Saturday Afternoon Platter - Red and Green Baby Bocconcini

Welcome to Saturday Afternoon Platter, platters and plates of food perfect for nibbling with that afternoon drink. Gin and tonic anyone? On my Facebook page this week I was having a discussion about the 'slice' that goes into a G&T. I have always been a slice of lime girl, with lemon an acceptable but definite second choice. However I was recently introduced to the grapefruit option and I love it. My preference is pink grapefruit but the standard yellow grapefruit is still wonderful. I have seen options for adding cucumber, I am yet to be convinced. What is your 'ice and a slice' preference?

Today I am sharing a recipe that is so super easy, you can get it together before the ice has even started to melt in the G&T! Coated bocconcini balls. Delicious soft mozzarella covered in spicy chilli and aromatic oregano.

These little balls pack a punch! They are super savoury so work well with sweet salty prosciutto and some bread. They have the added bonus that you don't want to eat too many of them, so a single pot of bocconcini will easily serve 4-6 people. And this is coming from a girl who could eat her weight in cheese, well maybe not! That would be an awful lot of cheese!!!!! But you know what I mean 😉

If you are not a lover of  spicy foods, then you might want to leave the chilli ones and just use oregano. Dried chives work wonderfully too. In fact these would work with a variety of dried herbs. Thyme, marjoram, sage and lovage (if you are lucky enough to find it. Or grow it yourself) would be great. Personally I don't like these with dried basil, I find it has an odd taste, somewhere between antiseptic and soap.

I like to serve this with prosciutto, but if you are serving vegetarians then some sweet cherry tomatoes halves would be a great alternative. You need the sweet hit to counter balance the savoury taste of the herbs/chilli. When buying prosciutto it is better to buy it off the deli counter as the pre-packed stuff is cut far too thick.

You want the prosciutto to be wafer thin, so just ask for very thin shaved slices and they will shave you however much you need. It isn't that clear in my photo but my prosciutto is too thick, I asked for thin, but I didn't specify shaved. It was Friday, I had a tired boy in tow and I didn't notice until I got home!

I probably should have twigged when my 12 slices was nearly 3 times as expensive as it usually is, a clear sign that each slice was thicker and heavier! Again I am blaming Friday! It is still delicious but it requires far more chewing and can't be easily ripped. That is how I like to eat this, a ball of mozzarella on a piece of bread, followed by a ripped off piece of prosciutto.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 pot of baby bocconcini (also called cherry bocconcini)
• 2 tsp dried red chilli flakes
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 12 slices of prosciutto (cut wafter thin)
• Bread (To serve)

1. Drain the pot of bocconcini.
2. Place the red chilli flakes into a small bowl and carefully roll half of bocconcini in the red chilli flakes.
3. Place the cheese onto your platter.
4. Take the remaining bocconcini and repeat the process but with the dried oregano.
5. Place the cheese on your platter and drizzle over a small amount of oil.
6. Serve with thin shaved prosciutto and fresh bread.