italian
Up the
ante Antipasto is emblematic of a way of cooking and a way of eating, writes Madeline Woolway.
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Cow’s milk burrata stracciatella, prawns crudo from Matteo Downtown Buffalo mozzarella, Kurobuta capocollo, and pistachio
ntipasto has a knack for conjuring memories of family functions; plastic deli platters filled with chargrilled vegetables soaked in low-grade oil and vinegar, filmwrapped salami of unknown provenance and wedges of cheap cheese, all left to languish in the midday heat. Fair or not, the scenario is far from the origins of antipasti. As the first course of an Italian meal, it is more than a collection of disparate dishes — it is a way of eating. And antipasto is what keeps lunchtime diners lingering at Sydney’s Matteo Downtown past 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon. “Antipasti is something I believe is really important,” head chef and co-owner Orazio D’Elia tells Hospitality. “Before your Mum makes pasta at home, you always go to the fridge and grab a few things to nibble on. I don’t believe you go to the restaurant and just order steak — you always need to have something to stimulate your appetite.” In D’Elia’s native Italy, appetite ‘teasing’ is called stuzzicare l’appetito and it’s an essential component of every meal.
STUZZICARE L’APPETITO Although associated with formal occasions, stuzzicare l’appetito is widespread in Italy, with diners beginning most meals with at least one antipasto dish. “Even if you go for pizza, people will share some prosciutto and mozzarella or some calamari fritti,” says D’Elia. “Every restaurant in Italy will have this.” According to D’Elia, people are more likely to skip secondi or dessert before they forgo antipasti — an attitude that makes sense to James Kummrow, head chef at Fatto Bar & Cantina in Melbourne. “It’s what you eat when you decide what you’re going to eat,” he says. “For me, antipasti is a welcoming gesture, [reflective of] genuine Italian generosity.” But it’s not just an Italian tradition. “Everyone has a different version of it,” says Elvis Abrahanowicz from Continental Deli Bar & Bistro in Sydney’s Newtown. Abrahanowicz was born in Argentina and has Spanish, Italian and Polish heritage — a mix that is apparent at Continental Deli, a venue where he hopes to keep family food traditions alive. “Argentina is pretty much half Spanish and Italian,” he says. “It has European influences with the same customs. “We designed the menu based on what we like to eat. At home, we’d always go and get a bunch of cold cuts and cheese and tinned goodness, like pickles and marinated vegetables. Dad would have the table covered in deli paper and cold cuts — that’s just how we eat.”
REGIONALITY At Continental Deli, antipasto dishes are reflective of regional variations and ingredients are influenced by Italian, Spanish and Eastern European traditions. “The cold cuts are Italian, Spanish and a little Eastern European,” says Abrahanowicz. “A lot of the pickles are Eastern European. The seafood is more of a Spanish influence and Eastern European, too.” 30 Hospitality November 2018
