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How to build an Italian-inspired grazing board

Transport yourself to Italy with our delicious grazing board, loaded with fuss-free nibbles that can be thrown together at a moment's notice. Put the beers on ice, gather friends and tuck in. Salute!

  1. Bruschetta, two ways

    One loaf, two toppings: meaty mortadella with creamy ricotta, and salty anchovies with juicy tomatoes. The perfect snack to start a summer's evening.

    Ingredients:
    1 white stone-baked baguette​

    For the mortadella and ricotta topping​​
    50g chilli relish​​
    80g ricotta​​
    3 slices (about 60g) mortadella​
    handful of rocket​​

    For the anchovy and tomato topping​​
    18 cherry tomatoes, chopped​​​
    140g pack marinated anchovies​
    basil leaves, roughly torn (optional)​

    Method

    1. Heat the oven to gas 6, 200˚C, fan 180˚C. Cut the baguette in half widthways. Cut one half into 12 slices and place on a baking tray. Cut the remaining piece of baguette in half lengthwise and place, cut-side up, on the tray. Toast in the oven for 7-8 mins until lightly golden, then set aside to cool.​

    2. Cut the 2 large pieces of baguette into 3 smaller pieces. Spread a sixth of the relish across each cut side of bread, then spread over the ricotta and top with half a torn slice of mortadella each. Scatter over some rocket to serve.

    3. Top the small baguette slices with the cherry tomatoes, a few anchovies and some of the roasted red pepper and olives from the anchovy pack. Season well and scatter over the basil, if using.​

    Bruschetta, two ways

    Each serving contains

    • Energy

      870kj
      207kcal       10%

    • Fat

      6g 9%

    • Saturates

      2g 9%

    • Sugars

      25g 27%

    • Salt

      1g 16%

    of the reference intake
    Carbohydrate 25.9g Protein 10.3g Fibre 2.2g

  2. Mozzarella, nectarine and tomato salad

    Take your mozzarella to the next level in this simple salad, bursting with summer flavours.

    Ingredients
    60g bag rocket
    30g pack fresh basil
    1 ripe nectarine, destoned and thinly sliced​
    100g cherry tomatoes, halved​
    250g ball mozzarella​ (125g drained weight)
    ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar​

    Method
    Arrange the rocket and basil on part of the board and scatter over the nectarine and cherry tomatoes.​ Tear up the mozzarella and arrange on top. Drizzle over balsamic vinegar to serve.​

    Mozzarella, nectarine and tomato salad

    Each serving contains

    • Energy

      275kj
      66kcal       3%

    • Fat

      4g 6%

    • Saturates

      3g 14%

    • Sugars

      2g 3%

    • Salt

      0.2g 3%

    of the reference intake
    Carbohydrate 2.5g Protein 4.6g Fibre 0.8g

  3. Veggie antipasti skewers​

    These no-cook, 3-ingredient nibbles are so simple to make!

    Ingredients​
    6 cherry tomatoes, halved​
    220g artichoke antipasti​
    12 basil leaves

    Method​
    Thread 6 skewers with 2 cherry tomato halves, 2 artichokes and 2 basil leaves each, alternating to give different colours along the skewer.

    Veggie antipasti skewers​

    Each serving contains

    • Energy

      195kj
      47kcal       2%

    • Fat

      4g 5%

    • Saturates

      0g 2%

    • Sugars

      1g 1%

    • Salt

      0.5g 9%

    of the reference intake
    Carbohydrate 1.7g Protein 0.9g Fibre 1.7g

  4. The final touches

    Bring your board together with a few extra nibbles, if you like. These ideas are optional extras, but are so easy to assemble and require no cooking!

    •  Mix up a quick pesto dip with 3 parts Greek yogurt, 1 part pesto and a grating of lemon zest to serve with breadsticks

    •  Decant marinated olives into ramekins

    •  Serve almonds with a sprinkle of sea salt

  5. Style it right

    Try some of these easy styling tips to give your grazing board extra wow-factor.

    •  When assembling your food on the board, try to separate colours, rather than grouping them together.

    •  If you don't have a wooden board large enough, a mix of platters, trays or even greaseproof paper would work equally well.

    •  Use any leftover basil, lemon wedges and rocket to garnish and fill in any gaps.