SUMMER GRAZING BOARD

Create the yummiest Emma Chamberlain inspired charcuterie board.

After seeing Emma Chamberlain create one of these snack boards, I felt inspired to give it a go myself.

Aside from the fact that I needed to actually buy a board, as I am far from a 'culinary wizz' and so own nothing of the sort, the ingredients were all things that I had lying around.

This was the ideal simple, easy and quick show-stopping piece that looks far more impressive than something that takes twenty minutes to bash together should.

It makes the perfect accompaniment to a glass of wine in the garden with friends. So on these sunny summer evenings, it makes the ultimate 'trick up my sleeve' when it comes to entertaining guests.

- INGREDIENTS -

O French Toast Crackers

O Mini Pretzels

O Cucumber

O Cherry Tomatoes

O Green Olives

O Green Grapes

O Strawberries

O Pistachios

O Hummus

O Edam

O Cream Cheese

O Dill

O Feta

O Honey

- METHOD -

1. Cut the strawberry stalks off, half the tomatoes, slice the cucumber, and cube the edam and feta.

2. Place the feta in a ramekin, and drizzle with honey, placing it in the top-left corner.

3. Lay the French Toast along the left-hand side of the board, curving around the bottom-left corner.

4. Place the olives in another ramekin and squeeze the dish into the curve of the French Toast.

5. Wash the grapes and lay the bunch along the bottom of the board.

6. Chop the dill and mix it into the cream cheese, placing it in the bottom-right corner.

7. Create little sections around the cream cheese, out of strawberries, pistachios and cucumber.

8. In the top right corner, place the hummus pot.

9. Fill the gap at the top of the board with bundles of the diced edam, tomatoes and mini pretzels.

- AFTERTHOUGHTS -

I found that the key to filling the board effectively was to line the outside well. This meant choosing the right-shaped foods to place in each slot. However, it was also important to not just rely on placing all of the dishes in the four corners, hence having one in the centre of the board. This creates the illusion of the board being a random collection of foods, whilst helping to structure the display enough to fit everything on.

Additionally it's important to have a range of foods. I like the mix of fruits and vegetables and cheeses. Being pescatarian, this board did not include any cold meats, but many other board examples do. Therefore, this could be an optional substitution for some of the items.

This board went down a treat and due to the structured layout, it was super easy to replenish the foods that ran out the quickest - the strawberries, as well as the honey and feta, were by far the most popular!

Why not give it a go! Do you have any other ideas for the grazing board? Any other items to add?