Rather than a “recipe,” this post serves as a guide for making your own delicious and attractive southern Italian antipasto platter featuring delectable traditional regional ingredients.
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Are you planning your next gathering and need a charcuterie board or an appetizer platter to impress your guests? This is a simple guide for how to make a Southern Italian antipasto platter, including cheese, cured meats, and other finger foods for your guests to nibble. Whether your party is casual or during the holiday season, who can deny that a colorful platter filled with various kinds of cheese, meats, olives, fruits, and nuts is tempting?
Antipasto is the art of beginning any gathering, whether formal or informal. It is not meant to be too filling. On the contrary, it is intended to prepare your taste buds and appetite for more. It engages all your senses and all aspects of your taste, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. There are many flavors, textures, and colors in an antipasto platter.
Wondering what goes on an antipasto platter, how much you need, or how to arrange everything for a stunning presentation every time? ALL your questions are answered here. Be sure to read through this post for all the tips and tricks.
What goes on a Southern Italian Antipasto Platter?
The best way to create a cohesive antipasto platter is to include foods from one region so that you know that the different items complement each other. The Southern Italian antipasto platter I am making here is an excellent example. However, you could follow the same steps and principles to create a grazing board or platter of Northern Italian, Greek, Spanish or French delicacies.
Once you follow this guide to make your first antipasto platter, you’ll realize how fun and simple it really is! I love making them for parties.
Below are the items used in the antipasto platter featured in this post. However, you can if you don’t like something, can’t source a particular element, or want to switch to something else. For example, you could visit a local Italian Deli and see what they have!
The description of the various ingredients is from Wikipedia.
Cheese
- Burrata Cheese – an Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture.
- Provolone Cheese – an Italian semi-hard cheese with taste varying greatly from provolone piccante (sharp, piquant), aged for a minimum of four months and with a very sharp taste, to provolone dolce (sweet) with a very mild flavor.
- Ricotta Cheese – an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey leftover from the production of other cheeses.
Meats
- Hot Soppressata – an Italian spicy dry salami.
- Sweet Soppressata – a milder, sweet version of the salami.
Accompaniments
Fresh
- Fresh Figs
- Red Seedless Grapes
- Fresh Basil and Rosemary sprigs – for garnish.
Sweet
Fig Jam – you can use store-bought or make homemade fig jam (see my recipe for easy fresh fig jam, which perfectly complements the ingredients of this platter).
Salty and Tangy
- Roasted Red Peppers – you can use store-bought or roast and peel your own (recipe coming soon on the blog).
- Marinated and Seasoned Mixed Olives – buy Italian olives for this platter! You can serve the olives pitted or not. Put a small dish out for the pits if it’s the latter.
- Artichoke Hearts – can be bought plain or seasoned, packed in oil or water.
Other
- Walnuts – you could add other nuts, too, like almonds or pistachios.
- Crusty Italian bread – make your own using a bread mix, or buy fresh on the morning of your gathering.
What Are The Best Serving Items To Use for Southern Italian Antipasto?
An excellent presentation is as important as what is being served. Why go to the trouble of putting together a fantastic spread if you will present it in a less-than-average way?
Take a look at the serving items you already have; your trays, platters, bowls, and boards. You could use plenty of them to display Italian foods in this guide.
If you use a wooden board to serve meats and cheese, keep it only for that purpose. Also, don’t use it as a chopping board!
Once you have chosen the serving items you will use, it’s time to put it all together.
How to Arrange Your Antipasto Platter?
I prefer to use one of my platters to serve the burrata cheese and another cheese, some cured meat, and some olives. I use some small bowls for the ricotta, peppers, artichokes, and the rest of the olives. Then, I use a board for the rest of the cheeses and meats and place some of the blows on it for a more cohesive presentation.
When you place your ingredients on the platter, keep them distinct and avoid symmetry and empty spaces. Instead, go for a slightly “crowded” and “messy” look b creating clusters of elements. It makes a better presentation and has a much bigger appeal this way!
Place the burrata in the center of your serving platter and arrange the Provolone cheese, soppressata, and fresh figs around it.
Fill a small serving bowl with ricotta cheese and top it with fig jam and some walnuts (here’s my recipe for homemade fig jam that is super easy and out of this world). Place it near the burrata arrangement.
Transfer the roasted red peppers, seasoned olives, and marinated artichoke hearts to individual serving bowls and position them near the other items.
Tuck the grapes, fresh herb sprigs, crackers, and crusty bread slices around the other ingredients to create a lovely display.
A southern Italian antipasto platter filled with delicious finger foods is always great for a party or gathering.
More Appetizer Recipes
- Caprese Skewers with a Balsamic Glaze
- Sweet Potato Appetizers With Cranberry Sauce and Walnuts
- Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese
- Baked Brie with Cranberries and Walnuts
- Spicy Tuna Cucumber Bites
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Recipe Card
How to make the best Southern Italian antipasto platter: a quick guide
Ingredients
- 1 large ball burrata cheese
- 4 oz Provolone cheese cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 oz hot soppressata thinly sliced
- 3 oz sweet soppressata thinly sliced
- 4 fresh figs quartered
- 4 oz fresh ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp fig jam
- 3 tbsp walnuts chopped
- 1 6-oz jar roasted red peppers sliced
- 1 4-oz jar marinated and seasoned mixed olives
- 1 8-oz jar artichoke hearts drained
- 1 lb red seedless grapes split into 3-4 bunches
- Fresh basil and rosemary sprigs for garnish
- Crusty Italian bread, thinly sliced for serving
- Crackers for serving
Instructions
- Place the burrata in the center of your serving platter and arrange the Provolone cheese, soppressata, and fresh figs around it.
- Fill a small serving bowl with ricotta cheese and top it with fig jam and some walnuts. Place it near the burrata arrangement.
- Transfer the roasted red peppers, seasoned olives, and marinated artichoke hearts to individual serving bowls and position them near the other items.
- Tuck the grapes, fresh herb sprigs, crackers, and crusty bread slices around the other ingredients to create a lovely display.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and for entertainment purposes only. This information comes from online calculators. Although eatmediterraneanfood.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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Jere Cassidy
This is just a lovely and delicious board. I didn’t realize there was a hot and sweet soppressata.
Emily
This was the best antipasto platter I’ve ever had. Thanks
Heidi Bruaw
This was just the platter we needed for our holiday gathering! I got so many compliments! I will definitely make this again!
Jan
You made my life easy! So easy to follow and make. Thank you for a wonderful platter, it was a hit!
MacKenzie
Great for the holidays. Such a beautiful platter.