RECIPE: An Italian app you can make in a snap

2020 has been a year marked by unexpected twists and turns in every facet of life. For me, that even includes how I’ve approached home cooking.

For the past seven or eight months, I’ve ditched recipes in favor of an ad hoc style whether for lack of time or ingredients. But there is a certain freedom that comes from going off script. And a satisfaction that comes from throwing something together using what’s on hand.

This Italian antipasto recipe is an example of some pantry improv. Marinated Artichoke Hearts, Olives, Tomatoes, Red Onion is, admittedly, more of a list than a recipe. And a simple one by necessity.

It was while on a recent weekend escape to the Georgia coast with my husband that I whipped it up. As part of our strategy to avoid people during this plague, we rented an Airbnb with a kitchen and packed more comestibles than clothing — a cooler of proteins, a bag of fresh produce, and a “seasoning kit” filled with spices, oil, vinegar and jarred salad bar stuffs that turned out to be clutch utility players.

As I placed artichoke hearts and olives on the counter, as yet without a clear dinner plan, the idea for a salad bar in a jar starter stared back at me. I began cutting meaty marinated artichokes, halving briny Kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes, and slivering red onion for a bit of bite and color.

I doused it all with olive oil and a few generous splashes of vinegar for a kick of acid. I let it sit long enough for the flavors to marry, for a loaf of Italian bread to get warm and crusty in the oven, and for the sun to set over the ocean — savoring the simplicity of it all.