Charcuterie Board Crostini
A whole mini charcuterie board served on a toasted crostini! These cute little snacks on bread are the perfect thing to make for a small get together towards the end of the year. I say small, because it is a bit of work putting them together, but if you had them as a first course for an intimate Friendsgiving or passed them around at a small holiday party, they would go over so well!
The inspiration for this recipe
I have had this idea stuck in my head for several years now but I held back for a few reasons. Obviously one reason was making these little charcuterie boards on a crostini would be tedious. Another reason is would it even taste that great? The whole concept seems sort of dry. The third reason was, would I even be able to make them look good? In the end, I was very happy with how they looked, and they tasted better than I expected! They were still tedious though of course!
Prep the charcuterie board toppings
I made mini wedges of cheese by putting two slices of provolone on top of each other, cutting a wheel out of them, and then cutting them into triangles.
Toast and dress the crostini
I brushed the bread with olive oil and toasted it under the broiler on both sides. French bread was perfect for this crostini because it was a little wider and rounder than a baguette and could hold all the toppings and look like a charcuterie board. After you toast it, brush it with a garlic clove, and spread on a base of fig paste. The paste not only adds a lot of flavor, but helps all the toppings stay in place!
Mini mushrooms and crackers
I bought these beech mushrooms to be tiny on the crostini and they looked nice. Later on I read that they are not great to eat raw and could cause stomach issues. You could bake them a bit or pickle them if you still wanted to use them. I also got mini oyster crackers, and some tiny lentils to look like olives.
Build the mini charcuterie board on the crostini
I looked through a bunch of photos of charcuterie boards to try and get it to look good. This is what I ended up with. I was thinking though, a pickle would be nice on here. A cornichon sliced into rounds. I used tobiko to look like grapes
Serving the charcuterie board crostini
Another downside to making charcuterie board crostini is that you don’t want to put them into the fridge after making them, so its more of a last minute task. Maybe if I did really want them and made them ahead, I would only toast the top, add the toppings, then put them into the fridge, and pan fry the bottom in some oil before serving.
Either way, they came out awesome, looked great, and tasted good too! There are so many different toppings you could use to make them even better!
Twists on this recipe
The tobiko as “grapes” might be controversial for people. I don’t think they taste very fishy personally, but they do have a smell. I would love to make these charcuterie board crostini again soon with cornichons and maybe some mozzarella pearls. You could also do a soft cheese as the base instead of the fig paste.
I mentioned above, but I took the beech mushrooms out of this recipe because you really shouldn’t eat them raw.
For more fun and unique holiday appetizers, check out my deviled egg christmas trees, this crab rangoon cheesecake, or this cheesecake cream puff!
Charcuterie Board Crostini
Ingredients
- 1/2 loaf french bread
- olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons fig paste
- 2 slices provolone cheese
- 1 slice Munster cheese
- 3 slices salami
- 1 slice prosciutto
- 32 oyster crackers
- optional crispy lentils
- optional red or green tobiko
- optional sunflower seeds
- optional other meats or cheeses
- optional cornichon
- optional mozzarella pearls
Instructions
- Preheat broiler to high.
- Slice the french bread into 8 thin rounds and place them on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with olive oil.
- Toast the bread under the broiler, flipping once to cook evenly on both sides.
- When they come out of the oven, cut a small piece off of the garlic clove, then rub the garlic over the bread on the cut side to add garlic flavor to the bread.
- Add about a tablespoon of fig paste to each crostini and spread it thin.
- Stack the provolone slices on top of each other, then cut out small rounds. Cut the rounds into 6 wedges. Add 3 or 4 wedges to each crostini. See photos above for help
- Cut the munster into very small squares. Arrange about 4 squares on each crostini.
- Slice the salami and make very small and tight roll-ups with it. Add 3 or 4 rolls to each crostini.
- Cut or tear the prosciutto into small pieces and add to each crostini.
- Add 4 crackers to the crostini. Add any of the optional ingredients you want. Again, look at the photos above for inspiration on how to arrange everything.
- Add the crostini to a serving platter and serve!