Spring is here, and there’s nothing better than gathering a few friends together for a casual get together with some canapés and cocktails featuring the fresh produce of the season mini stuffed tomato with olive tapenade, asparagus with parma ham and parmesan cheese are a few of my favourites that start popping up in April and May with the first bloom of Spring.
How to Make a Tantalising Crudité Platter
Crudités are a superb choice as this is a fun, colourful, healthy and tantalising appetiser. Creating an attractive platter can be challenging, but with a bit of advice, you can create one which your guests are sure to love.
Are you hosting a party in the near future? If it’s true, then you will want to dazzle your guests with some tasty dishes, but knowing what to serve is tricky. A crudité platter is an excellent choice for an appetiser as it can look fantastic and is incredibly healthy.
It’s a platter that consists of raw vegetables that you cut into small pieces or served whole. It often includes celery sticks, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks, broccoli, bell pepper strips and fennel. They are then dipped in a vinaigrette or similar dipping sauce. In addition to being very healthy, crudités can also look amazing with so many bold colours and different shapes.
To make a platter that will satisfy your guests, it is important that you use a wide range of vegetables – four or more is ideal. Try using what is currently in season for the freshest taste and select vegetables that are bright in colour to make it visually appealing. In addition to vegetables listed above, consider throwing in a few of these alternative types:
Radishes
Asparagus
Tomato
Zucchini
Lettuce
Beetroot
Butternut Squash
It is wise to purchase the vegetables on the day of the party or perhaps the night before. This ensures that they are fresh, bright and flavoursome. If you are unable to purchase them on the same date, ensure you follow the storage instructions to keep them fresh. On the day, do not cut the vegetables earlier than a few hours before the party to retain their freshness. When cutting, try experimenting with different shapes to add variety and texture to the platter.
In addition to vegetables, make your platter stand out by adding some meat or cheese (first ask if any of your guests is a vegetarian). You could also serve bread on the side to make the dish slightly more filling. When it comes to assembling the dish, try to be creative and arrange the vegetables in different ways to make it aesthetically pleasing. Alternatively, you could arrange by colour for a neat and tidy look.
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Chef Bertrand Munier
heat. By now the batter will be roughly in the form of a softball. Add the eggs, one by one and stir. It’s important to add the eggs slowly – don’t worry if it looks too thick, just continue to stir as it will eventually become a smooth batter. Finally add the cheese, salt & pepper and stir to a good dewy batter.
