Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - Antipasto｜又中又英

More than three years have passed since my US relatives and I went on a Mediterranean cruise. Our cruise was in 2018, before the coronavirus pandemic. I still have happy memories of the places we visited, including Naples, Barcelona, Rome, Nice, and Marseille. Many countries have controlled the pandemic but I don't think I will go on another cruise until the world has returned to normal. As I wrote in 2018, during our stop in Naples we went to a family-owned restaurant for lunch where I had the best pizza I ever tasted. My relatives and I also had a large dish of antipasto which was yummy.

I recently thought of that yummy antipasto we had in Naples and decided to make my own antipasto. There are many types of antipasto and I made one that was different from the one we had in Naples. The Italian word antipasto means "before food" or "before the meal". The plural is antipasti. Antipasto is eaten as an appetizer before the main meal. The slang word "yummy" means delicious. Antipasti can include different types of cheese, sliced meat such as salami, ham or Italian sausage, olives, and roasted peppers served in separate plates. These ingredients can also be mixed in a marinade to make a single dish of antipasto.

The word "marinade" means a sauce usually made with olive oil, vinegar, spices and herbs. Meat and fish are sometimes soaked in marinade to give them flavour before they are cooked. I used marinade to soak my antipasto overnight in the fridge. I made my antipasto with sliced carrots, olives, mushrooms, green peppers, red peppers, artichoke hearts and parsley. I boiled the carrots and peppers to soften them. Then I heated olive oil, white wine vinegar, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar in a pan. I mixed this in a large bowl with the carrots, olives, mushrooms, peppers, parsley, and artichoke hearts. I put this in the fridge overnight for the flavours to mix. My elder sister and her husband said my antipasto tasted yummy!
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上一次我跟美国的亲戚搭乘地中海邮轮旅游，已经是超过三年前的事了。我们乘邮轮是二○一八年，是新冠肺炎疫情爆发之前。我仍然很回味我们畅游那些地方的快乐回忆，当中包括那不勒斯、巴塞隆拿、罗马、尼斯和马赛。许多国家已控制了疫情，但我不认为在世界完全重回正轨之前，会再来另一次邮轮旅游。正如我于二○一八年所写的，我们停靠那不勒斯那一站，去了一间家庭经营的餐厅午膳，那儿的薄饼是我尝过当中最好吃的。我和亲戚都吃了一大碟前菜（antipasto），同样好吃极了（yummy）。

我最近想起那在那不勒斯吃过的美味（yummy）前菜（antipasto），决定亲自弄一味意大利前菜（antipasto）。意大利前菜（antipasto）有许多款，我做的一款跟我们在那不勒斯吃的那碟并不一样。意大利语antipasto是指「饭前」或「餐前」，它的众数是antipasti。意大利特色开胃小菜（antipasto）是作为主餐前的前菜享用。俚语yummy是指味道好极了。意大利前菜（antipasti）可以包括不同种类的芝士、切片的肉如莎乐美肠、火腿或意大利肉肠、橄榄以及烤甜椒，分碟奉上。这些食材也可以混和腌泡汁（marinade），另制成一碟开胃小菜（antipasto）。

Marinade是指用橄榄油、醋、香料和香草制成的腌泡汁。有时烹煮肉类和鱼之前，亦可用腌泡汁（marinade）浸腌，加以调味。我就用了腌泡汁（marinade）浸腌我的意大利前菜（antipasto），在雪柜中放一整夜。我的这个意大利特色小菜（antipasto），用了切片的甘笋、橄榄、蘑菇、青椒、红甜椒、雅枝竹心和番茜。我烧滚水焯一下甘笋和甜椒，令它们更软稔；接着用平底锅烧热橄榄油、白酒醋、蒜蓉、盐、胡椒粉和糖，再把它们跟甘笋、橄榄、蘑菇、甜椒、番茜和雅枝竹心倒在一个大碗里混和，然后放进雪柜过夜，让所有味道融合在一起。我姐跟姐夫都说我的意大利前菜（antipasto）美味极了（yummy）！
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁