Antipasto Board in a Bag
Cured meat, hard cheese, and brined vegetables tossed cold. No stove, no pot.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 78
- protein
- 21 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Snack
- No cook
- Cooler only
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Day hike
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Genoa salami | 8 oz | cut into chunks |
|---|---|---|
| Sopressata or other hard salami | 8 oz | |
| Sharp provolone | 8 oz | the aged kind, not deli slices |
| Fresh mozzarella | 8 oz | drained; skip it if the cooler is warm |
| Sun-dried tomatoes in oil | 1/2 cup | replaces fresh tomatoes |
| Canned artichoke hearts | 14 oz can | drained |
| Jarred roasted red peppers | 6 oz | save 3 tbsp of the brine |
| Kalamata olives, pitted | 1/2 cup | |
| Green olives, pitted | 1/4 cup | |
| Extra virgin olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Red wine vinegar | 3 tbsp | |
| Black pepper | to taste | |
| Dried basil or dried oregano | 1 tsp |
Method
- Drain the artichokes and peppers into the dirt, keeping about 3 tbsp of the pepper brine.
- Cut the salami, sopressata, provolone, and mozzarella into bite-size pieces. A folding knife and a cutting board lid is enough.
- Put everything solid into a gallon freezer bag: meats, cheeses, artichokes, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, both olives.
- Add the reserved brine, the oil, the vinegar, pepper, and the dried herbs.
- Seal out the air and turn the bag over a few times until the dressing coats everything.
- Let it sit 15 minutes in the cooler, then eat straight from the bag.
This started as a home antipasto salad and needed two changes to travel. Fresh tomatoes turn to slush in a cooler and leak water that thins the dressing, so sun-dried tomatoes in oil take their place: same salt and acid, no bleed. Fresh basil goes black within a day in a bag, so dried herbs go in instead and get 15 minutes in the brine to open up.
Everything else was already trail food. Cured salami and aged provolone are preserved on purpose, and the artichokes, peppers, and olives arrive in their own acid. The pepper brine is worth keeping because it does most of the dressing work, and the oil is what makes the whole bag hold together instead of sitting in a puddle at the bottom.
Packing
Cut everything at home and pack the solids in one bag, the oil and vinegar in a small bottle. Keep the bag flat on the bottom of the cooler where it stays coldest. Cured meat, hard cheese, and jarred vegetables are fine for a couple of days on ice; the mozzarella is the part that fails first.
Variations
- Drop the mozzarella and this holds a full weekend without ice.
- Add a can of chickpeas to stretch it and cut the cost per serving.
- Crackers or a hunk of bread on the side turns it from a snack into lunch, and drops the gluten-free tag.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/antipasto-salad