Italian Antipasto Skewers For Summer
Summer? Is that you?! We are so thrilled it’s finally warming up because it means we can get back to entertaining outside and using fresh seasonal vegetables. We adore these Italian antipasto skewers because they are mess free, bite-sized, and look gorgeous (making them the perfect cocktail snack). Most importantly you can make them ahead of time and they don’t require an oven or a barbecue. You can also turn this into a fun activity with the kids and get an assembly line going! We choose to serve ours with fresh pesto and Bomba (a spicy Italian antipasto made with eggplant, sweet peppers, hot peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, in oil). You could just as easily drizzle this with some balsamic glaze. Either way, these tasty skewers will disappear fast. You’ll need 10 long wooden skewers
Ingredients
10 green pitted Italian olives
10 mini bocconcini balls
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
10 cherry tomatoes
10 slices of prosciutto
10 slices of salametti (Italian genoa)
2 + 1/2 cups of fresh basil leaves, divided
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the fresh pesto, simply combine 2 c. of fresh basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add olive oil and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you are crunched for time you can also just buy some pesto (although homemade in this case truly makes a big difference).
Slice your bell peppers into bite sized squares.
Slice off 10 pieces of salametti.
Place one of each ingredient on the skewer along with a basil leaf. We try to spread out the most colorful veggies by separating them with meat or cheese. Make sure you leave enough room for people to easily hold the sticks.
Place on a platter and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with pesto on the side and any other dipping sauces.