Everyone loves a charcuterie board and Christmas entertaining is the perfect time to make one up.
A simple yet effective way to add a bit more spirit to your charcuterie during Christmas is to make a charcuterie tree, or as I have nicknamed it charcute-tree!
Making a charcute-tree is not too different from making a regular charcuterie, you just need a little bit more time, and a few extra props.
Once you have got the idea down, this method could also be used to make a festive fruit platter, a vegetable tree, or even a lolly tree.
WHAT YOU NEED
-Styrofoam cone
-Toothpicks
-Alfoil or plastic wrap
-Cookie cutters
-Paring knife
-Cutting board
-Serving board
INGREDIENTS
Use whatever cheeses, meats and fruits you would normally choose for a charcuterie board, here’s what I chose:
-Cheddar
-Edam
-Brie
-Mild salami
-Kabana
-Strawberries
-Dried apricots
-Rosemary
-Crackers
-Cashews
-Quince paste
METHOD
1. Cover the styrofoam cone in alfoil or plastic wrap. I chose to use alfoil as it can be recycled when it is scrunched into a fist sized ball.
2. Cut up and prepare your ingredients. For the cheeses I cut them all differently so people could easily differentiate them. A fun way I added a bit of a Christmas vibe was to use a star cookie cutter for the cheddar, which I used on the tree and as a star. For the fruit I left the dried apricots whole because I thought they kind of looked like baubles and for the strawberries I cut them into starbursts. This is quite easy and an effective way to cut all kinds of round fruit. With a paring knife cut the top of the strawberry then turn it on its side and cut in a zig-zag pattern, sticking the knife about halfway through the fruit, once you have gone around the whole strawberry pull it apart and see the starburst. For the salami I folded each slice in half three times so they looked like little roses and with the kabana I chopped them into thick slices so they looked kind of like baubles.
3. Using the toothpicks, decorate your styrofoam cone with the cheese, meat and fruit so it looks like a Christmas tree. All you have to do is stab the piece of food with a toothpick then push that into the cone, leaving part of the toothpick out so people can easily serve themselves. I placed a cheddar star at the top and then started building the tree up randomly. You could do it in a more organised way, but I enjoyed a mismatched look.
4. Add the finishing touches and serve your charcute-tree. I used a sprig of rosemary for a bit of greenery to make it more tree-like and served it on a wooden board with crackers, cashews and quince paste. You could add fairy lights, other dips or even add more cheese, meat and fruit around the bottom to increase the serving size.
