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Culinary Dictionary
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| Term(s) | ||
Antipasto or antipasti (in plural) | ||
 This is the Italian name for hors d'oeuvre or appetizers. Depending on the region, the recipes for antipasti can vary tremendously from the elegant and rather formal approach of the Bolognese to the simple vegetables, olives, sweet peppers, etc., of the Sicilians.
Most midday meals in Italy start with antipasti, especially if a pasta dish is not going to accompany the meal. The most usual form of antipasti consists of olives, raw fennel, raw broad beans and the many types of fungi in oil; ham and small artichokes cooked and served cold in oil, various types of salami and other famous Italian sausages thinly sliced. One of the culinary triumphs of Italian cooking is a very popular Italian cured ham, sliced paper- thin, and combined with fresh figs or melon. Fish are also included in antipasti dishes, especially squids, cuttlefish, octopus, sardines or anchovies, tuna fish and sea urchins, to name a few. It would appear that the Italians make good use of every edible fish that the sea offers. To the enterprising, there is no limit to the number of dishes, which could grace the table under the name antipasto. Hot antipasti also exists and usually consists of fried bread served with chicken livers, or of cheese and black olives fried together, along with Parmesan cheese fingers or fried courgettes (zucchini). Stuffed cucumbers, deviled eggs and spinach dumplings all come under the classic name of antipasti. |