Mediterranean Charcuterie Board, Easy Meze How To
This Mediterranean Charcuterie Board is a combination of traditional meats, cheeses, briny olives, nourishing dip and nuts, crackers, fruits and dolmas. So enticing that everyone can enjoy an old favorite and try something new! Don’t get intimidated by the idea of making a show-stopping charcuterie board. With the tips I share, you’ll be arranging a board to wow your guests with no cooking required!
Equipment
- 1 wooden board (For serving 8-10 people: 16 in x 24 in like this one. For serving 4-6 people: you can use as small as a 12 in x 18 in. And if you won’t have a board– don’t fret! Simply use a baking sheet, a cutting board, or even butcher paper over your countertop or table.)
- cheese knives for serving (I love these stainless steel ones)
- small dishes (for serving dips and ingredients that come in liquid like olives, pickles, or mozzarella cheese. These Mora Ceramic Ramekins are perfect.)
Ingredients
Meat (suggestion to serve 3 different kinds of meat and total of 12-16 oz total for 8 people or ~1-2 oz per person)
- 5 oz Genoa salami (or other salami)
- 5 oz Proscuitto (or coppa/capocalla)
- 5 oz Hot Soppressata (or sweet soppressata)
Cheeses (suggestion to serve 3 different cheeses and a total of 16-24 oz for 8 people or 2-3 oz per person)
- 6 oz Manchego (or other firm or hard cheese)
- 6 oz Brie (or other soft cheese)
- 6 oz Parmesan-Reggiano (or other hard cheese)
Crackers or Breads (suggestion to serve 3 different kinds of crackers or toasted bread)
- Bruschettini or Water Crackers these from Asturi Classico are great!
- Pita Chips or pita bread
- Trader Joe's Fig and Olive Crisps or another sweet cracker
Accompaniments (suggestion to serve 1-2 dips and total of 3-6 accompaniments)
- small dish of hummus homemade hummus recipe
- small dish of olives use combination of green and black
- 5-6 dolmas or artichoke hearts
- ½ cup marcona almonds or other roasted, spiced, or candied nut
- 10-12 dried apricots or other dried fruit
- a few bunches of grapes or other fruit or vegetable
Instructions
- Prep: Go ahead and prep everything so you know what you’re working with. A good rule of thumb is to serve your soft cheeses whole with a couple slices cut to show people how to serve it, and pre-slice the harder cheeses.For the cheese you will serve sliced, cut the wedge shaped cheese blocks into triangles and the blocks of cheeses into squares.If using grapes, cut them into smaller bunches of 3-5 so people can easily grab them. If using fresh vegetables, slice them into pieces people can grab and dip.
- Add largest items to your board first. This includes the cheeses and small dishes with dips and ingredients in liquid.Tip: Mediterranean cheeses are best served at room temperature so take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before guests arrive.
- Add the meats around the cheeses.The next step will be to arrange the different meats around the cheeses. For thinly sliced meats like prosciutto, you can arrange it in ribbons. Round slices of meat like salami can be folded in halves or fourths to make a tulip shape. I’m a big fan of keeping it simple!
- Add the larger accompaniments including fruits and vegetables.Fill in some of the spaces with a small serving of fresh fruit or vegetables. For this board, grapes are used.
- Add your crackers and breads around the meat and cheese.Tip: add the crackers and breads next to the meats and cheeses they pair well with.
- Fill in the gaps with small items including nuts and dried fruits. For this board the small items include marcona almonds and dried apricots
Notes
Expert Charcuterie Board Tips
CUSTOMIZE IT! You can follow this recipe exactly or customize it. Refer to the full post at mallorythedietitian.com for more options of meats, cheese, crackers, and accompaniments.
Remember the 3-3-3-3 rule. To make it easy, use the 3-3-3-3 rule of charcuterie. Choose 3 different meats, 3 cheeses, 3 crackers/breads, and 3-6 accompaniments.
Serve the right amount per person! If serving the board as an appetizer, serve 1-2 oz (2-3 slices) of meat and 2-3 oz of cheese per person.
Slice the cheese. If you are adding a whole block or wedge of cheese to the board, slice off a couple pieces to get it started.
Keep it clean! Put the items that are liquid in small bowls (this includes things like olives, pickles, dips, and jams).
Add color to the board using cheeses that are different color shades, fresh fruits and vegetables, and different colored spreads.
Some old and some new. Choose some ingredients that people are familiar with and add a couple less common ones for guests to try something new!
Pair the flavors that you would suggest be eaten together. For example, pair Brie cheese next to honey, fontina cheese next to salami, and gruyere cheese next to prosciutto.
Budget-friendly tip! Buy your charcuterie meats in a sample pack. You can also use the less expensive cheeses and accompaniments or make your own hummus and other dips to save on money!
I hope you enjoy! :)
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!