Secret Garden Elegant Starter (Print)

An elegant starter featuring delicate cubes of cheese nestled among microgreens and edible flowers.

# Ingredients:

→ Cheeses

01 - 3.5 oz aged cheddar, cut into small cubes
02 - 3.5 oz goat cheese, cut into small cubes
03 - 3.5 oz Gruyère, cut into small cubes

→ Greens & Flowers

04 - 2.6 oz microgreens (pea shoots, radish greens, or mixed micro herbs)
05 - 1 cup edible flowers (nasturtiums, pansies, violets, borage, calendula, etc.)

→ Garnish & Extras

06 - 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional, for drizzling)
07 - Flaky sea salt, to taste
08 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# Directions:

01 - Distribute the cheese cubes evenly on a large serving board or platter, leaving space between the different types.
02 - Scatter microgreens generously over the cheese cubes to partially obscure them.
03 - Nestle edible flowers among the microgreens to create a vibrant, garden-like presentation.
04 - Lightly drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the greens and flowers if desired.
05 - Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
06 - Present immediately, encouraging guests to forage beneath the foliage for cheese cubes.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It feels fancy without demanding you actually cook anything, which means you can focus on the fun of arranging instead of the stress of timing.
  • Your guests get to interact with the food as they eat, discovering pockets of creamy, aged, and tangy cheese under a living garden of flavors.
  • Edible flowers are your secret weapon for making people pause and ask for your recipe, even though you technically did almost nothing.
02 -
  • Buy your edible flowers from a specialty grower or farmers' market, never from a florist—florists spray their flowers with pesticides that are absolutely not food-safe, and this is not a shortcut worth taking.
  • Arrange this board as close to serving time as possible because microgreens will start to wilt once they're exposed to the warmth of the room, and wilted greens lose their snap and charm.
03 -
  • Keep edible flowers in the refrigerator with a barely damp paper towel until the last moment—they'll hold their color and structure better, and they'll taste fresher too.
  • If you're serving this for a large gathering, make the board on a piece of parchment paper you can slide onto a bigger platter at the last second, which lets you prep in the kitchen without the cheese sweating under warm room lights.
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