I haven’t made an antipasti platter in a while. Or shall I say, tapas platter? We ate it more as tapas than starters. It was so filling that after all that yumminess, no way in the world I could have eaten a main dish.

I didn’t want to keep everything Italian. A little Spanish touch with the chorizo, and a little Arabic with the hummus.. That’s exactly what I was looking for!

So basically throughout the whole mental planning that I went through before I turned it into practice, my ideas were pretty clear. I knew what I wanted to place on that plate. However once I started putting everything together, things turned slightly different..

I started off with the hummus. Chickpeas? Check. Lemon? Check. Tahini? Tahini?!? I completely forgot to buy tahini! So, a 2nd grocery store tour started, and a 3rd one followed. Why did no one sell it?? I had to come up with an emergency solution that I have been trying to avoid from the beginning. I ended up making the sesame paste myself.. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just that my past experience was not good. I used unhulled sesame seeds which turned it into a real bitter paste. So I did not expect anything good coming out of this. And then, guess what? The result blew us away! It was the tastiest hummus I had ever made so far! It tasted different and it had its own special nutty note. The bitterness didn’t even stand out that much this time. Maybe toasting the seeds before putting them in the food processor helped. Honestly, I don’t know.

Anyway, long story short: In case you don’t want to buy it or you simply can’t find it, try to make it yourself at home! All I did was roast and blend the sesame seeds with the same method that I used with the almond butter. I also added some canola oil (that was the most neutral oil I had at home) to make it more creamy. 

When you get a chance try to sprinkle some mint pesto and roasted pine nuts on top. I really like that combination!

And then, once you have everything ready, serve them all on a large tray or those typical terracotta tapas bowls, together with green and black olives, prosciutto, salami & Co., artichokes, and much more.

The list of ingredients I could have added to this platter is endless. Ranging from grilled green asparagus to dried tomatoes and falafel etc. It can easily turn into a filling meal, way beyond simple starters! No matter how you want to call them, it’s the perfect idea for a nice evening with family and friends, or for a comfy evening at home with a good glass of wine..

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