Too hot or too tired to cook? Consider making an antipasto dish as your main meal. Long considered a "first course" in traditional Italian meals or as a shared appetizer plate in Italian-American restaurants, antipasto dishes are filling and satisfying, can be made ahead, and best of all, can be served cold!
There is no hard and fast rule for what goes on an antipasto plate. I like to serve mine over a bed of arugula or other mixed greens, but this is not absolutely necessary.
Here are some antipasto suggestions:
• Fresh vegetables such as tomatoes with basil, or steamed broccoli tossed in fine-chopped garlic and olive oil
• Eggplant caponata
• Sliced and grilled v egetables such as bell peppers, zucchini, and eggplant
• Anchovies or sardines, or Italian tuna packed in olive oil
• Italian cheeses such as mozzarella, burrata, forme di formaggio, robiola, pecorino, sottocentre, and parmigiano-romano
• olives
• pepperoncini
• marinated mushrooms
• capers
• cured meats such as salame, bresaola, prosciutto, coppa, or mortadella
• roasted garlic
• artichoke hearts, either marinated or roasted
• marinated beans, such as cannelli or borlotti
• marinated sun-dried tomatoes
• steamed green beans
• marinated octopus salad
Drizzle the whole thing with some olive oil, and enjoy with a crusty piece of bread and a crisp glass of white wine. Buon appetito!
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At our house we call this a "cold dinner" and is more than welcome on a hot day.
The other night when Portland hit 100, we had sliced baguette, cherry tomatoes, cheeses, anchovies&olives. It was satisfying and cook-proof!
I do this all the time. It's a great way to get rid of small amounts of left over cheese and deli meats and tomato halves, etc. I can't really sell the boyfriend on it counting as dinner tho.
It's one of my favorite hot weather meals. I do usually go to the trouble of cooking some flatbread on the stovetop, so it's not strictly no-cook. :-)
the other night my boyfriend & i did something similar, but as a picnic! it was night & light, and perfect for sitting on a blanket outside.
i love picnics, but sometimes it is too much to have a heavy plate while i am squirming, trying to keep my skirt from riding up as i sit on the ground!
I remember nights in Rome when we'd order lots of antipasti. We never remembered not to get main courses after--and we never ever had room for them. Of course we should have known to just stick with lots of antipasti for dinner!