Portuguese Style Antipasti – Aperitivo

When I serve Antipasti before diner, I make an easy and colorful presentation of cheeses and cured meats for my guests.

What’s great about this easy appetizer is that is requires no cooking, and it’s easy cleanup since you just through away the parchment paper when you finish this wonderful sampler.

My family loves both varieties of Portuguese and Italian meats so I use both and call it a “PortItalian” platter.

You can improvise and use your family favorites.

How to set up your Antipasti tray:

1. Use a big wooden cutting board (this gives it a rustic look) and place a large piece of parchment paper over the board.

2. Next, place the meats in small piles around the edge. Pile the cheeses in the middle of the meats. Arrange the sliced bread on the tray.

3. Add color with olives, cherry tomatoes, roasted peppers, pickled vegetables, or any of your favorites.

I also serve fruit along this platter to balance the saltiness with the sweet fruits.

Ingredient Ideas: 

Presunto – Prosciutto cured pork (Sliced very thin)

Salpicao – A spicy cured meat, made from Pork, wine garlic and salt  (Sliced very thin)

Chourico  – A spicy, pork cured sausage (Sliced very thin)

Queijo Fresco – A soft fresh cheese made from fresh milk – (Recipe for Queijo Fresco)

Queijo da ilha – São Jorge cheese – A hard, sharp, spicy taste is a famous cheese that comes from the island of St. Jorge in the Azores.

Queijo Casteloes –  Casteloes Cheese –  A semi-hard cheese and has a lovely mild and buttery flavor

Mortadela – Optional

Pepperoni – Optional 

Salami – Optional 

Azetitonas – Portuguese olives

Cherry Tomatoes

Dried figs

Shelled Nuts

Fresh ground pepper – For fresh cheese

Salt – For fresh cheese

Crushed red pepper paste – For the fresh cheese

Pao Caseiro Recipe – Or any Homestyle crusty bread sliced into thin slices.

Find more Pao –  bread recipes in search bar at the right top of this page.

 

There is an art to slicing Presunto very thinly. Watch this video it will make your mouth water!

There are many varieties of Portuguese cheeses which you can use. If you want to learn all about these cheeses, here’s a great resource at;  Catavino – The Ultimate Guide to Portuguese Cheeses!

You can also visit one of my favorite Pintrest Page – Portuguese Cheeses.

 

Here are some English translations of Portuguese cheese descriptions for your search.

DOP- Like DOC in wine, designated to cheeses produced in their traditional area	Velho- Old, designation given to cheeses that have been aged at least 90 days or more
Curado, Semi-Curado- Cured, Semi-Cured	Amanteigado- “Smooth Like Butter”, good for spreading on bread!
Mole/ de Pasta Mole, Semi-Mole- Soft, Semi-Soft	Duro/ de Pasta Dura, Semi-Duro- Hard, Semi-Hard
Seco- Dry	Leite – Milk
Leite de Vaca- Cow’s Milk	Leite de Ovelha( “o-vayl-ya)- Sheep’s Milk
Leite de Cabra/Cabreiro- Goat’s Milk	Cru- Raw
Gordura- Fat (in foods)	Picante– Spicy
Casca- Casing, wrapping, shell	Ligeiro/a- Light (in consistency and/or flavor)
Sabor Suave- Smooth Flavor	Sabor Forte- Strong Flavor
Queijo em Barra- Block Cheese	Queijo em Fatias- Sliced Cheese

( http://catavino.net/part-1-the-ultimate-user%E2%80%99s-guide-to-portuguese-cheese/)