Assembling a homemade platter
Platters are real crowd pleasers, there is always something there for everyone’s taste and the variations are endless. Get inspired by the season with this platter. Deliciously fresh and healthy snacks are complemented by a recipe for homemade crostini with grilled nectarine, ricotta and Parma ham. These crispy toasted pieces of baguette are topped off with a drop of honey and basil.
With these tips you can put something delicious on the table in no time:
- Fruit and vegetables: pay a visit to your local greengrocer about what the seasonal offer is in terms of vegetables and fruit, such as radishes, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cucumber. Or how about some apple slices, green grapes, apricots, strawberries, cherries, melon wedges or peaches.
- Dips: Serve the vegetables cut into bite size with a dip, such as hummus, muhammara (a Syrian dip of roasted peppers, walnuts and pomegranate), tzatziki, or a homemade yogurt herb dip.
- Nuts, crackers and bread: a delicious crunchy counterpart are freshly roasted nuts such as cashews, walnuts, pecans, macadamias, hazelnuts or peanuts. Also serve some salty crackers with seeds or herbs and sliced baguette.
- Sour / savory: olives or pickles add a savory element to the platter.
- Cheese: such as a goat cheese from the Netherlands, France or Italy, a young sheep cheese, cream brie, farmers' spring cheese or a red rind cheese such as a Taleggio or Chaumes.
- Sausage: A dried hard sausage such as salami or pieces of dried ham.
- Dried fruits: apricots, figs, cranberries, dates.
- Sweet: honey, apple syrup, jam, chutney
One last tip!
Serve your cheese at room temperature. So, make sure to take them out of the fridge and let them sit out on the board for about 30 minutes before serving.
