FOCUS ON: GRAZING

FOCUS ON: GRAZING

Is a grazing table just a fancy name for a buffet? Well possibly; but this post covers not just grazing tables, including extravagant undertakings for celebrations like weddings and Christmas, but also smaller cheese boards. Whatever you call it charcuterie boards, smorgasbord, cheese board, buffet, grazing table, I’ve included tips for you. I’ve also included some bonkers variations on the trend including sweet boards, taco boards and all the crazy ideas in between. Breakfast, pancakes, sushi, hot dogs and everything in between.

I’ll give some tips on the more traditional affair and hopefully you’ll find some inspiration for feeding the masses at your home or your next event…

The grazing table is the perfect way to feed a lot of people if you’re entertaining groups over a long period of time, guests can graze through the whole day, it can feed many without spending hours in the kitchen and everyone can eat their fill so no one will go hungry.

Food to include on your grazing table

Bread.
There are so many breads to include on your grazing table and for different uses, think of the bread as the vessel for a lot of the other foods on your table. Crackers for cheeses, pitas and breadsticks for dips, baguettes for making open or closed sandwiches. Chunks of good quality crusty bread, small pieces of good quality freshly baked loaf. I’m a fan of bread and a lover of sandwiches so you could just supply the parts to make that ultimate snack. Breads come in all shapes and sizes and they’re all wonderful. Naan for an Indian theme, Poppadoms too, Ciabatta, Bagels (even better toasted), a sweet Brioche for a soft texture, crunchy Bruschetta, a delicious Garlic Bread. If you’re doing breakfast you could include croissants, English Muffins, Pancakes or Crumpets. If you’re into baking, you could bake a Braided Loaf as a stunning centrepiece. Think Mexican and include Tortillas and Tacos.

Dips.
The variations and flavours of dips are endless and this is a good place to solidify your theme. If you’re going Mediterranean then you could make Tzatziki, a million different variations of Houmous or Hummus, and Taramosalata. If you’re making Indian breads then they’d go great with a curry to dip, Tandoori Roasted Cauliflower Dip, Mint Raita or Mango Chutney for the Poppadoms. The Mexican theme is solidified with a wonderful and easy Queso dip. An Olive Oil Dip would go great with all those Italian breads but also just with your crusty loaf. Some dips just go with everything, a Tomato Salsa is excellent, also cheese based dips and crab or if you’re going for a sports event theme a Cheeseburger Dip. Some of the best dips for your vegetables are Ranch Dip, Green Onion Dip, Garlic Parmesan White Bean Dipand Garlic Aioli, they also work great for dipping chips.

Cheese.
Now cheeses are one of the most important parts of the grazing table hence why sometimes these are known as cheese boards. There are so many wonderful types of cheese out there and as with the bread you can use the cheeses for different things. You can dip into a Camembert (one of my favourites), you can place the hard cheeses on crackers or spread soft cheeses on just about anything. Some other popular soft cheeses are Brie, Cream Cheese and Goats Cheese, Cheddar of varying strengths are always popular. I always love a smoked cheese with my cheese board, I think they go wonderfully on a cracker with a bit of pickle. Semi-hard and semi-soft cheeses include some blue cheeses like stilton but also milder cheeses like Gouda, Jarlsberg and Manchego. Hard cheeses include the nutty flavoured Parmesan, great for grating and sprinkling over things.

Meats.
If you’re catering for meat eaters a selection of cold meats is a great addition to a grazing table. You could stick with the theme of the Mediterranean and have some Italian meats like Parma Ham, Napoli Salami and Prosciutto. But they’re great to use even if you’ve not got a theme as they go with almost any of the cheeses on your table. As would Chorizo, Pate, or you could keep it simple with some good quality ham. If you’re serving a Cream Cheese then Smoked Salmon goes perfectly with this, you could serve Bagels in quarters to go with this as a small bite of wonderfulness.

Vegetables and Fruit.
This part of the grazing table is really going to give colour and vibrancy to your board. Vegetables are great sliced into batons for dipping into your dips or complementing the open sandwiches. The best types of fruit and vegetables for your boards are Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Celery, and Grapes and Apple go great with cheese. Don’t forget some fresh berries like Blueberries and Blackberries and even Figs.

Extras.
The extras are what make your table extra special, work to the quirks of your guests, someone might be a big fan of Pickles/Gherkins or Olives, there’s that one friend who lives for balsamic vinegar. These little extras can include nuts, like Walnuts, Pistachios, Peanuts and Cashews and Pickle/Relish. These also could include some ready-made bites rather than picking ingredients, things like Falafels, Flavoured Cheese Twists, or any other canape-style food.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

High quality ingredients are best. There’s nowhere to hide with all the raw ingredients sitting on the table, the higher the quality you can afford the better.

Texture is important. You need a range of soft and crunchy foods that can go other, the last thing you want is someone having to have a plate of all soft foods with nothing to crunch on.

You can have a theme but it’s not all important. There are tips above for types of theme for the grazing table, mostly by regional cuisine but you don't have to stick to it - as long as the food all works together then that’s all the matters. The theme can also be applied to the look of the table. Wooden boards, bread baskets and a rustic style for an Italian theme, the Indian theme could include tiffin boxes or metal curry bowls.

Style the table. The best grazing tables will have levels, maybe use a cake stand to raise a level or an upside-down tin to bring a small bowl up a little from getting hidden under other plates. When you style the table keep in mind the way people move around the table, you don’t want all the bread necessarily at one end; spread it out, maybe put great combinations next to each other.