Antipasto

The word antipasto, from the Latin ante and pastus, names what comes before the meal proper, and in Italian usage it designates the first course of the formal table, served before the pasta, risotto or soup. The custom belongs to the whole peninsula rather than to one region, and it takes its character from the local larder: cured pork in the Emilian and Umbrian interior, preserved vegetables and fish in the south and on the coasts. Ada Boni, writing in Il Talismano della Felicità, treats the antipasto as a recognised division of the Italian menu and gathers it among the opening dishes of the household table.

The antipasto exists to open the meal, not to satisfy it. Its office is to prepare the palate and to occupy the guests while the principal courses are finished in the kitchen, and for that reason it is small in quantity, sharp or savoury in flavour, and served without ceremony. Boni's treatment in Il Talismano della Felicità reflects this: the dishes she places in the category are modest preparations that can be made in advance and presented cold or at room temperature, so that the cook is free for what follows. The materials fall into a few families. There are the salumi, such as prosciutto, salame and mortadella, sliced thin and served with bread; the vegetables preserved in oil or vinegar, sott'olio and sott'aceto; the small fried or baked preparations, such as crostini spread with a paste of liver or anchovy; and the fish and shellfish dressed simply with oil and lemon. Eggs, olives and cheeses complete the range. No single arrangement is prescribed, and the choice rests on the season, the occasion and what the house has put by. The order of courses explains the restraint. The Italian meal proceeds from antipasto to primo, secondo with its contorno, then cheese, fruit and sweet, and each stage is measured against the next. An antipasto that is heavy or generous defeats the sequence, since it dulls the appetite for the pasta that follows. The cook therefore balances salt, acidity and fat in small portions, and avoids repeating in the opening what the main courses will offer. Presentation follows the same logic. The dishes are set out on plates or platters that allow the guest to take a little of several things, and the bread is plain, so that it supports the flavour of the cured meat or preserve rather than competing with it. At a feast the antipasto grows in number of dishes but not in the size of each, and it remains a course of variety rather than abundance. In the regional kitchens the form is adapted to local produce without altering its function, which is to begin the meal with attention and with appetite intact.

The flavours of the antipasto lean towards salt, acidity and fat in small amounts: the saltiness of cured pork, the sharpness of vinegar and preserved vegetables, the richness of good oil. These qualities stimulate the appetite and contrast with the softer starch of the primo that follows. A dry white wine or a light sparkling wine is the usual companion, chosen to cleanse the palate rather than to dominate it.