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Antipasto

This delicious appetizer is an original Best of Bridge recipe that has appeared in slightly different versions over the years. The perfected version (shown here) can also be found in The Complete Best of Bridge Cookbooks, Volume 1. This antipasto is perfect for the holiday season. It requires a lot of chopping, but don’t use a food processor! 

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Antipasto
  1. 1 cup olive oil 250 mL
  2. 1 large cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
  3. 2 large green peppers, chopped
  4. 2 cans (each 101⁄2 oz/294 mL) sliced ripe olives, chopped
  5. 1 jar (16 oz/454 mL) green olives with pimiento, chopped
  6. 2 jars (each 13 oz/370 mL) pickled onions, chopped
  7. 2 cans (each 10 oz/284 mL) mushroom stems and pieces
  8. 1 jar (48 oz/1.4 L) mixed pickles, chopped
  9. 2 bottles (each 48 oz/1.4 L) ketchup
  10. 1 bottle (15 oz/426 mL) hot ketchup
  11. 2 cans (each 2 oz/56 g) anchovies, chopped (optional)
  12. 3 cans (each 41⁄2 oz/128 g) solid tuna, chopped
  13. 3 cans (each 4 oz/114 g) small shrimp
Instructions
  1. Drain all jars and cans. Put all ingredients, except the fish, into a large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. Pour boiling water over all the fish to rinse. Drain and add to mixture. Gently stir and simmer for another 10 minutes.
  2. Pour into clean airtight containers, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) headspace. Let cool completely. Cover and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Serve with crackers. Makes 8 to 9 cups (2 to 2.25 L).
The Best of Bridge https://www.bestofbridge.com/

This recipe is available in the book The Complete Best of Bridge Cookbooks Volume One.

This recipe is available in the book Best of Bridge Holiday Classics.

This recipe is available in the book The Best of the Best and More.

Join the discussion 28 Comments

  • Angela Becker says:

    I have used this recipe for years but on the online version it says to freeze instead of boiling water processing? Can you tell me why? I process smaller jars for 30 minutes and have never had any issue with spoilage, etc.

  • Shirley Gavelin says:

    Me too. Why freeze instead of boiling water bath? Better or safer? I find storage easier for the boiling water bath jars, always running out of freezer space. Hmmm?

  • Irene simons says:

    I made the recipe and froze it, adding fresh shrimp instead of canned… best ever!

  • Louise D says:

    My Best of Bridge recipe book says this recipe yields 16-18, 8 oz (250 ml) jars. That is 4 – 4.5 litres. This online recipe says 2 – 2.5 litres. That’s double! Please advise which one is correct.

    • Best of Bridge Editors says:

      We checked our book and it looks like the recipe (p. 80) is consistent with the online version– the yield should be 2-2.25 litres!

      • Poipu says:

        Do the rough math with the ingredient amounts and even with the reduction in cooking, it’s still well over your amount listed.

        • Best of Bridge Editors says:

          Hello and thank you for writing to us. I spoke with the original author who tested and wrote this recipe 40 years ago, and she still uses this recipe. I’m not sure why there is a difference in your results, provided you have drained the canned ingredients very thoroughly. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

  • Caralee Jones says:

    It has fish/meat in it therefore it is prone to botulism. Meats/fish must be pressure canned. Therefore, freezing is best for this recipe unless you pressure can.

  • Debra says:

    Your recipe calls for 2×48 oz (96 oz) of regular ketchup and 15 oz of hot ketchup. That amounts to 13 cups of ketchup alone! Then adding all the other ingredients, it is utterly impossible for it to result in 8-9 cups of antipasto. Louise D is much closer to the true amount.

  • Jennifer says:

    I just completed making this, then measured it all ending up with 5 L (based on 4.23 cups=1 L) of finished product, and I only used 1 bottle of ketchup and didn’t use the hot ketchup at all! So Louise D., Poipu and Debra are all correct.

  • Jennifer says:

    I just completed making this, then measured it all ending up with 5 L (based on 4.23 cups=1 L) of finished product, and I only used 1 bottle of ketchup and didn’t use the hot ketchup at all! And I did thoroughly drain everything.So Louise D., Poipu and Debra are all correct.

  • Anick Emond says:

    Calls for mixed pickles, is that sweet mixed pickles?

  • Lynnette says:

    I have been making this recipe for over40 years. I hot water bath the end result and get a yield of @5 litres. I do not add fish, cooked shrimp or my favorite crab pollock till serving time as it is both fresher and safer. I use Heinz chili sauce in place of hot/Sriracha ketchup. Although both versions are excellent but the chili sauce gives a thicker consistency. I blanch the cauliflower florets. I also add fresh diced carrots that are also blanched for color and taste. In place of green peppers I use orange and or yellow, also for color.

  • Linda B says:

    We just finished making the antipasto and believe the issue is a typo. “Makes 8-9 LITRES “ not cups

    not

  • violinlinlin says:

    This was my first foray into antipasto – I just love it – but I’d tweak this recipe a bit. Mainly I find this recipe just too sweet, so will cut the ketchup in half and use tomato sauce instead. I used sriracha to add heat. Also, maybe dill pickles as opposed to sweet mixed. Didn’t add shrimp, but will add extra anchovy and capers next time. My recipe made 20 cups of antipasto.

  • I love love LOVE Best of Bridge! Been a fan for 25+ years. I made this recipe a week ago and it’s delicious! My favorite Antipasto recipe for sure. http://www.reluctanthomemaker.com

  • Ann B says:

    I have been making this B of B Antipasto recipe every year for the past 15 years. I add the tuna and shrimp last in the cooking process. I also, have processed it in my water canner for 15 mins. I have never had a problem with it only compliments on how good it is.

  • Julia says:

    Can you use sugar free ketchup

    • Best of Bridge Editors says:

      Hi Julia, sugar free ketchup will change the PH of the recipe and potentially allow for spoilage. We recommend you search around for a tested sugar free option for food safety.

  • Skibunny2776 says:

    I’ve been making this Antipasto every year (sometimes twice) for more than 40 years and it has always met with rave reviews. Over the years I have tweaked the recipe, doubled the ingredients, substituted frozen for canned shrimp and added celery and orange/yellow/red peppers to the mix. I’ve just finished a batch and it has yielded 24 x 500 ml jars – perfect!

  • Nan says:

    Have been making this for over 20 years. Everyone loves it. I always use a hot water bath. I have never tried freezing it. I think it would take up too much room in the freezer. Can’t go wrong with Best of Bridge recipes

  • Mari says:

    I have loved this recipe for many, many years – both making and eating – but I now have an issue that I am hoping the Best of Bridge folks can help me out with. Because of smaller packaging/shrinkflation, it seems many of the original package/jar/container sizes called for in this recipe are no longer available here (Western Canada). As an example: sweet mixed pickles only come in 500 mL or 1 L jars, not 1.4 L, cans of shrimp are now 106 g – not 114 g, and cans of solid tuna when drained are 120 g, not 128 g. Also, what I consider to be a “large” cauliflower or pepper may not be what others consider large…and what if “small” or “medium” is all that is available at the supermarket? How much do I use?

    Respectfully, I would like to ask that this wonderful recipe be re-written to reflect the actual, drained measurements in cups, or in grams/ounces so that we can get a consistently high-quality product, regardless of the games the food manufacturers continue to play with the consumer.

    Thank you for your time.

  • Katie shewfelt says:

    I follow a keto diet so the amount of sugar present in this antipasto recipe is very high. What is the best way for me to reduce the sugar content. Should I replace the ketchup with sugar free ketchup or with tomato sauce and use a keto friendly sugar substitute such as monk sugar or stevia. My goal is to make a low carb antipasto. Please advise. Thanks.

  • Shelley Erickson says:

    Definitely yields more than 2.5 liters. I finally made this recipe many years after my sister in law wrote it out for me. She and my mother in law would make up a batch for the holidays. This, Best of Bridge recipe, is the same recipe she shared with me. I added extra cauliflower, chopped carrots, a red pepper, canned green beans (too soft, I’ll use fresh green beans next time) No anchovies but added two more cans of tuna. I found the finished product to be a bit too sweet, I don’t remember hers being so sweet. Next time I will try adding a jar of dill pickles in an attempt to tone down the sweetness. With the extra half head of cauliflower, 4 or 5 chopped carrots, red pepper and maybe half a can of green beans (they really were too mushy) the final yield was 7.1 litres for me.

  • Ann-Marie MacGillivray says:

    I have made this recipe for many years. My recipe say that you first start with the Olive oil, cauliflower and green peppers. Then you add the rest of the ingredients. and then the first and shrimp. It also says to hot water boil the jars for 20 minutes.

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