The Art of Cheeseboards.

The Art of the Cheeseboard

One of the very best parts of entertaining, as far as I'm concerned, is the board. Whenever the girls and I are planning a night in, somebody always asks, "shall I bring the cheese?" It is never really a question. It is simply understood.

A good cheeseboard is far simpler to put together than people tend to think, provided you let good ingredients do the talking rather than crowding the board with too much of everything. My equation, more or less, comes down to this:

Hard cheese + soft cheese + funky cheese + crunchy and briny + sweet and tart + fresh and clean + dry and salty

International

• Reypenaer, an aged gouda with those lovely little salt crystals scattered through it

• Le Dauphin, a classic double cream

• Roquefort, sharp and creamy, best with a drizzle of honey over the top

• Sicilian green olives

• piccalilli pickle

• breakfast radish

• fresh sourdough with salted butter

Local

• cloth cheddar, crumbly and full of savoury depth

• whipped ricotta, wonderful for layering condiments straight onto it

• a washed rind, something nutty and smooth

• pickled dill cucumbers

• sherry onion jam

• raw zucchini, thinly sliced

• salted lavosh crackers

From there, build in more depth and interest, fresh herbs, nuts, seasonal fruit, local tin fish, cured sliced meat or a good pickle or two. Just be sure to leave enough space on the board for the cheese knives and spoons, since a beautiful board with nowhere to put the knife down rather defeats the purpose.