It feels as though some things never really lose their novelty, no matter how far into adulthood you get. Grazing platters – those huge spreads of crudités, crackers, cured meats, cheese, berries, jams, etc – are easily one of those things for me. How could they get old? They’re a vision of abundance, a self-serve station of fatty, salty, fresh and crunchy, from which you can come and go as you please like a cud-chewing animal who knows how to hold a glass of wine.
But platters can be fairly pricey, especially on top of drinks, decorations and the rest of a festive meal. Doing a grazing spread on a budget takes a bit of strategising – whether that means making a few things yourself, checking out discount options and “reduced to clear” sections or bulking out your offerings with low-cost crowd-pleaser items.
Some ground rules
Karina Venezia, owner of La Paparedda catering company in Sydney, says people tend to cleave to the classics when it comes to platters. She usually aims to include three to four cheeses: “a blue vein or a gorgonzola, a brie or a camembert … and then a couple of hard cheeses” such as “a truffle cheese, a manchego or a jarlsberg or pecorino”.
For meats, Venezia likes a San Daniele prosciutto, then a mild salami and a mortadella or wagyu bresaola. Fruit is next – summer’s in-season grapes, figs and berries make great additions with minimal chopping time – as well as antipasti and dips. Fill in gaps with nuts or chocolates, then add a few crackers such as lavosh or wafer crackers. Venezia also likes to include a loaf of bread alongside platter orders.
Each of the platters below is about 2.5kg of food, which should be plenty for eight people as a substantial starter.
The $20 platter
As students, my friends and I would try to put together a picnic for under $15 each time we hung out. Part of it was that we were skint. Part of it was that we were obsessed with Oulipo, a group of mid-20th century writers whose goal was to create under constraints – for example, Georges Perec’s La Disparition, a novel written without the letter E. In the spirit of Oulipo, think of a budget as a creative stimulus.
To come in at just 14c over budget, a few extra steps are involved. I bought feta from Aldi and 200g of the cheapest olives, then cubed the feta and marinated everything in a mixture of olive oil, dried herbs, chilli flakes, strips of lemon peel and a squeeze of lemon juice.
I also made hummus using canned chickpeas – at $1.10, it’s a fraction of the cost of buying ready-made.
All you need is lemon juice, garlic, salt and tahini, which most households will have already. Dress it up with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. People may get mad at me for saying this, but if you don’t have tahini, you will still have a perfectly fine chickpea dip without it. Or pull a Nigella and add peanut butter.
Venezia’s verdict? “I would suggest removing the baguette and maybe the carrot and cucumber from the $20 option, as you’ve already got the crackers, and [instead] include cabanossi.”
Carrot 200g – $0.60
Radish bunch – $1.99
Cucumber 300g – $1.00
Tinned chickpea hummus – $1.10
Olives 200g – $3.40
Aldi feta 200g – $2.99
Aldi brie 125g – $2.49
Aldi salami 100g – $2.39
Water crackers 125g – $0.89
Eton crackers 225g – $1.39
Baguette 330g – $1.90
Total cost: $20.14
The $50 platter
While the $20 platter is a little lighter on meat and cheese than Venezia recommends, the $50 is more robust. This platter manages to hit the three-cheese minimum, with a soft cheese, a blue and a beer-infused cheddar, but is a couple of dollars over budget. If you’re hoping not to spend a cent more than $50, supporting characters such as the radishes, cucumber or baguette can go.
The mid-tier option has a little more variety and doesn’t rely on filling out with bread and crudites to feed eight. At this price point, you can afford to check out specialty delis and greengrocers for distinguishing touches: roasted tomatoes, nicer olives, the fancy crackers with dried fruit in them, or accompaniments to your cheese such as jams or fruit pastes.
Venezia says: “I would include an Australian prosciutto rather than the cabanossi, as this is still a premium item but at a much lower price and looks great too.”
Radish bunch $1.99
Cucumber $1.00
Sicilian olives 150g $3.75
Dari baba ganoush 200g $3.99
Roasted tomatoes 150g $4.18
Fig pomegranate jam $5.49
Hunter Belle beer cheese 140g $7.99
President double brie 120g $4.43
Bleu cremeux 120g $4.79
Cabanossi 100g $2.40
Fennel soppressa 150g $5.99
Specialty cracker 100g $3.49
Baguette 330g $1.90
Water crackers 125g $0.89
Total cost: $52.28
The $100 platter
This, honestly, is playing on easy mode. At $100, you can splash out on serrano ham – or substitute other jamon or prosciutto – as well as truffled salami, teeny marinated fish, bocconcini (for little caprese skewers) and three-month aged manchego. If your budget has some give to it, you could even opt for the 12-month aged.
At this price point, it becomes exceedingly easy to make your platter look opulent. The “leaves” of rosemary flatbread and the contrasting, angular shapes of the darker rye sourdough cracker, as well as the glistening deep-hued berries scattered about the spread, are sure to impress.
Venezia had no notes for me on this one. Nice.
Blackberries 170g $3.50
Blueberries 170g $3.29
Tomato punnet 250g $3.49
Basil bunch $3.20
Quince paste 200g $5.99
Pilpel hummus 200g $3.99
Zanetti bocconcini $10.49
Manchego 150g $7.95
Chevre 150g $8.99
Bleu cremeux 130g 5.19
Serrano ham 150g $7.50
Truffle salami 150g $7.50
RM white sardines 200g $12.99
Rosemary flatbread cracker 130g $8.99
Sourdough cracker 200g $3.99
Pastry twist 150g $3.49
Total cost: $100.54
