Cicchetti

 Cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee) are small, savory snacks or side dishes traditional to Venice, Italy, often described as Venetian tapas.

This is my plan for the May 21, 2026 Italian White Wine Tasting.

Wine Pairing Considerations

• Classic Aperol Spritz 

• Moscato d'Asti with the Gorgonzola e Fragole All'aceo Balsamico

• Prosecco or Pinot Grigio with Prosciutto Grissinis, Prosciutto e Melone

• Vermentino with Le Migliori Polpette di Tonno (Tuna Meatballs)

• Pinot Grigio or Vermentino with Italian Cheese, Rustic Bread and Jam

Gorgonzola e Fragole All'aceo Balsamico

A modern twist on a Venetian classic that perfectly balances a creamy, sharp blue cheese with sweet fruit. 

• Ingredients: Fresh baguette (sliced), gorgonzola dolce, fresh (room temperature) strawberries, and balsamic vinegar.
• Instructions: Marinate sliced strawberries in a splash of balsamic vinegar for 10-15 minutes. Spread a generous layer of gorgonzola onto toasted bread/brushetta, top with a balsamic strawberry, and finish with a crack of black pepper. Could drizzle with honey.

Prosciutto Grissinis  

Italian Bread Sticks and Proscuito. Roll half of the bread stick with proscuito. Wrapping the sticks is easier if you cut the meat into 1-inch wide strips and wrap multiple strips of the meat until the bread is covered as far down as you want. Toasted them just for a few minutes in the oven (325 degree F) to help the prosciutto kind of shrink around the breadsticks and to add a crispy texture to the meat (this step is optional).  

If making the grissinis ahead of time, bake them first, refrigerate until about 20 minutes before serving. Allow to come to room temperature before serving. Do not reheat them in the oven or they will become soft under the prosciutto and will fold over like a bunch of dead flowers. Stand them up in a glass. 

Chef Patrick suggsted serving with a dipping suace. Try this Creamy Pesto Dip.

• Mix 8 ounces cream cheese (also use sour cream, Greek yogurt, or hummus) and 2 Tablespoons basil pesto in a small bowl. Finely chop 1 Tablespoon pine nuts and add to mixture. Zest the lemon into the other ingredients, then juice and stir that in as well. Add 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan. Taste and add more pesto, lemon juice or Parmesan to your liking.
• Spoon creamy pesto into serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle remaining pine nuts on top. The creamy pesto can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature to allow dip to soften again before serving.

I am going to cook leeks and mix them with ricotta cheese.

Prosciutto e Melone

In Italy, Prosciutto e Melone is typically served plain. No herbs, cheese, or dressing are added. It’s traditionally left unseasoned, so the natural contrast between melon and prosciutto stands out.

• Chose a ripe melon, Charentais or Tuscan cantaloupe are ideal. Keep it chilled before assembling to keep the bites fresh and the prosciutto firm.
• Use thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma or Prosciutto San Daniele for their balanced saltiness and delicate texture. Keeping a thin layer of fat, about 1 to 1.5 cm (½ inch), helps retain moisture and flavour, but it can be trimmed if desired.
• Fresh mint adds a cooling contrast that keeps the flavours bright. The mint in this dish is completely optional. You can serve it plain or use another herb you prefer.

Step 1: Using a melon baller, make small melon balls and set them aside.

Step 2: Fold the prosciutto slices to match the size of the melon balls.

Step 3: Assemble the skewers using toothpicks. Start with a melon ball, followed by a folded prosciutto slice and a mint leaf.

Step 4: Serve immediately.

Le Migliori Polpette di Tonno (Tuna Meatballs)

This recipe from Jamie Oliver: tuna meatballs (Le migliori polpette di tonno)

Brushetta Con Salmone Affumiacto, Avocado e Feta

Link to recipe

Italian Cheese, Rustic Bread and Jam

Use a semi soft cheese (fontina, aged Asiago), sliced. Place on rustic bread, slather with fruit jam, place a slice of cheese and garnish with parsley

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This information came from Tina Prestia May 29, 2021 "Venetian Cicchetti (Part 2) – How to Plan a Cicchetti Menu & Recipe for Fried Eggplant “Flying Saucer” Sandwiches"

Leeks

Thinly sliced, cooked and mixed with soft cheeses (ricotta, gorganzola). They can also be served raw, julliened on top of a crostini 

Tuna

Utilized in polpette and on crostini. Use good quality tuna in opil versus in water.

Polpette are often meatballs but not limited to meat. They can be balls, patties or croquettes of either meat, vegetable, legumes, fish, cheese or even old bread. For tuna polpette mix tuna with potato, capers, egg and parsley. Form patties and fry them. Or mix tuna, ricotta cheese, egg and citrus zest. The possibilities are endless.

On corstini, mix tuna with mayonnaise, salt and pepper and garnish as you desire. Could be topped with cocoa powder, edible flowers, raw leeks (juluenne style)

My plan is to try this recipe from Jamie Oliver: tuna meatballs (Le migliori polpette di tonno)

Eggs

Half of a hard boiled egg with a tookpick stuck in it and emblesshed with a simple topping: 

• Drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
• Drapped with an anchovy (this combo is iconic and superb)
• Topped with smoked salmon or smoked trout
• Dolloped with salmon roe
• Simply topped with a sunpdried tomato

You could also make a simple frittata, cut it into squares and stick some toothpicks into each square.

You could make crostini with eggs. Simply scramble eggs (delicately) slice a baguette and top with eggs and garnish as desired. Ot you can make an egg salad and make crostini with that. Add a pretty garnish to make it special.

Radiocchio

Picks up on Italian fondness for bitterness. 

Radicchio can be used as a granich, stuffing, salad, Crostini topping, or even a vegetable side. It adds a beautiful color to your table.

Gorganzola

Can be gorganzola dolce (sweeter, creamier, and younger) or gotganzola piccante (stronger and aged longer). 

• Gorgonzola dolce and anchovy
• Crostini with gorgonzola dolce with chopped or whole walnuts
• Mix your cheese with cooked, julienned leeks
• Sprinkle with chopped pistachios
• Top gorgonzola piccante with marmalade or honey

Cured Meats

 Get the best quality cured meats preferrably from Italy.

• Mortadella cubes plain or garnished with things like pickled onion or pickled green chili
• Creative crostini with cured meats combined with an unlimited variety of garnishes
• Soppressa (a cured meat from the Veneto) or other salame sliced thickly and served plain or on a crostino
• Mini sandwiches filled with cured meats and Italian cheeses
• Prosciutto with melon.

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Nancy Waldeck "How to Make Venetian Cicchetti" has some good recipes.