By Linnet Good

Serves: many

The holiday season means feasting, and it also means hot weather. A huge platter of mixed meats, cheeses and fruits could be the perfect way to combine the two this year. Add some breads and a home made olive tapenade, pour some wine and you’re good to go!

Ingredients
Less a recipe than a list of awesome ingredients, your platter could include:

  • Stone fruit from Mt Alexander Fruit Gardens and Alkira Organics
  • Charcuterie from McIvor Pork ham and salami; Camboer caprossi and goat ham; Warialda bresaola, pastrami, chorizo and salami
  • Crossie’s Cados avocado
  • Tatalia cherries
  • Cheeses from Holy Goat, Locheilan and Boosey Creek
  • Bread from La Dolce Vita and The Good Loaf
  • Herbs from Spring Creek Organics, Staseys and Flying Bok Choy
  • Olives from Splitters Creek and Salute Oliva
  • Hi-Fye pistachios and Somerset Park walnuts
  • KNM berries
  • Kingfisher citrus

… there’s literally no end to it!

Tips:

  • Remove cheese from the fridge one hour before serving, as the flavour is best when the cheese is at room temperature. This also goes for berries and cherries. Don’t refrigerate tomatoes at all, if you want them to have any flavour.
  • Use a BIG board! It will look amazing and things won’t get too crowded.
  • Use the right knife for the right cheese. A knife with holes stops soft cheese from sticking; and for hard varieties, a cheese plane will shave off shards and protect fingers.
  • Provide more than one knife alongside the platter to avoid mixing all the different flavours together.

Olive Tapenade

Ingredients
2 1/2 cup Mixed Pitted Olives such as Black Kalamata, Green, drained 345g
2 Tbsp Capers, drained
2 Tbsp Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes, drained
1 Tbsp Garlic, chopped
1 tsp Oregano, dried
4 Tbsp Fresh Parsley Leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice – about 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A few grinds of black pepper

Instructions
In the bowl of a food processor, add the olives, capers, tomatoes, garlic, oregano,
parsley, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper.

  • For a relish, pulse a few times, then scrape down bowl. Pulse a few more times,
    and the relish will be ready.
  • For a chunky spread (pictured here), pulse up to 15-17 times, stopping to scrape
    down the bowl a few times.
  • For a spreadable tapenade, process until a paste is formed, stopping to scrape
    down the bowl a few times.

Garnish with parsley leaves and olive oil for drizzling.

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.