Ina Garten shared a no-cook mezze platter constructed from store-bought dips and snacks.The platter combines hummus, feta, olives, veggies and extra for a simple unfold.Wholesome, colourful and easy, it’s good for summer time internet hosting with out the range.
As a lot as we love the rewarding feeling that comes from spending hours within the kitchen placing collectively a scrumptious do-it-yourself dinner, we additionally admire the benefit of getting an inventory of recipes we will throw collectively in a pinch. In any case, there’s no higher technique to bond with mates and family members than sharing a meal collectively, and generally the very best mealtime moments begin with a spur-of-the-moment invite.
That’s why we’re loving the quick-and-easy appetizer Ina Garten shared on her Substack lately: a mezze platter, assembled with store-bought elements and some recent gadgets from the fridge, that appears beautiful *and* scrumptious.
“One of many issues I really like a couple of mezze platter is how everybody simply goes loopy if you carry it to the desk,” Garten says in her submit. “It’s so easy to arrange, nevertheless it all the time appears to be like extremely spectacular.”
Mezze is a time period that’s just like tapas—suppose Mediterranean appetizers served in a small-plate format. For those who’ve snacked on a basic tray of bites like hummus, olives and stuffed grape leaves, you’ve already had it, maybe with out figuring out the phrase.
Making the Barefoot Contessa’s mezze platter much more easy is the truth that she begins with a store-bought assortment of Mediterranean-inspired dips and snacks and clothes them up a bit by assembling them herself on a serving board with just a few additional elements. “I began with good-quality store-bought hummus, baba ganoush and feta, then dressed them up so that they didn’t look store-bought,” writes Garten.
Then it’s only a matter of filling within the board with some scrumptious dippers and different fast bites. For Garten, meaning savory olives, some toasted pita, cucumber, stuffed grape leaves and, as a closing contact, cherry tomatoes on the vine.
As a result of this platter of delights requires no range or oven, it’s the proper meal to throw collectively throughout scorching climate, too. And, whereas your grocery retailer could inventory a premade mezze platter, it’s fairly straightforward to seize the elements individually in the event that they don’t. To make a platter like Garten’s, hit your native grocery retailer looking for a premade platter or a choice of Mediterranean dips, cheeses and snacks that sound scrumptious to you.
We recommend a flavorful hummus, some feta cheese and a choice of olives as a base, plus extras like baba ganoush (an eggplant-and-tahini-based dip), tabbouleh (a chopped salad with bulgur, herbs and veggies) and stuffed grape leaves.
So as to add your individual spin to the platter, add some greens like cucumbers or cherry tomatoes, and costume up the dips by including issues like recent pomegranate seeds or high-quality olive oil on high. Serve with scrumptious dipping implements like pita chips, recent bread or pita bread minimize into triangular factors. For those who need assistance filling issues out, you may all the time make a easy, no-cook dip like our 15-minute tahini dip or add grapes, one other favourite cheese or some sliced bell pepper to assist feed a crowd.
As an added bonus, a recent mezze platter packs numerous wholesome elements you may really feel proud serving your dinner friends. Hummus is excessive in fiber and nutritional vitamins, olives present heart-healthy fat and antioxidants and recent tomatoes will help enhance intestine well being and forestall coronary heart illness. However the supreme good thing about a recent mezze platter utilizing store-bought elements is its ease—merely throw every part collectively on a reasonably picket board and serve it to your friends. As soon as the scrumptious, colourful unfold is on the desk, all that’s left so that you can do is get pleasure from your self.
“It’s not fairly like sitting on a terrace on the Mediterranean, nevertheless it’s the following smartest thing,” Garten notes on the shut of her submit.
And we’d should agree. In actual fact, simply pondering of recent mezze has us craving different easy-and-delicious Mediterranean-inspired recipes, like our Sluggish Cooker Hen & Chickpea Soup or One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta.
