small bits.

Next...
Add your sliced and slightly chopped tomatoes and roasted red peppers (the roasted red peppers should be sliced up very thin).

Next...
Take a sip of red wine then continue building your Antipasto...

Next...
Add your artichoke hearts. I slice these up pretty thin as well but you want some good size chunks in there also. The artichoke hearts really add a kick to the Antipasto!

Next...
Spoon out some of the artichoke marinade from the jar they have been sitting in and dribble some of this over everything you just built so far. Be sure to get some of the garlic and herb bits that are in the bottom of the jar.

Next...
Add some fresh ground pepper and fresh chopped parsley.

Next...
Dribble on some nice balsamic vinegar and then sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. You know what I mean by dribble right, not to little and not too much, you dribble just enough, capiche?

Next...
Now what you will want to do is get a sharp knife and cut this creation into pie shapes. You will have to work at this. Make a slice through the pile at any given starting point, As you slice you will have to wiggle the knife blade to separate the bottom provolone slices and the pile of stuff on top. Continue making cuts in this manor all the way around the platter. Then, once your slices are done, go back with two forks and carefully separate the yummy pile of stuff you have on top of the provolone slices so it's pulled away from the slice location, thus making it easy to pull out a wedge of this stuff with a pie server. The idea is you server this like a pie with a pie serving knife, or whatever you call those thingies.

...Think of the Provolone cheese as the crust and everything on top as the filling of your pie.

Next...
The serving part of this can be a little tricky because sometimes it stick to your pie serving knife a little bit. I recommend having a butter knife handy so you can help get the antipasto wedge of the serving knife if needed. Usually with a little wiggling it comes off no problem. There will need to be a fork available to eat this creation. Some may want a knife. This is not a finger food..

Next...
This really is a treat! I could make a meal out of this stuff!
Antipasto Presentation...
On a nice platter like you see here with a small bowl in the middle which contains yummy stuff like, black olives, green olives, banana peppers (pepperoncini), etc... Whatever you like, keep it Italian though. Should be something you can grab with your fingers. The stuff in the middle bowl should be finger food. I highly recommend serving some fresh Italian Bread on the side with this Antipasto!

Note: You could also chop everything up and just throw all this into a large bowl and make a salad out of it as well. An Antipasto salad :-) YUM!

... To help clear things up about Antipasto and what it really is, here is a nice definition from Wikipedia:
(They really nailed not a good definition of this dish)

What is Antipasto? - Antipasto, or antipasti, means "before the meal" and is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. Traditional antipasto includes cured meats, olives, roasted garlic, pepperoncini, mushrooms, anchovies, artichoke hearts, various cheeses (such as provolone or mozzarella) and peperone (marinated small green bell peppers, not to be confused with pepperoni). The antipasto is usually topped off with olive oil.
Many compare antipasto to hors d'oeuvre, but antipasto is served at the table and signifies the official beginning of the Italian meal. It may be referred to as a starter, or an entrée outside the United States and English Canada.

EnJoY! I definitely recommend having a nice dry full bodied red wine with this.
That's it you're done........
Easy as Pie!

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