Festive Assorted Board, perfect for a buffet, an appetizer, a party with friends, or as a starter for an informal lunch or dinner.
Very scenic, the assorted board (also known in English-speaking countries as a charcuterie board) is an excellent way to present cold cuts, cheeses, fruits, and snacks in a simple and decorative manner: it just requires a bit of creativity and the wow effect is guaranteed.
In this case, I paired some roses made with slices of salami (very cute floral effect) with fresh fruit (blueberries and strawberries), dried fruits (assorted), cheese (fontina), and savory snacks.
Cold cuts are usually very appreciated and, unless there are vegetarian guests, they are always the first to disappear from the table.
To satisfy all tastes, you can create boards based solely on fruits and vegetables, and even in this case, there’s a lot of room for creativity.
But now, let’s see together how to create the Festive Assorted Board. Prepare the ingredients and let’s begin.
And if you try it, don’t forget to let me know in the comments on my Facebook page HERE. I’m waiting for you.
Gabriella
Other appetizer ideas for aperitifs to try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4 – 6
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 7 oz salami
- 3.5 oz cheese (such as fontina, emmental …)
- to taste blueberries
- to taste mixed nuts (a mix of peanuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts …)
- to taste savory aperitif biscuits
- to taste savory aperitif biscuits
- to taste crackers
- to taste strawberries
Tools
To make the Festive Assorted Board you will need:
- 1 Cutting Board
Steps
HOW TO MAKE THE FESTIVE ASSORTED BOARD
First, prepare the salami roses: this will be the most time-consuming step. Although it may seem difficult, it really isn’t; follow my step-by-step photo guide to create the three different types of roses.
Once the roses are ready, it’s time to assemble the board. To make things easier, I recommend having all the ingredients on hand for a quicker process.
First, gently arrange the roses and then start to fill the empty spaces around them. Start with the dry ingredients: sticks, pretzels, crackers, mixed nuts … and then continue with the cheese and fresh fruit.
The beauty of it is that you can put whatever you like and play with the colors.
Here is the Festive Assorted Board ready. Enjoy your meal!!
See you in the next recipe.
Storage
You can store the assorted board in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days, covered with plastic wrap. However, first remove the aperitif biscuits: they become soft with humidity.
Tips and Suggestions
– You can accompany the board with slices of focaccia or pizza, or crostini or crackers.
– Extremely versatile, you can enrich it with fresh or dried fruits (walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, peanuts, almonds, dates, …), honey, and jams in single-use glass containers, mustards, olives … there’s really a lot of room for creativity.
– Cheeses: there are many types of cheese to use. I really like toma, scamorza, primo sale, fontina, brie, emmental, parmesan or grana padano, pecorino, … there’s plenty of choice. You can include several types and even more varieties together.
– Cold cuts and cured meats. As for the quantity, usually about 2 – 3 slices per person are counted, well assorted to respond to a variety of tastes.
– Cutting board: choose a wooden product, whether it’s a tray or a cutting board, it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s wooden, which gives more of a rustic and homey feel.
– Accompany the board with small steel forks or special aperitif sticks; besides being convenient, they are also very cute.
Cheese-only Board
In important lunches or dinners, cheese boards are usually served, which must be composed and tasted according to precise rules.
– It must include cheeses different in aging, taste, and consistency: fresh and delicate, medium and more aged and spicy; soft paste, crumbly or blue cheese.
– The arrangement on the board must respect the tasting order, which goes from the mildest to the most flavorful. It will be up to you to indicate where to start.
– It is important to buy quality cheeses: a good cheese should have uniform color and consistency, a fresh and intense aroma, and no bitter taste upon tasting.
– Cheeses should be cut correctly. If possible, each piece should include a part of the rind, an intermediate part near the rind, and a central part.
– Pairings: Besides white bread to cleanse the palate between cheeses, you can offer fresh fruits (apples and grapes) and dried nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts), honey, compotes, and mustards.
Source: Modern Cuisine
Source: Modern Cuisine
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