Antipasti platter

Chef Dino of the Italian restaurant "Faule Magd" in Ueberlingen/Germany, made this antipasti platter for me several times. I decided to recreate it at home.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Makes 4 servings.

Last page update: 12 February 2017

INGREDIENTS

For the pesto:
50 grams pine nuts
1 tablespoon minced garlic
35 grams (1.5 oz) freshly grated parmesan cheese
50 ml olive oil (3.5 tablespoons)
1 bunch (≈25 grams ; 10 oz) of fresh basil, ends of the stalks removed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (cayenne pepper)

For the platter:
12 slices of pancetta
This is an Italian bacon, made of pork belly meat that is salt cured and spiced with black pepper and sometimes other spices.
12 slices of prosciuto di parma
serrano ham is fine too
8 slices of capocollo ("coppa")
This is an Italian porc cold cut, made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the 4^th or 5^th rib of the pork shoulder or neck.
4 slices of bacon (F: lard fumé de porc - not "bacon")
1 red bell pepper, medium size (paprika, F: poivron)
250-300 gr net/drained (½ lb) large mozarella balls (2 balls)
200-300 gr net/drained (½ lb) small mozarella balls (about 40 balls)
Rucola (rugula, US: arugula, UK: rocket, F: roquette)
16 artichoke hearts (1 large can), rinced
1 zucchini (F: courgette), cleaned and cut into 1cm (1/2 inch) thick slices
2 tablespoons of Italian or Provencal dried-spice mix (oregano, thyme, basil, majoram)
Coarse sea salt
Fresh pesto - see ingredients above and recipe below.
Optional: 50 grams (2 oz.) gorgonzola cheese
Optional: 8 frigitelli (yellow/greenish pickled pepperoni peppers)
if your grocery or deli store doesn't have them, try espelette or anglet peppers (mild red pepper), fried in some olive oil at low heat and some coarse salt added.
Optional: 2 dozen marinated olives
I tend to hate olives, but I don't mind olive all'arancia - small black olives marinated in wine vinegar, olive oil, finely diced orange peel, garlic and chili pepper. I also don't mind Greek-style olives, in olive olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, coriander, and garlic.
Optional: 1 ripe (but firm) avocado, pit removed, peeled, sliced lengthwise into 8 wedges (2 per serving)
Optional: 8 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds

For the dressing:
Good olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Some sugar

EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

Griddle, preferably ribbed (to get nice grill marks).
Frying pan.

PREPARATION / DIRECTIONS

For the pesto:
Put all ingredients in a food processor / kitchen machine, and whiz until a puree consistency is obtained (you may have to stop several times and scrape the ingredients off the inside of the machine with a spatula). Done!

For the platter:
Drain the small mozzarella balls, blot them dry with kitchen paper, put them in a small bowl with pesto, and swirl them around until fully covered with the pesto
Drain the large mozzarella balls, blot them dry with kitchen paper, and cut in half
Iin a frying pan, fry the bacon slices until browned on both sides but not crispy - do not add oil or butter to the pan!
Drain the artichoke hearts, carefully squeeze each one in your fist to get the liquid out (do not mush them!), then cut in half lengthwise.
Spread some olive oil on a hot ribbed griddle (or griddle pan, or a grill), and cook the halved artichoke hearts on both sides until they have a nice grill pattern; then sprinkle with some of the spice mix and some salt
same with zucchini slices
Cut the red pepper lengthwise into thin strips (about 1/ cm ; 1/4"), seeds and core of the pepper removed, then grill as above.
Drizzle some olive oil over each plate
Make a standard vinaigrette by whisking up some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and some sugar
Put a small heap of rucola at the center of each plate, and drizzle some vinaigrette over it
Put a quarter of the (warm) sliced grilled red pepper on top of the rucola
Drape the prosicuto slices on the plate, from the rucola to the edge of the plate, evenly spaced around the rucola - see photo below
Same with the capocollo slices
Put a quarter of the small mozzarella balls between a slice of capocollo and prosciutto, sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper on top
Same with the (still warm) zucchini
Same with the (still warm) artichoke hearts
Optional: same with a quarter of the gorgonzola
Wrap one fried bacon slice around each halved large mozzarella balls, and briefly put the wrapped balls in a hot frying pan
If the bacon slices are no longer warm and soft, quickly heat them up in the frying pan
If the bacon slices are too short, don't worry: just drape them across each cheese ball.
Optional: add 1-2 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds
Optional: add 2 avocado wedges; you may put some of the pesto on it.

Buon appetito!

SERVING & GARNISH SUGGESTIONS

Serve on large plates (25 cm , 10 inch diameter)
Serve with grissini (Italian breadsticks). My recipe - also from Dino - is here.