NG16 Oct/Nov 2021

Amazing Grazing
Graze boxes, sharing platters, nibbles –
whatever you like to call them, these tasty,
beautiful looking plates of deliciousness are all
the rage at the minute.
There are loads of great local businesses that
can deliver wonderful, ready made boxes
for you to tuck into but if you fancy making
your own, here are some ideas and recipes to
inspire you.
A bit of planning is essential. The size of
your platter will depend on how many you
are feeding. The ingredients will depend
on whether you have veggies, vegans or all
meat eaters. The contents will depend on the
time of year and the event. You could have a
theme like Mediterranean, round-the-world or
traditional ploughmans.
We would recommend a mix of homemade
and shop bought produce – because let’s face
it, life is too short!
Try to keep it as bright as possible – with
contrasting colours next to each other. Think
about textures. You want some crunch as
well as some soft (bread sticks next to a dip).
As for fl avours, if you have spicy food fans
then add some chilli jam, spicy sausage and
Mexican cheese. For those who prefer things
mild, add some traditional chutney and some
mild soft cheese.
Fruit is always a nice touch. Chopped
strawberries, green and red grapes,
blueberries, fi gs and kumquats all look
amazing and go well with savoury.
The recipes opposite are all easy and quick
to make and will add a personal touch to your
platter. Have a go, let your imagination run
wild – and send us a photo!
Ali Wale
For our platter
(pictured left)
we used:
Strawberries, Medjool
dates, Mikado chocolate
sticks, walnuts,
homemade chilli jam,
homemade salsa,
homemade hummus,
carrot and celery sticks,
garlic and herb goats
cheese, stilton, sourdough
crackers, breadsticks
wrapped in Parma ham,
sliced chorizo and salami,
green olives, grapes,
cherry tomatoes and
chorizo sticks.
We served warm feta
soda bread in a basket
on the side.