It's a paint that's mixed up for starters (9)
I believe the answer is:
antipasti
'starters' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'it's a paint that's mixed up' is the wordplay.
'that's mixed up' indicates an anagram.
'its'+'a'+'paint'='itsapaint'
'itsapaint' anagrammed gives 'ANTIPASTI'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for antipasti that I've seen before include "hors d'oeuvre selection" , "Italian eats" , "Italian hors d'oeuvres" , "Italian food selection" , "Italian appetisers" .)