GLUTEN-FREE ANTIPASTO CHRISTMAS WREATH
Who remembers the cocktail sticks from the 50’s and 60’s? They made a regular appearance at my parents’ parties. Cubes of cheddar cheese, bright red and yellow cocktail onions and discs of cabanossi, sometimes stuck into a wedge of pineapple. They weren’t that bad, I suppose, but I like to think that this updated version is more interesting. (I wonder what future generations will make of the food we eat today? You ate animals! they might exclaim.)
Anyway, to the task at hand, our Antipasto Christmas Wreath is made of numerous cocktail sticks, offering tasty little morsels, which are then formed into a circle. All very festive looking, we hope.
The hardest part of preparing this dish is shopping for your ingredients. Then a little bit of craft-like threading and arranging is required before you have an inviting platter over which guests can exclaim how pretty it looks and how clever you are.
Caren
ANTIPASTO CHRISTMAS WREATH
Make as many individual sticks as you require.
Per toothpick or cocktail stick as an example:
1 3cm chunk peach or nectarine
½ slice prosciutto, folded
1 cherry bocconcini ball
1 basil leaf, folded
Other combination suggestions:
Watermelon balls
Feta Cubes
Pitted kalamata olives
Mint leaves
Gluten-free salami slices, folded
Cherry tomatoes
Tiny cornichons or cucumbers
Semi-hard goat’s cheese
Thread 3-4 pieces onto a toothpick or cocktail stick.
Arrange overlapping sticks in a circle on a platter. Depending on how many sticks you have you may need 2 or more circles and platters. Just before serving grind over some black pepper.
TIPS:
Other suggested antipasti - bresaola, mortadella, smoked ham, chorizo, meatballs, cheddar, provolone dolce, rock melon, pear, tiny pickled onions, caperberries, anchovies, school prawns, seared tuna cubes, sashimi, smoked salmon….