Pull out a big platter or board, gather up assorted dips and spread, vegetables and breads, and assemble it in a matter of minutes. This snacking style of dining, standard practice throughout Greece, Turkey, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East, is called mezze. I make platters like these all year long, but appreciate them most during the summer months. Here I’m offering up assorted tips and ideas for how to make a mezze platter, along with a recipe for muhammara (one of my favorites when it comes to mezze)
More about Mezze
Mezze (or meze) is an assortment of small dishes eaten as appetizers or a light meal. Its contents vary by region, but the concept of grazing on a board filled with savory goodies remains the same. Dips and spreads, such as hummus, yogurt, and baba ganoush are commonplace. You might also find muhammara, a red pepper and walnut spread that’s packed with flavor without being too spicy. Some type of bread, such as pita or lavash, is standard, along with things like olives, cheeses, tabbouleh, fresh and pickled vegetables, and fruits.
How to Make Mezze at Home
It’s truly easy to assemble a mezze platter at home using ordinary supermarket ingredients. I aim for a combination of flavors and textures: creamy, crunchy, fresh, pickled, dried, savory and sweet. My general rules of thumb, depending on how many people you’re serving, is to have two to three dips or spreads, one cheese, a few fresh vegetables, one to two pickled items, fresh or dried fruit (or both), and bread. Here’s a step-by-step:
- Start with couple of spreads, such as hummus, baba ganoush,vyogurt, and muhammara. You can make your own or find store-bought options.
- Add a favorite cheese. Feta is widely available and tasty with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of fresh or dried herbs.
- Include flavorful olives or another pickled vegetable, such as artichoke hearts or peppers.
- Cut up raw vegetables that are good for dipping, such as cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, fennel, and radishes.
- Include a suitable bread to scoop up all the goodies, such as pita or lavash. These are delicious when lightly brushed with olive oil and either warmed in the oven or on a grill.
- Add dried fruits, such as dates, figs, or apricots, or fresh fruit, such as grapes, melon, or pears.
- Set out a stack of napkins to manage messy hands.
Mezze Short Cuts
The beauty of mezze is that there is no exact formula for what goes on your platter, in what ratio, and how much. You can do it all 100 percent yourself or lean on store-bought items, such as hummus, olive tapenade, or baba ganoush. Hit the olive bar your grocery store for pickled goodies and pick up pre-cut veggies or baby carrots to save even more time. You can always fling open the refrigerator and start foraging for little bits of this and that. It’s an excellent way to clean out the fridge.
Example of Mezze to Serve 4-5
Mezze is easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but festive enough to serve special guests. Use the ingredients listed as a starting point with room to swap in other dips, vegetables, or fruits depending on what’s in season and what you have on hand. Scale the amounts up or down depending on how many are seated at your table.
- 1/2 cup kalamata or other flavorful olives
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt stirred with a pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil
- 1 cup hummus
- 1 cup Easy Muhammara (recipe below)
- ⅔ of an English cucumber, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 large carrot, cut on the diagonal into slices
- A small bunch of grapes
- 4 ounces feta cheese, broken into pieces, lightly drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of herbs
- 3 pita breads, quartered, brushed lightly with olive oil, and warmed in the oven
Set out a large platter or generous cutting board. Put the olives, yogurt, hummus, and muhammara in small dishes and add to the platter. Arrange the cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, grapes, and feta on the platter. Fill in with the warm pita just before serving.
Easy Muhammara
Ingredients
- One 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained well
- 3/4 cup walnut halves
- 1/2 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses or 1 ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar + 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
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Put all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until nicely blended, but not completely pureed, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.