Antipasto
Alison Stone
Ingredients:
Into a large pot:
2 cups dry white wine. We used pinot grigio with great results
1 cup high-quality olive oil
1 cup fresh lemon juice
Bay leaves 2-3
Pinch of thyme
Big pinch of sweet basil
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
When this boils add:
2 pounds baby carrots (we like to slice them in half the long way, but you don’t have to)
½ large, sweet onion sliced into rings
2 heads cauliflower broken into small florets
3-4 jars whole button mushrooms
½ cup sweet pickles diced or chopped
1 green pepper peeled and cut (you can use a jar of fire roasted red peppers to simplify)
Boil then simmer not more than 10 minutes.
Stir frequently while cooking and cooling.
Cool then add:
3-4 pepperoncini (optional)
Ripe black olives and green olives — 1 jar each, sliced
Pimentos — (use just what comes with olives)
5 tablespoons capers
Instructions:
A typical antipasto at an Italian restaurant is filled with unhealthy, high fat, high cholesterol, high sodium meats and cheeses. This dish is so much lighter, flavorful, colorful, and delicious!
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:
How a delicious antipasto recipe became an accidentally vegan Christmas Eve tradition
Every Christmas Eve our family always looked forward to my mother making her famous antipasto.
It was not until I was an adult that I learned and began to appreciate where this amazing recipe originated. My great-grandmother Bessie and her sister Peggy emigrated to the United States from Scotland after the death of their mother. They both ended up securing jobs as housekeepers.
Bessie worked for Joan Crawford’s family, and Peggy for David O. Selznick’s. It was there where Peggy learned this recipe and shared it with Bessie, and the rest of the family.
This year, three generations of our family made this dish together. It was a wonderful day of cooking and listening to stories of these two courageous women, who left their homes at only 17 and 18 in search of the “American Dream." I sincerely hope you enjoy it just as much as we do.
This recipe can be made well ahead of time because it truly gets better the longer it marinates in the refrigerator. It is perfect for an appetizer or make it a meal by pairing it with some crusty bread and hummus.
Being vegan now for several years, holidays can certainly be a challenge. So many families celebrate by consuming animal flesh. It now seems so bizarre that this cherished time for families is so centered around the death of an animal. Just because we have “always” celebrated holidays this way, does not mean it needs to continue. Find the traditions just as we did, that do not include animal suffering. Trust me, you won’t miss a thing. Happy compassionate holidays!