Need a super quick and easy appetizer that requires no cooking? Make this Antipasto Holiday Wreath from our friend Elizabeth Jordan-Flight for your upcoming holiday gatherings and wow all your guests! As a decorative piece for your appetizer spread or on your dinner table, this recipe is as festive as it is delicious.
Antipasto is traditionally the first course of an Italian meal that typically consists of cured meats, olives, pepperoncini, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, various cheeses, and vegetables either pickled or in olive oil. Elizabeth put a holiday twist on the traditional, making antipasto skewers and then shaping them into a festive wreath that will spruce up any holiday spread.
While it looks impressive, it’s nearly impossible to mess up. Plus, you can customize it with your favorite antipasto ingredients, or you can follow what Elizabeth used for her wreath for the best results. Since antipasto is traditionally served at room temperature, it’s the perfect finger food to put out at a cocktail party or to graze on during the afternoon before dinner is served.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR ANTIPASTO HOLIDAY WREATH
Step 1 – Assemble Your Ingredients
- 30 to 40 6-inch bamboo skewers
- 1 dry pint of our Juno® Bites Red Grape Tomatoes. These small bursts of candy-like sweetness are the natural boost your family needs throughout the day. As a snack or in an appetizer, Juno® Bites offer a pop of juicy flavor that can’t be beat!
- Mini Mozzarella Balls: if you can’t find these, you can also buy a large mozzarella ball or log and cut it into cubes.
- Olives: Elizabeth likes doing a mix of garlic-stuffed green olives and kalamata olives. You may use any of your favorite olives – just be sure they’re pitted!
- Italian Cured Meats: this recipe uses a mix of prosciutto and salami, but you may opt to use pepperoni, mortadella, soppressata or any other cured meats you like.
- 1 jar of artichoke hearts
- Fresh basil
- Fresh rosemary: this is to give the illusion of the festive pine that is traditional in holiday wreaths.
- Aged balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze: the thicker and sweeter, the better!
This recipe is not set in stone! Elizabeth has given us other ingredient suggestions that would also work great and can help you customize your flavor profile even further:
- Our Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers would make a crunchy and colorful addition to this holiday appetizer!
- RedRoyals® Sweet Cherry Tomatoes On-theVine – bursting with rich, majestically sweet flavor, these tomatoes would be the perfect accent to this charcuterie wreath.
- Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes – the bite-sized blast of fruity sweetness in every award-winning Cloud 9® tomato is a testament to our devoted team of growers and their passion for excellence.
- Get all the colors, tastes and textures of the rainbow with our Sangria® Tomato Medley: red, yellow, orange, brown and yes, green too! Each color has a different flavor, making your wreath extra festive and delicious.
- Pepperoncini
- Provolone cheese
- Marinated mushrooms
- Anchovies
- Cooked thank you!Tortellini
Step 2 – Skewer The Ingredients & Arrange Into A Wreath
Make sure all your ingredients are drained of their liquids and cut up (if needed.) Organize everything into bowls for easy access and to make threading the skewers a quicker process. Mix and match the ingredients, threading them onto the skewers. Try to get equal amounts on each skewer.
Using a large plate, or a charcuterie board, assemble all the skewers in the shape of a wreath. Start with one layer, and then once your wreath takes shape, you can start layering more skewers on top of each other to fill it out. Place sprigs of rosemary on top of your wreath, as well as tucked in throughout, making sure they are poking out to mimic the greenery of a holiday wreath.
Step 3 – Garnish & Serve
Just before serving your Antipasto Holiday Wreath, season with ground black pepper and drizzle with a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar or glaze. You may also opt to serve some balsamic on the side so that your guests can put more on their individual skewers as they like!
For Elizabeth’s full Antipasto Holiday Wreath recipe, click here.
For more healthy snacking advice and tasty recipes, make sure to sign up for Pure Flavor’s® monthly newsletter.