3 Prosciutto Charcuterie Board Ideas For Spring
If you haven’t taken a peek outside of your chosen quarantine arrangement, you might have missed the fact that temperatures are on the rise once again. Birds have mostly returned to their chirping ways, and that front lawn has finally regained some color.
Spring is officially knocking on our door. So as you open up the windows and spend some time soaking in the mild sun, it’s a great time to think about how to flex those creative culinary muscles with a new season’s bounty. Today we’ll cover 3 amazing prosciutto charcuterie board ideas that are sure to embody the springtime spirit.
The Garden Board
One of the quintessential elements of spring is the reemergence of color in nature. Flowers start to make appearances in gardens around the neighborhood. Farmer’s Markets pop up with the first harvest pulls of seasonal favorites.
To embody this, consider putting together a Garden Board. This creation aims to be the envy of all the local horticulturists without showing your brown thumb.
Start, of course, with your Prosciutto. This is a great opportunity to practice making some cured meat roses to feature in your Garden Board. To complement the King of cured meat, add in a hefty amount of Farmer’s Cheese or Fresh Cut Mozzarella that provides a refreshing texture and mild flavor.
Finally, the biggest step will be piling on the colorful produce. Put a huge emphasis on the vibrance and variety of the fruits and vegetables you include.
Make a spin on Italy’s favorite duet: Prosciutto e Melone by adding a variety of fresh-cut cantaloupe and honeydew. Cut thin wedges or shave ribbons of honeydew to easily add a bit of sweetness to every bite.
Of course with all that sweetness, you’ll need some savory options to keep everything well balanced. Keep the color theme going with some fresh vegetables that accentuate the colors you’ve already selected. Great options for this portion include red bell pepper, sliced radishes, and briny green olives. By the time you’re done adding your preferred cracker or crunchy bread, you’ll have a board that’s been properly dragged through the garden.
The Hive Board
If flowers start to bloom again, it’s safe to assume that bees will once again return in kind. These environmentally crucial insects are the inspiration for what we’d like to call The Hive Board. This charcuterie board idea is built up around honey as the primary sweet factor. Much like how the hive revolves around the Queen Bee, this board incorporates any elements that can synergize with the natural sweetness of honey (feature honey from a local beekeeper for extra satisfaction).
Using an artisan cured prosciutto will help you in delivering a smooth and rich texture and earthy taste to cut through all the sweetness. Pairing a crisp Rosé wine salame will provide a bright, fruity balance to the floral honey. Be sure to add some crunch with house-toasted almonds and hazelnuts.
Make the board shine by establishing a focal point to draw guests in. A wheel of brie topped with honey and some of the leftover toasted nuts is the perfect salty-sweet anchor for your charcuterie plate. As for presentation, laying your charcuterie board ingredients out in roughly hexagonal patterns will help bring the idea of a “hive” to the forefront.
The Easter Board
For our last springtime suggestion, we’re reimagining a staple in American homes around the early weeks of April: the Chocolate Bunny. For this board, we’ll start the same as the others with a classic, traditional prosciutto aged at least 12 months. Then we’ll pair it with some sharp cheese options that complement its melt-in-your-mouth texture. Choose an aged provolone or grana padano to provide elements of salty and nutty notes. Once we’ve got that foundation set, then the fun can begin.
Most milk chocolate (like the kind you get in a classic bunny around this time of year) can be too rich to pair properly with everything else. Instead, seek out dark chocolate with raw cacao notes to avoid oversaturating the dairy additions.
Dark chocolate has a higher concentration of cacao, the principal ingredient in chocolate. The higher the percentage of cacao, the more bittersweet the chocolate will taste. This flavor can help add more balance to all the other board offerings. Add a layer of texture by choosing a piece of chocolate with chopped hazelnuts interspersed.
The Perfect Springtime Prosciutto Charcuterie Board Ideas
These were just a few different creative ways to liven up your boards as spring begins to take shape. However, it’s always a best practice to create the board that you’re going to love the most! Try out different products and explore other charcuterie board ideas to keep your artisanal journey going.
