How to Build a Gorgeous, Delicious, Vegan ‘Charcuterie’ Board
This article originally appeared on Vegetarian Times
Everyone loves a beautiful grazing board, displaying perfectly arranged snacks. Usually these boards are compiled with an assortment of cured meats and cheeses - but who says it can't be whatever the heck you want on it? Boards are not only pretty to look at, they’re also really satisfying to make. They may seem a little intimidating at first. But trust me, If you give yourself some time to build it, your vegan charcuterie board can go head to head with any bountiful board you’ve seen on Instagram.
Pick Your Vegan Charcuterie Board Stars
The first thing you want to figure out is what kind of dips to use as the "mains" of the board. This one that I've made here, I wanted to have more savory, lunch-type options. I chose garlic and thyme tomato confit, jackfruit salad, and roasted poblano chickpea salad (you can find my recipe for the salad here). I made all three of these recipes ahead of time so that when I was ready to build, I just needed to place them on the board.
Next you need something to spread the dip on. It could be anything from little gem leaves, crackers, pita bread, tortilla chips, maybe a combination of all of them. I used some rosemary crackers that I found at the market along with some pita bread and crostinis.
You can definitely buy some crostinis already made, but I prefer to make my own using a pretty straight-forward recipe. I use a large baguette roll cut 1/4-inch thick at a bias. Lay the slices flat on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 and let them cool. These can be made ahead of time and will be fine to sit in a container on you shelf for a week.
Assemble the Crudites
Lastly, the ingredients that fill up the rest of your board. Fruits, raw veggies, pickled veggies, any of your favorite snacks can go here. You can even take an extra step here and roast some of the veggies as I did, just to add more depth of flavors in your overall board. My picks here included roasted rainbow carrots, blackberries, cornichons, radishes, and grapes.
Lay It All Out
When you're ready to build you can use anything stable enough to hold all you ingredients. Many photos I see use large cutting boards, but for this one, I decided to go with a sheet pan.
To put it all together, I started by placing the bowls of dips, spaced evenly over the board. I find it easier to spread the breads and crackers next. You’ll want to use them to create a shape or pattern; I chose to have them spiral and curve around the dip bowls, but you can choose any design that suits your ingredients and tray.
Next, I evenly spread out the veggies and fruits in small clusters across the vegan charcuterie board until the space has been filled completely and you cannot see the tray itself. If you notice small gap-spaces, feel free to add in a few more crackers or other items. For a bit of depth and additional texture, I added some sprigs of dried herbs.
If you give yourself the time, you can make your own amazing vegan charcuterie board look amazing. Just remember to have fun with it.
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