How to Assemble the Perfect Antipasto Plate for Holiday Entertaining
Taking your seat at a dimly lit table at Carbone in New York (if you’re lucky enough to get a reservation), you’re greeted with giant chunks of salty Parmesan cheese served by waiters in crimson tuxedos. Just behind them is a large cart full of fresh Italian bread, more cheeses, and a selection of cured meats and pickled vegetables. The titular Mario Carbone, chef and one-third of the restaurant group Major Food Group, clearly knows a thing or two about presentation—and delicious antipasti. He grew up cooking Italian food in his childhood neighborhood of Queens, New York; attended the Culinary Institute of America; and apprenticed at Mario Batali’s Babbo. Currently, alongside Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick, he owns and operates six of Manhattan’s most admired establishments: Parm, Santina, Sadelle’s, ZZ’s Clam Bar, Dirty French, and Carbone. The latter is one of Manhattan’s pinnacle Italian eateries, serving old-school family-style dishes and antipasti served on hefty boards, rolling carts, and colorful antique plates from Perugia.
It’s no wonder, then, that Carbone himself has the perfect collection of professional tips for putting together an antipasto spread for the holidays. As he says, “When it comes to assembling meat and cheese boards, I always go the Italian-American route—as a culture, we’ve pretty much mastered the antipasti game.” No argument there.
Here, his tips for creating an impressive board for holiday entertaining, plus all of the ingredients you need to get started:
1. Set a pretty table.
“Antipasti platters are a great opportunity to play with height and color in terms of table setting and serving pieces. I’ll keep it thematic by using just Italian-made serving pieces like Deruta and Solimene, but if your style is more rustic, you could do a mix of earthenware and wooden pieces to achieve the same effect. Use a tablecloth, have a few fresh flower arrangements, and bring out some risers or cake stands for dimension.”
2. Vary sizes and textures.
“For your meat and cheese choices, you want a variety of textures and cuts in your selections; this provides visual appeal and also signifies that there are indeed different items. Nothing is worse than a cheese platter made up of identical precut little triangles where you think you’re grabbing one cheese and it ends up being Swiss or something you dislike.”
3. Assemble your meats and cheeses.
“For my cheese board, I’ll do a little mound of Parmesan chunks, thick slices of fresh mozzarella, and a big wedge of gorgonzola dolce with a spreader stuck into it. For the meat, I’ll do cubes of mortadella alongside thinly sliced coppa and salami rosettes. Next to that, I’ll have a little vase of grissini or breadsticks that have been wrapped in prosciutto.
“On a separate board, I’ll have some hard-cured salami set with a serrated knife. I always have a few slices precut—with salami, cheeses, whatever I’m putting out—so there’s a bit of guidance as to what you’re supposed to do and guests don’t feel like they’re breaking into something so precious.”
4. Add some extras.
“It’s nice to have something to pair with each cheese. For example, with Parmesan I’ll have a really, really good balsamic to drizzle on it. Massimo Bottura’s Villa Manodori is perfect for this. Another easy accompaniment that lends itself to any cheese board is fresh and dried fruit. A bowl of fresh figs, cherries, or dried Blenheim apricots is perfect.
“You also want something to break up all of the richness of the meat and cheeses. Pickled giardiniera, olives, or brined artichokes are all great options. And finally, it’s not a true antipasti setup without stuffed B&G peppers.”
5. Have one interactive element.
“You don’t want to offer things that are difficult to assemble or that are hard to eat with a drink in your hand. But guests do enjoy a build-your-own-type dish that is a bit more substantial. I like to have a plate of grilled bread that’s been rubbed with a clove of garlic alongside a bowl of ricotta that’s been topped with some cracked black pepper, sea salt, and drizzle of really good extra-virgin olive oil. Put a spoon or spreader in the ricotta and you’re set.”
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