Today I’m giving you a non recipe. This is just a platter of somewhat artistically arranged stuff. But for the same plate you can get charged about between $10 and $20 in any restaurant. And that is for a plate serving a maximum of 2 people. So why not take the cue from those restaurants and make our own charcuterie plates to serve as an appetizer to guests?
Here is a pic of the plate I served on a dinner recently. It was nothing more than sliced cured meats, bread, olives and spreads from a jar, but it looked great. My guests loved it and thought I had gone to great length to get that dish together, while it took me no more than 10 minutes to arrange the whole thing.
My only suggestion is to choose good ingredients. Pick your olives at an olive bar, bake your own bread or use some good artisan breads and if at all possible slice the meats at the last minute using a meat slicer. Talking of which, I bought a meat slicer last year and I don’t think there is a more useful tool in my kitchen. I use it to slice anything, but it comes in particularly handy for slicing veggies thinly and evenly and to slice meat, both cured and fresh. When used for meats it can also help you save quite a bit as you can buy the meats in cheaper large cuts and break them down at home easily and evenly. If you are on the fence about it, I’d say go ahead and buy it!
Ingredients
- cured meats thinly sliced - here coppa, pancetta, mortadella and prosciutto cotto
- homemade bread
- mustard
- spreads (here ajavar and roasted eggplant)
- olives
- parmesan cheese
- pate
Directions
- Take a large wooden board and artistically arrange your cured meats, the sliced bread, and the cups with the spreads and the olives.
- For the bread, use some kind of artisan or rustic bread. For this plate I used a home baked bread made by substituting 1/10 of the flour with rye flour and adding sunflower and poppy seeds to the basic dough.
- I had also made some shuettelbrot, Tyrolean crisp rye bread. It is quite difficult to find over here and my recipe is not yet perfect, so substitute with your favorite crispy bread.
- The cheese you can either cut in wedges or bake into crisps. To bake into crisps, grate the cheese and place in thin circles on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Place in the oven at 400F until it melts and starts bubbling (about 5 minutes but keep an eye on it because it goes fast). Take out of the oven and let cool before arranging on the platter.
- If you want to overdo it you can also prepare some homemade pate, headcheese or pork belly. It is quick to make, cheap and very impressive!
- Watch as the guests marvel at your awesome charcuterie plate.
Hi! I'm PolaM, the Italian cooking in the Midwest.
I agree, a meat slice is great, also because the cured meat stays fresh for so much longer. I have to say that a plate of affettati misti with bread and olives is one of my favorite antipasti ever with a good glass of wine. It also is perfect with guests, because it creates a very convivial atmosphere.
Nuts about food recently posted..Elba, Il Cantuccio
Agreed and also saves so much time that you can spend with guests instead of in the kitchen!
PolaM recently posted..Gnocchi and meatballs
This looks just wonderful! We like that you included spreads and even made your own bread. What lucky guests you had!
Due Spaghetti recently posted..Pennette al salmone
Mmm, delicious! I love platters like this, and the homemade bread sounds fantastic, too.
Kiri W. recently posted..Mustacei – Ancient Roman Must Rolls
Although I will admit that I don’t eat nearly as much bread as I used to ~ sigh ~ I just love this sort of platter with wholesome dips and delicious meats…yay for olives! To me, this is every bit as interesting as a ‘recipe’…
thank you!
Kelly @ Inspired Edibles recently posted..Kamut Carrot Loaf with Swiss Chard, Dates and Walnut
These kind of dish are a plot against all my resolutions! I could nibble on those forever… So I save it for when I invite guests, preferably ones with an healthy appetite, so that here are few left overs!
Grande! Hai presentato il tipico antipasto all’italiana, e se ci sono gli ingredienti giusto successo assicurato! Se ho capito bene dalla traduzione di google usi l’affettatrice per affettare la verdura? grande idea non ci avevo mai pensato! Buon w.e. Baci
Si la uso per affettare tutte le verdure da fare alla griglia o comunque a fettine. Tra quelle affettate piu’ spesso, melanzane, zucca, cipolle (ottima per fare gli anelli), patate, finocchi, verza, cavolo…. in pratica un po’ di tutto!
Not really a fan of cold cuts, but these dips and bread are great!
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted..Black-eyed Pea Salad with Prosciutto
You can really personalize this kind of display and choose whatever you like! I can see it work even with smoked fish and pickled herrings instead of cold cuts….
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Stopping by from the Grow your blog {blog Hop}! http://queenofsavings.com
Yummy this looks fantastic.
Regards
olguis.
Thanks Olga!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Mmm there’s nothing better than a good charcuterie platter and yours looks great. You’re so right that the best ingredients really do make a difference.
Katherine Martinelli recently posted..Homemade Harissa and a Pepper Blog Hop
when there is this little cooking involved, the only thing that matters are the ingredients…
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
We love serving cold cuts too – my husband is picky about quality of the meat and now kids love eating it (coppa is their fav). I didn’t grow up eating cold cuts, but I have to agree, this is a great easy-to-prepare appetizer while we home cooks are busy in the kitchen for main dishes. Thanks for sharing the tips. Have a great weekend!
Nami | Just One Cookbook recently posted..Sunomono with Cucumber and Wakame
Dinner at my grandma was always pasta or rice followed by cold cuts. And cold cuts are a popular appetizer in Italy. So I grew up having them always around the house, now that I got the slicer, affettati are back!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
grear presentation. this looks amazing!!!
Thanks! And it’s so easy to make!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Un favoloso antipasto home made, complienti. Un abbraccio Daniela.
Daniela recently posted..Polpo con patate e pesto di capperi
Grazie! In Italia con gli affettati davvero buoni mi sa che viene anche meglio che qua!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
I agree with your post. We can really save a lot of money if we try to prepare appetizers ourselves.
Yep, and they are usually fresher and better tasting!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Beautiful presentation!
Marina@cowboycountryvegetarian recently posted..Mushroom "Caviar" (spread)
Thanks!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
We usually get ajvar and eggplant spread from Trader Joe’s. I totally DIG that place, they have all this stuff at actually reasonable prices. This looks great and makes me hungry, too!
Sofie Dittmann @thegermanfoodie recently posted..OSCAR WEEK – “Calendar Girls” & English (Pub) Grub Finger Food
I imagine you know TG is owned by Aldi, right? I also like the place because they have some top notch quality product, but lately I have been doing most of my shopping at a middle eastern supermarket….
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Yeah, I found that out a couple of years ago. Aldi’s in Germany has morphed into this delicatessen kind of place, where here it’s still what it used to be in Germany. The reason is that they would cannibalize their Trader Joe’s business if they went that route.
Other than that we usually go to a couple of different places in Cleveland when we go “ethnic food” shopping, and one stop is usually Gallucci’s, an Italian store in the middle of nowhere on East Euclid. Can I just say, “soppressata”?
Sofie Dittmann @thegermanfoodie recently posted..OSCAR WEEK – “Calendar Girls” & English (Pub) Grub Finger Food
Thank you for the tips – everything on the board looks great!
Biana | Meal Planning Tips recently posted..How To Make Pizza – Pizza Margherita With Mozzarella, Tomatoes And Basil
Thanks! Very little of the looking good is my merit, I think most of the “art” is choosing the right ingredients…
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
this is a really beautiful spread! awesome job! i think i may do this tomorrow, as i have homemade pate on the agenda!
Jenn and Seth (@HomeSkilletCook) recently posted..Stroganoff, an Ode to Ground Beef
Hope it turned out to your satisfaction!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Definitely much economical to put together your own spread. Your platter looks great!
Biren @ Roti n Rice recently posted..Baked Potato and Tuna Croquettes
Thanks! I think choosing a large wooden boars is half the job of making the platter look great!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Mi sembra una bellissima idea, complimenti!
Un abbraccio!
Grazie! E’ molto semplice ma se presentato bene fa davvero colpo!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
You are right. It is cheaper at home and probably even better. Your display looks very inviting. Ciao!
Alida recently posted..It’s Carnival time!
Thanks! I think the secret is in the use of large board!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
This is a great idea and definitely impressive for a nice casual get together … some good wine, good cheese. Perfect!
And a set of great friends!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
This would make an easy dinner for nights when you are lazy but still want something delicious. Your ingredients here look wondetful.
Anna @ the shady pine recently posted..Lamb with haloumi and chickpea salad
Thanks! And it is perfect for appetizer too!
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
Love those meat, where the wine
Raymund recently posted..Daing na Bangus
Right outside the margin of the pictures! Had some great red wine with that meal….
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate
This looks delicious and as you say, is really easy to put together!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Desperately Seeking Hobbits: From Putaruru to Waitomo, New Zealand
Thanks! I have made it one on the spur of a moment and now it entered my to go to list of dishes…
PolaM recently posted..Charcuterie plate