Antipasto

Antipasto is the Italian word for appetizer, but for my family it refers to this specific dish.  We make it every year for Christmas. Sometimes I like to make it just to eat for lunch with crackers or to top a salad. It's really easy to make, and uses a lot of ingredients that you can keep on hand. You can also make it ahead of time and freeze it for later. And trust me, it is not a very fishy dish, even though there is a whole can of tuna in it.

Ingredients:

1 can tuna in oil (do not discard the oil)

1 small jar Giardineira (pickled vegetables)

1 small can of mushrooms.

1 small can of black olives

1 small jar marinated artichokes
1-2 tbsp of capers

1 can tomato sauce

An assortment of crackers and/or sliced baquette pieces

Directions:

1. Pour the giardeineria into a bowl and cover with water. You want to get rid of some of the briney taste. Let soak for about ten minutes. After soaking, strain the vegetables and rinse a couple times to get rid of any extra brine.  You don't want to add any unnecessary liquid to the antipasto.

2. All of the canned ingredients can be strained as well, except for the tuna. The oil in the tuna has lots of flavor and will give it a good texture.

3. Next, dump all ingredients except the tomato sause into a food processor. Pulse until it is all chopped finely. You may need to stop to stir once or twice to get all the large chucks chopped.

4. Once the mixture is finely chopped, add in the can of tomato sauce. Mix until combined. Taste the Antipasto and add salt and pepper to your liking. Sometimes you may need to add a pinch of sugar as well to balance the acidity.

5. Place the mixture in a bowl, and serve with crackers and/or bagquette slices.