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Making a DYI creative charcuterie platter is easier than it seems, not to mention the cost is a fraction of ready-made ones. All you need is a bit of imagination and research into the beneficiary’s tastes.
Select various flavours, textures and colours for your platter or board that will satisfy even the fussiest eaters.
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The beauty of a creative charcuterie platter is that it looks impressive and appetizing, so it should sort out fussiness. You also have the choice to include all groups of foods you desire, according to your lifestyle or specific diets.
Besides, it can make the centrepiece on any festive dinner table, be it Christmas or New Year’s, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, International Children’s Day, birthday and any other important day, not to mention a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner for two or a house party.
Anything goes, even a fancy weekday dinner when you don’t know what to cook and storm the fridge for open packs (still in date!) of cheese and meats.
Although humans have eaten cured meats for tens of thousands of years, the art of charcuterie is more related to Renaissance France. In modern times, charcuterie became increasingly popular worldwide because of its pleasant visual presentation and the fact that it permits using a large variety of ingredients at once.
What Type of Dish is Best For a Creative Charcuterie Platter?
A large round or oval porcelain platter or a bamboo board will do. A fancy board with accessories will make a better impression, of course, but a platter stored for ages somewhere in the cupboard it’s just fine for the job, too.
The porcelain platter I typically use is oval and 40 cm/16″ long. That counts as a “large” board that, when filled with goodies, sells for about £150, yet you can make it with under £10, and none will be the wiser!
A large platter easily feeds four people. Of course, you will need a few of them for parties, depending on how many guests you expect.
Ingredients for a Basic Board
Any charcuterie platter or board should contain a few essential ingredients you can work with to create a culinary masterpiece:
- bread/crackers/breadsticks
- cheese – include an assortment of flavours (salty, sweet, spicy, savoury) and textures (creamy, chewy, brittle, dense)
- meats – cured, cooked, smoked, paper-thin slices (prosciutto, ham) or thick slices (salamis)
- raw vegetables – include several colours and textures
- fruits and nuts – fresh/dried fruits; any nuts (check for nut allergy!)
- dips and spreads – jam, humous etc
- treats/sweets (optional) – depending on the occasion
What you choose to include on your charcuterie platter is as important as the presentation.
Firstly, I recommend using organic products from a source you trust or homemade (jam, humous, sausages).
For packed foods, check the expiring date. If the packs were already opened, make sure they still are in the recommended time frame for safe consumption.
How to Assemble Creatively the Charcuterie Platter
Use a clean, dry platter or board. Make sure you have enough room on the worktop for all the ingredients.
Start with washing, peeling and chopping the vegetables. Prepare the other ingredients that are okay at room temperature for longer (olives, nuts, fruits).
Always use labelled chopping boards when cutting foods to avoid cross-contamination.
Use the right slicer for the vegetables, according to the style you choose to cut them. For a skilled cook, a professional knife can sort it. For more design options and speed, I recommend using a multi-blade cutter.
Combine and position the basic ingredients to make them easily accessible to everybody at the table.
Given the plethora of tastes and textures, perhaps it is good to use flavour-free bread/crackers. I used fennel Taralli for this platter because I wanted to finish an open bag before it became soggy (moisture affects food quality, especially in a humid climate.) The combination of flavours was interesting, enhanced by the warm, sweet aroma of fennel seeds.
When you finish placing the vegetables and crackers on the platter, bring the cheese out of the fridge, slice or cut it into cubes and put it among the rest of the ingredients.
Continue with the meats. Use a meat labelled chopping board to slice or cut them as preferred and place them on the platter in an eye-pleasing manner.
Sprinkle dried fruits and chopped nuts over the platter. Optionally, add sweet treats that can make a dessert for this meal.
Serve immediately, paired with a wine of choice or cover the platter with cling film and keep it in the fridge if your guests haven’t arrived yet.
Use kitchen tongs or toothpicks (children, especially, would find it fun!) to fill your plate and enjoy!
Your creative charcuterie board looks epic and guaranteed will impress anyone partaking! Pair it with a glass of wine and bon appetite!
Creative Charcuterie Platter
Equipment
- Labelled chopping boards
- Chef knife
- Slicer
- Large porcelain platter
- Serving plates
Ingredients
- 1 carrot organic, large
- 1 cucumber organic, large (or two small)
- 1 tomato organic, large
- 1½ bell pepper organic, optional
- 1 handful Nocellara olives or any other type
- 1 handful savoury Taralli or bread sticks, crackers, bread
- 150 g smoked bacon (kaiser ham) or any other ham
- 150 g spicy chorizo or any other sausage/salami
- 50 g cow cheese
- 50 g dense goat cheese
- 50 g sheep cheese
- 50 g soft cheese
- 2 tbsp apricot or strawberry jam organic
- 1 tbsp medium-hot mustard for meats optional
- 1 handful dried cranberries or any other dried/fresh fruit
- 1 handful chopped walnuts or any other nut
Instructions
- Wash, peel and slice the vegetables. Use labelled boards for each ingredient group to avoid cross-contamination. For creativity, use a slicer with various blades.
- Combine and position the basic ingredients to make them easily accessible to everybody at the table.
- Bring the cheeses out of the fridge, cut/slice and add them creatively among the other ingredients.
- Slice the meats using a meat-labelled chopping board.
- For an eye-pleasing effect, either roll the slices or use a glass to create a flower-like salami (place overlapping slices on the rim, push the middle into the glass, then turn it upside-down and remove the piece gently to keep the shape)
- Sprinkle dried or fresh fruits and chopped nuts over the platter.
Notes
Cover photo credits Tye Doring, Unsplash.
How to Make a Creative Charcuterie Platter for Any Occasion
The post How to Make a Creative Charcuterie Platter for Any Occasion appeared first on The World Is an Oyster.
]]>The post Quick and Easy Summer Berry Tart appeared first on The World Is an Oyster.
]]>A Modern Twist on a Fruit Tart With a History
There is no easier cake to make than a summer berry tart! If you have less than an hour to spare and berries to use, then simply throw a handful of ingredients into a bowl, mix, bake, prepare a pudding at high speed and decorate with whatever fresh fruits you might have in the fridge.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you!
The exquisite taste and attractive decoration will get you points for creativity when you serve this tart, and nobody will ever know how rushed you were to bake it.
We are used to living life at high speed, and sometimes even a little time to indulge is hard to find. Luckily, we have ready-made mixes that help speed up the process of baking.
Those familiar with this blog know that I advocate healthy eating, organic everything and a big fat NO to pesticides. But, for this occasion only (because time was extremely tight), I chose to make a quick pudding using a packed mix rather than real eggs. A bit of food engineering involved, true, but this happens extremely rarely in my kitchen.
The pudding mix I used is German made and available online. In Europe, it is available in any food shop and is largely used.
If you have an extra half an hour to spare, I explain how to make pudding from scratch and use fresh products in my Tiramisù recipe. The only difference is that you will not need to add mascarpone for this tart recipe.
Of Tarts and Puddings
There is a bit of a culinary debate over the origins and proper making of tarts. Although the Greeks and Romans have made something similar in antiquity, tart baking has evolved and changed through the ages.
Today’s recipe has its beginnings in the kitchen of the Tatin sisters, French hotel owners in the XIX century. Busy as they were (wow, lack of time seems to have been a problem always!), one of the sisters forgot to add dough to her pie – she added it later during baking and thus invented the upside-down pie. Mistakes create masterpieces; what can I say?
A tart can have a crusty base or a fluffy sponge filled/topped with what I have always called pudding – essentially, a vanilla cream made by boiling egg yolks, sugar, corn/potato starch and milk together. Some call it custard, but I will stick with pudding.
I prefer a fluffy sponge because I can use syrup to moisten it, adding flavour to the tart. On rare occasions, if no children are involved in tasting, I replace the syrup with liquor and get an even better boozy fruit tart.
Ingredients for Summer Berry Tart
I used raspberries (red and yellow) for this tart, strawberries and blackcurrants freshly picked from my little allotment, washed, drained, hulled, and sliced (the strawberries). You can use any summer berries in any combination as long as you know and trust the source. I cannot stress enough the importance of avoiding pesticides all together in foods!
For the fluffy sponge
Organic large eggs
Organic coconut sugar
Oil (rapeseed, preferably – because it is cold-pressed. If possible, avoid refined oils – vegetable, margarine and all “spreads”, canola, soybean, corn – as you would pest!) A while ago, I read that there is one molecule difference between plastic and margarine! Imagine what people spread on their toast!
Almond milk/semi-skimmed cow milk, organic
Organic white flour
Baking powder
Rock/sea salt (not “table”)
For the pudding
One sachet of pudding powder
Coconut sugar
Milk
Optionally, follow the instructions in the Tiramisù recipe
For the syrup
Coconut sugar
Water
Organic lemon
For the gelatine pellicule
One gelatine sheet
Water
How to Make Summer Berry Tart
For this tart, I used a flan dish of 24 cm in diameter, oiled and floured.
Make the sponge by literally throwing all the ingredients together in a large bowl and whisking with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes. Usually, I separate eggs, add everything individually and generally spend more time on the sponge batter. It made no difference to the consistency, so this will be the only method I’ll use from now.
Place the batter in the tray and bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven. Check the sponge is baked thoroughly, turn it upside down as explained in the recipe card and place it on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, prepare the pudding by following the instructions on the sachet. Add vanilla essence for extra flavour if needed or even a tablespoon of liquor if you prefer to keep the same taste as the syrupy sponge.
Cool and whisk the pudding to smoothen it. Add it to the top of the sponge and level nicely.
Decorate with the berries of your choice.
Using a brush, smear the gelatine over the berries to help them set (it also helps to keep a fresh, vibrant colour for longer).
Refrigerate the summer berry tart for two-three hours before cutting. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or coffee of your choice, a bubbly or a glass of liquor.
Enjoy!
Summer Berry Tart
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric mixer
- Pan
- Baking dish
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 2 eggs
- 100 g coconut sugar
- 60 ml cold water
- 60 ml oil cold-pressed rapeseed
- 180 g plain white flour
- 10 g baking powder
- ¼ tsp fine salt
For the syrup
- 50 ml water
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 lemon zest and juice organic
For the pudding
- 1 sachet Vanilla Pudding
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- ½ l almond milk
For the topping
- 300 g any summer berries organic
- 1 sheet gelatine
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Sponge
- Prepare the baking tray by oiling and flouring the base and walls. I used rapeseed oil but butter is OK too.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C fan oven/375°F/gas mark 5
- Place all the ingredients for the sponge in a large mixing bowl and batter for 5 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Pour the content into the baking tray and level it nicely with a large silicone spoon without pressing down.
- Place on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Perform the toothpick test to check that the sponge is baked thoroughly. Allow extra baking time if required.
- Let the sponge in the baking tray and slightly cool on a cooling rack.
- Using oven gloves, place a large plate/cake stand over the baking dish and turn it upside down. Bang it to the table gently if needed to remove the sponge from the baking dish.
- Allow the sponge to cool completely.
Pudding
- Follow the instruction of the sachet to prepare the pudding. I used less sugar than suggested, but this is a personal taste.
- Optionally, you can add vanilla essence for a stronger flavour.
- Allow the pudding to cool completely before use.
- You might need to whisk it a little with an electric mixer before adding it to the sponge for a smoother texture (the pudding tends to become lumpy as it cools down).
Gelatine
- Follow the instructions on the gelatine sachet to prepare the gelatine.
- Leave aside to cool and thicken slightly before use.
Syrup
- Wash, dry, zest and juice the lemon. Add it to water into a pan together with the sugar and bring to boil at medium heat.
- When it starts boiling, reduce the heat and stir occasionally. Boil for 3-4 minutes until it thickens slightly.
- Let aside to cool before use. Optionally, you can sieve the syrup. I prefer to keep the lemon zest for extra tartness.
Assembling the summer berry tart
- Using a spoon, pour the syrup over the top of the tart, making sure to cover all areas. The same technique applies to liquor; 4-5 tablespoons should suffice.
- When the syrup is absorbed into the sponge, place the smoothed vanilla pudding on top and spread it evenly.
- Decorate with summer berries of your choice (previously washed, drained and hulled).
- Smear the gelatine over the berries using a kitchen brush. You will obtain a nice, shiny pellicule that will help set the fruits into the pudding and preserve the bright colour for longer.
- Refrigerate the berry fruit tart for 2-3 hours before slicing it.
Notes
A Modern Twist on a Fruit Tart With a History
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