Halloween Charcuterie Board Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes
Serves: 6-8 people
Ingredients Needed
For Brie Eye
- 10 slices prosciutto
- 200g/7oz brie
- 1 large green olive, cut in half
- 1 pitted kalamata olive
- Red food colouring
For Halloween Cockroaches
- 6 Medjool dates
- 60g/2oz peanut butter
- 50g/1.7oz dark or bittersweet chocolate
For Rest of the Board
- 100g/3.5oz salami sausage, cut into slices
- Edible sugar eyes
- Crackers
- Blackberries
- Green kiwifruit, cut in half
- Dried apricots
- Blue cheese, half circle
- Vermicelli noodles, uncooked
- Stuffed green olives
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 COCKROACHES - First make the cockroaches. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Remove the pits from the dates (6 Medjool dates) and fill with peanut butter (60g/2oz). Freeze for 15 minutes (while they're freezing I do the rest of the charcuterie board). Then melt the chocolate (50g/1.7oz) and place half of it (25g/0.85oz) in a small piping bag or a ziplock bag.
Draw 6 ovals with a spoon with the rest of the chocolate (25g/0.85oz), just slightly smaller than the dates and then using the piping bag, draw legs sticking out of the oval. Add a date on the chocolate before it sets hard. Place back in the freezer for 5 minutes to set.
Step 2 EYE - Place the brie (200g/7oz) in the centre of the chopping board and layer prosciutto (6 slices) on the top eyelid (I place the fat side up). Then layer prosciutto (4 slices) on the bottom lid. With a small brush draw red veins in the eye. Then scoop out a little ball of cheese from the centre (I use a melon baller but a small knife also works). Make sure that the olives are completely dry. Place the kalamata olive (1 pitted kalamata olive) in the centre and the green olive halves (1 large green olive, cut in half) on each side. Draw veins on the green olives too.
Step 3 RATS & WORM - Cut the blue cheese into triangles and poke a curly piece of vermicelli noodle in the end. Cut salami (100g/3.5oz) into slices and arrange cascading pieces to form a worm. Add edible eyes on the end piece.
Step 4 FILL- With any gaps fill these in with crackers, fresh blackberries, dried apricots and stuffed green olives.
Personal Note
I made this Halloween Charcuterie Board for Mr NQN's nephew's birthday this past weekend. Finn was turning 6 years old and we were having our usual Elliott birthday picnic at Shelly Beach in Manly for his birthday. He always loves Halloween so this idea was perfect for him.
We noticed Mr NQN's brother Manu was off carrying a box in the distance. We wondered what he was doing and it turned out that he had found a bush turkey with a broken foot. He had called WIRES and was trying to capture it in a box for them. The Elliott siblings then went on a bush turkey chase. It was Mr NQN, Manu and Amaya and they tried to corner the bush turkey to put it in the box for WIRES.
It became quite a spectacle as they climbed up high rocks on the side and you'd think three against one bush turkey with a broken foot would be easy. But no, every time they got close to the bush turkey it eluded them. They gave up eventually as they had no idea when WIRES would arrive, if even they arrived that day!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like making charcuterie boards? Would you eat a chocolate cockroach?