Plateau de fromages et charcuterie Grecs
Equipment
- 1 planche à découper
- Couteaux
- Plateau de service
Ingredients
- 150 gr feta
- 150 gr graviera
- 150 gr kefalotyri
- 150 gr kasseri
- 150 gr louza filet de porc séché
- 150 gr pastourma boeuf séché aux épices
- 100 gr olives noires kalamata
- 100 gr olives vertes
- 50 gr poivrons rouges marinés
- 50 gr tomates séchées
- 50 gr noix
- 1 concombre tranché
- 1 poignée raisins
- 1 poignée figues fraîches
- 1 pain pita coupé en triangles
- 1 baguette de pain tranchée
Instructions
- Préparer les fromages : Coupez la feta, le graviera, le kefalotyri et le kasseri en morceaux de taille appropriée pour être facilement dégustés. Disposez-les sur un plateau de service en les espaçant bien.
- Préparer les charcuteries : Tranchez finement la louza et le pastourma. Disposez-les sur le plateau à côté des fromages.
- Ajouter les accompagnements : Répartissez les olives kalamata et vertes, les poivrons rouges marinés, les tomates séchées et les noix sur le plateau.
- Ajouter les fruits et légumes : Ajoutez les tranches de concombre, les raisins et les figues fraîches sur le plateau.
- Ajouter les pains : Disposez les triangles de pain pita et les tranches de baguette autour du plateau.
- Servir : Présentez le plateau de fromages et charcuterie grecs à vos invités. Accompagnez-le éventuellement de miel grec, de confiture de figues ou de noix pour un goût sucré-salé.
Video
Nutrition
An Invitation to Greek Tasting
The Greek cheese and charcuterie platter embodies the generosity and diversity of Hellenic gastronomy. With its authentic ingredients, it pays tribute to culinary traditions handed down from generation to generation. Tasty, nourishing and convivial, it’s a natural choice for aperitifs and more festive meals alike.
The Cheese and Charcuterie Platter and Greek Culture
A Symbol of Greek Conviviality
The Greek cheese and charcuterie platter is much more than a simple assortment. It embodies the Mediterranean art of living. In Greece, every meal is a time for sharing. Families and friends gather around the table to share, laugh and enjoy. This platter is the perfect expression of this spirit of hospitality. The products are generously presented, inviting everyone to pick, taste and share without constraint.
Living Culinary Transmission
Every cheese, every slice of charcuterie tells a story. These products are much more than local specialties. They reflect a heritage carefully handed down from generation to generation. When you taste them, you discover the flavours of an authentic Greece. Family traditions, artisan methods and ancient recipes come together in this platter. It becomes a living testimony to Greece’s culinary heritage.
A Celebration of Local Terroir
The products on this platter are the result of regional know-how. The sheep’s and goat’s milk comes from family farms, often located in the heart of the countryside. As for the charcuterie, it’s made with spices and herbs typical of the region. By choosing these ingredients, you are supporting a sustainable local economy. You’re also helping to promote a region rich in tradition. In this way, each bite pays homage to the land and the men and women who cultivate it.
Essential Ingredients
Greek cheeses: a palette of flavours
Cheeses play a central role in Greek gastronomy. Each variety has its own history, unique texture and specific flavor. This platter offers a well-balanced selection, ideal for satisfying all palates.
Feta: Greece’s emblematic cheese, feta is made from sheep’s or goat’s milk. It has a crumbly texture and a pronounced salty taste. Very versatile, it can be eaten on its own, drizzled with olive oil, or combined with tomatoes, olives or fresh herbs.
Graviera: often compared to Gruyère, this hard cheese has a soft, slightly sweet taste. Produced mainly in Crete, it goes perfectly with dried fruit or nuts. Its ripening gives it a melt-in-the-mouth texture, ideal for balancing the platter.
Kefalotyri: A hard cheese with a stronger taste, kefalotyri is perfect for grilling. It is used in the famous Greek dish, saganaki. Its intense flavor and firm consistency create a pleasant contrast with milder cheeses.
Kasseri: semi-hard, both mild and slightly tangy, it melts easily and can be enjoyed hot or cold. Its delicate taste makes it accessible even to those discovering Greek cheeses for the first time.
By combining these four cheeses varieties, you offer a diversity of textures and flavors. This blend ensures a rich tasting experience that’s both traditional and accessible.
Greek charcuterie: deep, warm flavours
Greek charcuterie, often less well known internationally, deserves a special place on this platter. Prepared in the traditional way, these meats are the fruit of ancestral know-how.
Louza: a Cycladic specialty, louza is an air-dried pork tenderloin. Seasoned with local spices and herbs, it develops a fine, slightly sweet and subtly smoky taste. Its tender texture and delicate aromas make it a refined option that pairs well with mild cheeses.
Pastourma: this beef delicatessen, originally from Asia Minor, is marinated and then dried for a long time. Coated with a blend of spices, including paprika, garlic and fenugreek, it offers a powerful, lingering flavor. Highly aromatic, it has a melt-in-the-mouth texture and a uniquely spicy taste.
By adding these Greek charcuterie products to the platter, you add a remarkable depth of flavor. They create a beautiful balance with the savory and dairy flavors of the cheeses. The result is both generous and harmonious, perfect for impressing your guests.
Preparing the Platter
Careful blending to delight the taste buds
The success of a Greek cheese and charcuterie platter depends not only on careful selection, but above all on harmonious presentation. Each ingredient must be brought to the fore, both visually and in terms of taste. It’s not simply a question of juxtaposing products, but of creating an aesthetic and sensory balance.
Start by cutting cheeses into easy-to-serve pieces. Choose a variety of shapes: cubes, thick slices, triangles or cubes. This diversity makes for a more dynamic platter. Next, arrange the cold meats, ideally in thin slices to release their aromas. Don’t hesitate to roll or fold them slightly to create volume.
And don’t forget the complementary products. Kalamata olives and pickled red peppers add an intense Mediterranean touch. Dried tomatoes, with their concentrated flavor, enrich the whole. Dried fruits such as walnuts, figs or grapes add texture and a natural sweetness that contrasts pleasantly with the saltiness of cheeses and meats.
Setting the scene to whet the appetite
Layout plays a fundamental role in the perception of the tray. Use a large tray or rustic plank, preferably made of wood, to accentuate the traditional look. Place the elements in such a way as to avoid clutter, while maintaining an impression of generosity.
Alternate colors, shapes and textures to catch the eye. White products, such as kasseri, contrast elegantly with the darker hues of pastourma or olives. Arrange moist elements (pickled peppers, dried tomatoes) in small bowls to prevent them from moistening the cheeses. Finally, garnish with triangles of lightly toasted pita bread or thin slices of baguette to complete the presentation.
This attention to detail allows us to sublimate Greek products and offer your guests an experience that is as visual as it is tasty.
Nutritional Contributions of the Plateau
A Natural Source of Benefits
A Greek cheese and charcuterie platter doesn’t just seduce with its flavors. It also offers a wide range of nutritional benefits for the body. In addition to their rich taste, each ingredient has its own specific virtues.
Cheeses, for example, are an excellent source of calcium. This mineral is essential for strong bones and healthy teeth. They also contain complete proteins, necessary for healthy muscle function. Feta cheese, in particular, is also a source of probiotics, especially when produced by hand. These beneficial bacteria support balanced intestinal flora and promote optimal digestion.
Deli meats are high in quality protein. Although they are higher in fat and salt, their moderate consumption as part of a balanced meal allows you to benefit from their nutritional richness without excess. Pastourma, for example, is highly concentrated in iron and group B vitamins, which are useful for energy metabolism.
Virtuoso accompaniments
The products that surround cheese and cold meats also provide their share of nutrients. Olives, rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, support cardiovascular health. They also contain powerful antioxidants such as vitamin E, which protect cells from oxidative stress.
Nuts and dried fruit provide fiber, omega-3 and minerals such as magnesium and zinc. These elements help strengthen the immune system and stabilize energy levels throughout the day. Meanwhile, vegetables such as peppers and cucumbers add vitamins A and C, promoting good hydration and beautiful skin.
A Balanced and Gourmet Experience
So this platter is not just festive: it can also be part of a healthy diet. The judicious combination of the various elements makes it possible to combine pleasure and balance. By varying quantities, encouraging diversity and using fresh produce, you can create an aperitif that’s as nourishing as it is harmonious.
Tasting and Accompaniments
A Convivial and Refined Aperitif
The Greek cheese and charcuterie platter is an ideal starter for an aperitif with friends or a festive occasion. It’s an eye-catcher thanks to its colors, varied textures and generous abundance. From the very first bite, everyone is immersed in a rich, authentic and convivial experience. This type of platter encourages exchange and interaction around the table. It perfectly embodies the spirit of Greek cuisine: generous, accessible and focused on shared pleasure.
Perfect pairings with Greek beverages
To enhance this tasting experience, a few simple pairings can turn this platter into an unforgettable moment. A dry white wine from Santorini, with its marked minerality, is the ideal accompaniment to cheeses such as feta or graviera. On the other hand, a light red wine from the Peloponnese enhances the more intense flavors of charcuterie, especially pastourma. In summer, a glass of local rosé adds a fruity, refreshing note to the ensemble. For an even more local touch, the traditional ouzo, with its aniseed aromas, creates a typically Greek interlude. To be consumed in moderation, of course.
Mediterranean dips to enrich the assortment
To complete the platter, you can offer a few traditional Greek dips. Tzatziki, with its milky freshness and hints of garlic, goes perfectly with pita bread. Black olive tapenade adds a deep, salty touch. Homemade hummus or roasted eggplant cream (melitzanosalata) add roundness and sweetness. Thanks to these additions, the platter becomes more than a simple tasting experience: it’s enriched by new textures and broadens the taste experience.
An Authentic Greek Culinary Experience
More Than a Plateau, a Moment of Sharing
In Greece, gastronomy is more than just food. It’s an integral part of the art of living. The Greek cheese and charcuterie platter symbolizes this philosophy. It’s not something to be enjoyed on its own, but in a warm and welcoming setting. At a family meal or a get-together with friends, it becomes the central element around which conversations come alive. Each bite tells a story, each flavor evokes a place or a tradition.
Greek hospitality at the heart of the table
Serving a platter of local produce is an invitation to discover Greece in the authentic way. Whether in a seaside taverna or in the countryside, this dish is a must. It reflects Greek hospitality, where people are happy to share what they have. Even the generous portions are designed so that everyone can enjoy a little of everything. It’s no coincidence that this platter is often associated with festive or symbolic moments.
A Direct Connection with the Land
By choosing this type of assortment, you’re doing much more than delighting your guests. You’re promoting the work of passionate producers, often based in unspoilt rural areas. Each cheese, each charcuterie, each olive comes from a specific corner of Greece. By tasting them, you connect with a territory, a season, a know-how. This direct link with the land gives meaning to the taste experience.
Tarama | traditional cuisine | tzatziki | Recipe by Saganaki | Skiathos | Kefalonia | Hydra | Milos | Temple of Apollo | Paros | Olive oil | Lesvos | Recipe for saganaki | Tarama | Recipe for Keftedes | Greek yogurt | Tarama recipe | Rhodes | Thessaloniki | Greek honey | Figs | Honey The Tsikoudia |