Aperitivo fai da te - enjoy a drink and a few nibbles at home and share with family and friends. In this post, you will find a Spritz, insalata caprese, zucchine con limone e Parmigiano, carpaccio di fichi e prosciutto and melanzane grigliate farcite con mozzarella.
Ciao a tutti!! Come state dopo i festeggiamenti pasquali? È da un pò che non scrivo un post come questo. Spero che vi stanno piacendo queste ultime ricetta che ho pubblicato e che state trovando le lezioni e le dispense di lavoro utili per imparare la lingua italiana.
Questa settimana il tempo qui era più invernale che primaverile e mi ha scoraggiato ad uscire e gustare del buon cibo. Quindi, ho deciso di pianificare un aperitivo fai da te. Per un aperitivo serve una bevanda, di solito alcolica e degli stuzzichini o come meglio conosciuti al Nord, cicchetti che vengono mangiati prima di cenare. I seguenti sono alcuni stuzzichini che pensavo avrebbero reso un ottimo aperitivo da gustare con degli ospiti.
Hello everyone!! How are you after the Easter festivities? It's been a while since I write a post like this. I hope you are enjoying the latest recipes I've published and that you're finding the lessons and worksheets useful to learn Italian.
This week the weather here was more wintery than springy and it has discouraged me to go out and enjoy some good food. So, I decided to plan a diy aperitif. For an aperitif, you need a drink, usually alcoholic and some appetisers or as better known in the North, cicchetti. These are eaten before dinner. The following are some appetisers that I thought would make a great aperitif to be enjoyed by guests.
Ingredienti
Per lo Spritz
- Aperol
- Prosecco
- acqua soda
Insalata caprese
- pomodori
- mozzarella
- basilico
- origano
- dell'olio d'oliva
Zucchine con limone e Parmigiano
- zucchine
- succo di limone
- Parmigiano Reggiano
Melanzane grigliate farcite con mozzarella
- melanzana
- mozzarella
- sale
- pepe
Insalata di fichi e prosciutto
- prosciutto
- fichi
- olio d'oliva
- aceto balsamico
Ingredients
For the Aperol Spritz
- Aperol
- Prosecco
- soda water
Caprese salad
- tomatoes
- mozzarella
- basil
- oregano
- olive oil
Zucchini with lemon and parmesan
- zucchini
- lemon juice
- Parmigiano Reggiano
Grilled aubergines stuffed with mozzarella
- aubergine
- mozzarella
- salt
- pepper
Fig and ham salad
- ham
- figs
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
What does an aperitivo consist of?
Stuzzichino - una piccola porzione di cibo, generalmente salato, che può essere consumato come aperitivo. Gli stuzzichini sono serviti nei bar come accompagnamento degli aperitivi.
La bevanda - The drink
The main reason for having an aperitivo is to get your appetite going. When it comes to the aperitif, Italians have a fair few to choose from. An aperitif is usually an alcoholic drink, however, there are still some nice non-alcoholic ones. For this aperitivo, I chose one of the most popular, if not the most popular drink; Aperol Spritz. It’s made with two parts Prosecco, one part Aperol and a splash of soda water. It's one of the tastiest drinks I've ever tasted, so I highly suggest you try it if you never have.
Aperol Spritz is a wine based drink traditionally served as an aperitif and is typical of the Northeast of Italy.
Insalata di fichi e prosciutto - Fig and Parma ham salad
This next one is one of the easiest salads I've ever done. You just need some good ham, I used some nice prosciutto crudo and a few ripe figs. I placed everything on a plate, seasoned with salt and paper and drizzled some olive oil and a good quality balsamic vinegar in glaze form. And here you have a nice simple salad all ready for you to enjoy and share with your guests.
It's very common in Italian cuisine to combine savoury and sweet on the same plate creating a luscious salad.
Insalata caprese - Caprese salad
Another typical salad Italians love to have is the Caprese salad. This again is very quick and easy to prepare and everyone will enjoy it especially on a nice Summery evening because it's made with fresh ingredients. I decided to make a different take on this salad. All you need to do is fill the tomatoes with mozzarella cubes and then top them with a basil leaf. Just before serving, drizzle some olive oil and season with pepper, salt and oregano.
Carpaccio di zucchine limone e Parmigiano - Zucchini lemon and Parmesan
For this next nibble plate, I thinly sliced a couple of zucchini, grilled them for a few seconds on each side with some olive oil. Then, I squeezed the juice of one lemon and grated some Parmesan on top, finished with some salt, pepper and sliced sundried tomatoes and scattered a few mint leaves. This is surely a great way to get kids to eat their veggies as it's fun and the lemon covers a lot of the zucchini's taste.
Melanzane grigliate con mozzarella - Grilled aubergines with mozzarella
My final dish was the grilled aubergines. This again is very simple to prepare. I sliced the aubergine and placed on a chopping board, seasoned with salt to reduce its sourness and let them rest for about 20 minutes. Then, I grilled the slices, topped them with mozzarella and rolled them up. Finally, I seasoned with salt and pepper and decorated with some basil leaves and cherry tomatoes.
I hope you enjoy preparing this quick and easy aperitivo and enjoy sharing all of this goodness with your family. Let me know what other things you would include in your aperitivo fai da te and if you make any of these dishes tag me along on Instagram #thelanguageskitchen or Facebook as I'd love to see your creations.
Now go have a look at today's important topic in Italian. We have an introduction to the past tense in Italian. Then, practice with the worksheet attached to the lesson below.
