A simple guide on how to make a vegan platter – a colourful, lush and abundant one at that! Rainbow fruits and vegetables, olives, home-made dips, crackers and nut cheeses.
This will be the last recipe in my latest series of posts which have all been healthy, plant-based Christmas themed. The round up post is coming next!
{Update: it's here! My Healthy Plant-Based Christmas Menu 2017}
So, all things sharing platters today. And Christmas day isn’t really Christmas day, without one, is it?!
I mean, they're always at the heart of good conversation. Our family loves nothing more than to sip on Dad’s home brew, and pick leisurely at a bountiful snack board, lounging on comfy cushions in the shade. So dreamy!
This post is a bit of how-to guide, and I’ll link to a bunch of recipes that have already been posted here on the blog. I’m keeping it plant-based, but feel free to add your favourites in there.
[bctt tweet="How to make a vegan platter! Colourful, lush and abundant. Find the how-to here." username="laurenglucina"]
What you’ll need for your Vegan PLatter
- A large wooden board (let’s segue for a moment so I can share a funny story. Many years ago, while we were living in Sydney, I stumbled across the coolest homeware store in Double Bay – if you know Sydney, you’ll already be thinking $$$! I found the most dreamy vintage Turkish bread board – almost a meter in length and with the perfect worn patina. I bought it on the spot, and laid it proudly over the dining table. When my partner got home, he wasn’t impressed with the ‘second hand bit of wood’ I’d just acquired, so I lied and said it was a bargain and only $30, to which he scoffed and said it was worth half that. He still doesn’t know how expensive it was – he thinks I’m frivolous enough as it is with all the random little props and ceramics I’ve collected over the years!)
- Some cute, small ceramic bowls to hold the dips
- 3 great tasting, colourful dips/spreads
- 2 different types of crunchy crackers
- A rainbow of fresh, crunchy vegetables
- A rainbow of fresh fruits
- Quality chocolate (although I’ve not used any here)
- A plant-based cheese (again, have not used one here, but I’ll link to a recipe)
- A handful of nuts and dried fruits
- Olives! I love the large, green Sicilian olives
- A few sprigs of rosemary or other interesting looking plants/edible flowers to decorate
Vegan Platter Hot Tips
- Plan a trip to your local Farmer’s Markets – you’ll get the best produce here, and have a better range to choose from. You’ll also likely be able to source quality olives (in my humble opinion, the cornerstone of any sharing platter worth its weight in goodies). You may even score a lovely wooden board there!
- Choose dips that are contrasting in colour and flavour
- If you’re making the dips or crackers from scratch, do that the day before to save you time
Assembling Your Vegan platter
- Add the dips first, and place them haphazardly around the board
- Lay the ingredients out in clusters – grouping colours together, moving in a circle to get a rainbow effect
- Fill any gaps with nuts and dark chocolate pieces
And voila! Party platter done!
Vegan Platter - Individual recipes
I have a few fabulous recipes here now that will take your platter to the next level, filling it with the ultimate vegan party food.
You can totally buy ready-made dips, spreads, crackers and cheese of course, but if you’re on holiday with time to indulge in a bit of kitchen alchemy, then why not make them yourself?!
Dips/spreads
- Radical Roasted Beet Hummus with Sumac and Lime (pictured)
- Chargrilled Capsicum Hummus with Cashews & Miso (pictured)
- Greenilicious Hemp Seed Basil Pesto (pictured)
- Chocolate Hummus
Crackers
- Speedy Super Seed Crackers (pictured)
- Sun Dried Tomato Flax Crackers (needs dehydrating)
- Raw Rosemary and Thyme Flax Bread (needs dehydrating)
Plant-based Cheese
(Both these require a few days to make as they are cultured)
Chocolate
That’s it guys, hope you enjoy. I really wish I had chocolate on this platter – I didn’t realise I’d eaten my stash! Piggy!
And figs – they’re nowhere to be found at the moment, but if you can get them, these are a must.
Thanks for reading, enjoy and see you next week!
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