Antipasto Platter with Grape Tomato & Caper Salad

June 6, 2016
Make flavorful Grape Tomato & Caper Salad with Fresh Basil the centerpiece of a beautiful antipasto platter ~ so easy & just perfect for entertaining.

Grape Tomato & Caper Salad with Fresh Basil


An antipasto platter is one of my go-to entertaining items.  Especially when guys are involved in the party.  For some reason, guys seem to really love an antipasto platter.  Can't say that I blame them though ... I really love an antipasto platter, too.

And I especially love an antipasto platter when it has a beautiful, flavorful Grape Tomato & Caper Salad in the middle of it.

Party-Perfect Antipasto Platter

The truly beautiful thing about a festive platter (aside from all the wonderful colors on the plate!) is its versatility.  Include cured meats, Italian cheeses, olives, artichoke hearts, or other marinated vegetables ... whatever combination you want!

Garnish the platter with fresh herbs, place it in the center of your serving table, and you have colorful and tasty, easily-assembled party fare.

Here are my usual suspects:  Hard salami, Genoa salami, turkey pepperoni, or cappicola for meats.  I typically include two meats.  For cheeses - fresh mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, and provolone are great choices.  Then a selection of olives, marinated artichokes, marinated mushrooms, peppadew sweet-hot peppers, roasted red peppers, or roasted cipollini onions.

Antipasto Platter Selection of Cheeses & Meats

This is portable, too.  Going to the park for a picnic?  Out to watch an outdoor concert?  No problem.  Put your antipasto items in zip-top bags, toss them in a cooler, and assemble them on a plate (it can even be a paper one) to serve it up!

For my arrangement, I like to put a small bowl in the center of my platter and fill it with Grape Tomato & Caper Salad.  I love having the bright red of the tomatoes right in the middle.  I then place my other antipasto items around the tomato salad, working in sections and doing my best to make a nice arrangement of colors.

You know though, if you simply make sure to include tasty good-quality items, you really can't go wrong with your arrangement.

Assembling a Party-Perfect Antipasto Platter

Serve it with baguette slices, assorted crackers, or bread sticks ... yummy.

Party-Perfect Antipasto Platter

So would you like to know how to make the Grape Tomato & Capers Salad?  I thought you might.  This is soooooo good!  We often enjoy this as a side dish salad ... no antipasto platter involved.

Start by slicing some ripe, juicy grape tomatoes in half and put in lots of chopped fresh basil.

Tomatoes and Fresh Basil for Grape Tomato & Caper Salad

Then mix up a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and capers.

Balsamic and Caper Dressing for Grape Tomato & Caper Salad

Pour the dressing over the tomatoes, and top it all off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Dish it up just as it is, or show it off in the center of a gorgeous antipasto platter and entertain away!

Either way, I know you'll enjoy it.

Check out these other tasty little party nibbles:
Grape Tomato & Caper Salad with Fresh Basil
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antipasto platter, how to make an antipasto platter, easy entertaining ideas, appetizer recipes, tomato salad recipe
Appetizers & Snacks
Italian
Yield: varies

Antipasto Platter with Grape Tomato & Caper Salad

Antipasto Platter with Grape Tomato & Caper Salad

Make flavorful Grape Tomato & Caper Salad with Fresh Basil the centerpiece of a beautiful antipasto platter ~ so easy & just perfect for entertaining.
prep time: 30 Mcook time: total time: 30 M

ingredients:

For the Grape Tomato & Caper Salad:
  • 2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
  • 6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, torn
  • 3 T. drained small capers
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 3 T. balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 3 T. grated fresh Parmesan cheese
For the Antipasto Platter:
  • Sliced hard salami, Genoa salami, pepperoni, turkey pepperoni, and/or cappicola for meats
  • Fresh mozzarella balls, sliced fresh mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, and/or provolone for cheeses 
  • A variety of olives, marinated artichokes, marinated mushrooms, peppadew sweet-hot peppers, roasted red peppers, and/or roasted cipollini onions
  • Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

instructions:

How to cook Antipasto Platter with Grape Tomato & Caper Salad

For the Grape Tomato & Caper Salad:
  1. Place halved tomatoes and basil in a bowl.
  2. Combine capers, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over tomatoes, tossing to coat. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
  3. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.
For the Antipasto Platter:
  1. Place a small bowl in the center of a serving platter. Fill the bowl with Grape Tomato & Caper Salad.
  2. Then working in sections, arrange the other antipasto items around the tomato salad, making a nice arrangement of colors.
  3. Tuck in a few sprigs of fresh basil or parsley to garnish.
  4. Serve with baguette slices, assorted crackers, or bread sticks.
TRACEY'S NOTES:
  1. Grape Tomato & Caper Salad also makes for a fabulous side dish on its own, especially in summer with fresh-from-the-garden cherry or grape tomatoes.
  2. The truly beautiful thing about an antipasto platter (aside from all the wonderful colors on the plate!) is its versatility. Include any combination of cured meats, Italian cheeses, olives, artichoke hearts, or other marinated vegetables you'd like.  It's all good!
Created using The Recipes Generator

You might also like these other party favorites:


BLT Dip


3-Ingredient Crescent Sausage Bites


Quick Salami & Cream Cheese Bites


Spinach Balls


Ham & Pickle Bites


Antipasto Platter ~ An antipasto platter is a perfect (& easy!) way to entertain. Party or game day snacks, anyone??  www.thekitchenismyplayground.com
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14 comments

  1. I love your antipasto platter! It looks like the perfect thing to make for a party. For some reason, when we're having lots of people over, I always gravitate towards complicated things that make me feel a little frenzied, so I should strongly consider going the antipasto way in the future.
    I also happen to love capers, so your tomatoes tossed with dressing sound fantastic!

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  2. I love that you use balsamic vinegar on this too; yum! Looks so juicy; my mouth is watering!

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  3. You hold the key to my heart in creating perfect 'antipasto' platters! So few people seem to be able to do so! Thank you and I'd love to feature you on my 'tomatoes' FB round-up group! Love following you now too!

    Roz

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  4. Good Morning Tracey, It is lovely to meet you. I am visiting from Miz Helen's Country Kitchen as your beautiful platter of antipasto caught my eye. I adore antipasto as they are reminiscent of the flavours we enjoyed when we lived in Cyprus. I love capers.... actually I love everything you have shared.
    Best Wishes
    Daphne

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  5. This platter is so beautiful! I would be 100% on board with skipping dinner and having this plus a glass of wine instead.

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  6. This looks wonderful! I've done "separate" dishes of these items but rarely combine them on one platter. Would work great in the winter too for the après ski crowd that often gather at our house once we leave the slopes. Definitely going to try your tomato salad too! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Congratulations!
    Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you have a great day and enjoy your new Red Plate.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  8. We love capers and we love tomatoes at our house so this is the perfect combo!! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  9. Had a party for 50 people and this was a MASSIVE hit as an appetiser. The only change I made was putting toothpicks in rolled up meat and mushrooms and things to make it less messy for people. Highly recommend, especially for a group of people, because it is so simple!

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  10. Wow, this food looks amazing!

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  11. Love the fresh and healthy dish you shared this week! Congrats for being featured at Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy!

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  12. This looks very tasty. I would love to try. Found you over at Inspire Me Monday with Create With Joy. Congrats on the feature.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please let us know how it turns out! We enjoy linking at Inspire Me Monday.

      Delete

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