One of my favorite parts of hosting is creating a beautiful cheese plate or elaborate charcuterie board to serve my guests – this cheese and olive plate is one of my favorites. Sometimes I spend a long time preparing the ingredients, placing them artfully on the board, and decorating with pretty garnishes; while other times, I throw together a quick plate with what I have on hand in just a few minutes.
This cheese and olive plate is one of those quick preparations. Don’t get me wrong, just because it takes a few minutes and fewer ingredients, it can still have a wow factor to impress and delight your guests. This recipe is more of a guideline, and all ingredients can be swapped for what you have on hand for a last-minute gathering or impromptu date night.
The key things to keep in mind are to include a subtle fruit like grapes, berries, or apple or pear slices; small raw vegetables like cherry tomatoes, sliced mini cucumbers, or coined carrots; a salty and briny component like olives or pickles; a mix of mild semi-hard cheeses (like cheddar or gouda), a hard cheese (like manchego or parmesan), a soft cheese (like brie, camembert, or goat cheese), and a flavorful cheese (like blue or gorgonzola); salty nuts (like pistachios, marcona almonds, or walnuts); some type of cracker or quality bread; something to dip or drizzle like honey/honeycomb, or even a delicious mustard; an herb sprig for garnish. Again, this is just a guideline, so be creative and use whatever ingredients you want to!
For a cocktail party or casual get together, this cheese plate can be the star of the show accompanied by a glass of white wine or a delicious dirty martini.
Cheese and Olive Plate
Ingredients
- 2 oz semi-hard cheese (like cheddar or gouda)
- 2 oz hard cheese (like manchego or parmesan)
- 2 oz blue cheese or gorgonzola
- 2 oz soft cheese (like brie, camembert, or goat cheese)
- 1/2 cup pickles or olives
- 1-2 cups fruit (like grapes, berries, or apple or pear slices)
- 1 cup sliced vegetables (cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, or carrots)
- 4 oz crackers (like fig and olive crackers, croccantini crackers, or woven wheat crackers)
- 1 small loaf French bread or fresh pita, warm
- 1/2 cup nuts (like pistachios, marcona almonds, or walnuts)
- 1-2 sprigs herbs (like thyme, rosemary, or basil)
Directions
- As a general guideline for assembling a quick cheese plate, start with the cheese, place any items that are in smaller dishes (like dips and olives) in some of the larger open spaces, then add in the fruit and vegetables, layer in the crackers, fill in the gaps with nuts, and garnish with a fresh herb sprig. Some additional dips for assembly include:
- First place the cheeses so they aren’t touching. Fan out the sliced cheese and crumble some of the softer cheese.
- Put any items that could spread or leak into their own small dishes. This includes honey and any other dips. You can also place olives in small dishes so that they can be drizzled with olive oil, if desired.
- Cut the grapes into smaller bunches so they’re easier to take from the plate. Red grapes provide a dark balance to the lighter colored cheese. If you aren’t using grapes, blueberries and blackberries have the same effect. Place the fruit and vegetables as separators between the different types of cheese.
- If you’re adding crackers directly to the board, fan them out so they’re easy to grab and add some fullness to the board. Otherwise you can serve the crackers on the side on a small plate. If you’re serving with bread instead, a warm french bread or soft pita are both great options. Torn pieces of bread create an organic look to the presentation.
- Lastly, fill in any open spaces on the plate with nuts of your choosing. The plate should look abundant but not chaotic. Garnish with an herb sprig and enjoy!
