Shark Coochie, anyone?

Written by food blogger and digital manager, Varushka Padayachi – aka @Curry_For _Breakfast

Shark Coochie, or charcuterie if you’re feeling fancy, has probably been flooding your Insta feed of late. Vibrant photos of fruits and vegetables with crusty breads, creamy cheeses and cured meats as well as some of the more unconventional ingredients such as jelly beans, cookies and donuts. Having an eye-catching yet food safe charcuterie board to place your spoils atop has become just as important as the ingredients themselves. And why not? It may be a trend but it’s also a great way to eat, it encourages sharing and stimulates conversation. There’s something for everyone and it pairs well with most drink choices from beer to wine to gin.

There has been a lot of conjecture of late about what constitutes an ‘authentic’ charcuterie board. The word charcuterie literally translates to products of a pork butcher but in modern times the word has come to encapsulate a style of eating and numerous ingredients, not just pork.

Charcuterie boards are all about combining complementary flavours and a variety of textures. But if you hit dessert charcuterie, you’ll know you’ve gone too far.

Say cheese!

Start your board with the cheeses you want to feature. I always ensure I have a soft cheese such as brie or camembert; a hard cheese such as cheddar, Manchego or my new personal favourite everyday cheese, white gouda; and then something of an acquired taste such as chevre or a blue like gorgonzola.

Jam and ham

Once you have your cheeses you can move on to meats. I always include a salami. Also try Bresaola, which pairs especially well with red wines, or mortadella. Your meats don’t have to contain pork, there are also options such as turkey breast, smoked chicken or smoked trout. If you’re vegetarian or vegan leave out the meats altogether or opt for a vegan cold cut, I really love the Gudness brand of plant-based cold cuts.

Then move on to your preserves. Here it’s really about what looks and tastes good to you but there are some guidelines I use. Blue cheese usually pairs well with a citrus preserve such as kumquat marmalade. The creaminess of chevre lends itself to vinegary pickled beetroot; and onion marmalade is a stock standard on my charcuterie board.

Recently, I cooked up a very easy and delicious bacon jam recipe which will pair well with gouda or brie and you can also use it on burgers and sandwiches.

Bacon Jam

1 packet of streaky bacon diced up

1 red onion diced

2 cloves of garlic chopped

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup maple syrup (it’s difficult to get real maple syrup in SA so you can use maple flavoured syrup or a full cup of brown sugar instead)

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

-          Fry the bacon in a pot with a little oil.

-          Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel but leave some of the bacon fat behind in the pan.

-          Fry the onion and garlic

-          Add the bacon back into the pot

-          On a medium heat add the sugar, maple syrup and vinegar and stir

-          Simmer the jam on a medium heat until syrupy.

-          You can test if the jam is ready by coating the back of a spoon and dragging a finger through the liquid. If the liquid stays put the jam is ready.

-          Spoon into a sterilised jar.

-          You can keep the jam for up to a week in the fridge.

Fresh

Now you can add fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. I like the crunch of carrots, celery and cucumber on my boards. But I also try to feature fruit and veg that are in season. Depending on the time of year I add strawberries, blueberries, cherries, mange tout, pineapple or mango. You can also use dried fruit. And one thing I can’t do without on my charcuterie board is tomatoes. Remember to always salt your tomatoes before adding to your board, this intensifies the flavour and removes excess liquid.

Bread ahead

Every charcuterie board needs an accompanying bread basket. You may like to add some crackers to the actual board and it’s really all about preference. I like to choose as plain a cracker as possible because you want to highlight the flavours of the cheeses, preserves and meats. But it’s great to have variety. Bread sticks always go down a treat, or a fresh baguette or pretzel rolls. Crusty breads are always better for charcuterie but flatbreads such as a toasted naan or pita bread also work very well especially with dips like hummus.

Once you have a beautiful yet functional charcuterie board the choice of what to put on it is all yours. Be creative, have fun and enjoy!

Feeling inspired to build your charcuterie board?

Before you can put Varushka’s tips into action, you need to get your hands on a classy serving platter … and we’ve the perfect one in our Decor Boutique…