Everyone loves a good charcuterie board these days. In fact, you can pretty much find it on most restaurant menus serving meats, cheese, crackers, some sort of fruit jam and pickled vegetables. It’s like a whole generation raised on Lunchables is trying to be cool or something. Charcuterie boards can range in prices where some can be super cheap throwing whatever is in the fridge on a board and calling it a day. Others go all out when hosting a party covering an entire table full of all sorts of delicious eats to graze on and leaving no dead space uncovered. A lot of people think about serving boards when they are hosting a gathering, but you can also make them and bring them with you to a party. If you are in charge of bringing a dish and don’t want to make anything too crazy, make a board! But it doesn’t have to be just cheeses and meats. You can do a pancake + waffles board, smores board, taco board, frosting board, hummus crudité board, Mediterranean mezze board, chicken wing board, bloody mary board, bagel and lox board, seafood board, nacho board, movie night board and the list goes on and on. I decided to do a whipped feta board as I love anything Mediterranean. It’s a crowd pleaser when you serve it with pita bread triangles, pita chips, cucumbers, and any other of your favorite veggies.
Now that there are all kinds of different board ideas, don’t look back and snub a good charcuterie board. If someone brings a board with all kinds of colorful food presented beautifully on a rustic wood board, it doesn’t matter what it is, it’s going to be delicious. I totally eat with my eyes first and I’ll be the first to admit that I am a sucker for a good board. I can appreciate that there was thought for every single item and where it is placed, not to mention the floral accents and garnish.
I’m also a big believer in variety and smaller portioned plates. So, boards are just perfect for someone like me who wants a bite of this and a bite of that. Who wants to commit to a huge plate of food when you are socializing at a party? Besides, heading back to the table to grab some more food isn’t a bad excuse to get out of a dead-end conversation.
Non-charcuterie boards have been trending for a little bit now and are super Instagramable. So be trendy, serve something different and take my advice, everything is better on a board.
- Prep Time: 15m
- Total Time: 15m
- Yield: 12-15 people
- Category: Appetizers
Ingredients
Dip
- 8 ounces block quality feta, drained
- 3/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons mint, chopped
- 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- 1 tablespoon pistachio, crushed
- 1/4 cup tomatoes, roasted
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted, drained
Dippers
- naan or pita, cut into triangles
- cucumbers, sliced
- pretzel chips
- Any other vegetables
Instructions
- In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a blade, combine the feta, Greek yogurt and lemon zest. Blend, and while the processor is running, drizzle olive oil through the top opening, until the feta is whipped to a smooth mixture.
- Transfer the whipped feta to a serving plate. With the back of your spoon, smooth the top of the feta, making an indentation in the middle (or a “well”). Pour a bit of olive oil all over the feta, then top with the Aleppo pepper, fresh herbs, olives, tomatoes and nuts.
- Serve with pita, naan, cucumbers or your favorite dippers
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