CRUDITÉ CABIN WITH FOCACCIA FOUNDATIONS
Fear not, veggies! Here’s a savoury cabin just for you, made with raw vegetable roof tiles, olive penguins, a wasabi pea path and a nutty cabbage patch.
INGREDIENTS: 4 large loaves of speciality bread (focaccia, ciabatta, sourdough — anything sturdier than a sandwich loaf); 100g butter, packet of rectangular crackers (I used Ryvita); 3 packs (150g each) of Boursin cheese; 3 small logs (125g each) of goat’s cheese; 2 carrots; 2 bags of radishes; 1 large cucumber; and other assorted vegetables, nuts and fruit for decoration.
BUILDING TOOLS: Bread knife; butter knife; paring knife; cocktail sticks; large palette knife; piping bag; scissors; and tweezers.
FOUNDATIONS AND WALLS: I slice the bread into rectangular chunks 2cm thick and 10cm to 12cm long to form the chalet walls. Using butter as glue, I stick them together in an alternating pattern to look like different colours of wood.
Once I have a row of three or four slices, I thread a couple of cocktail sticks through them to hold them in place. I use ten slices in total for the front and back, and four for each side wall.
Once constructed, I put it in the fridge to chill for an hour.
ROOF TILES: For the roof, I cut three triangular slices from the leftover bread and stick these on top of the walls using softened butter; one in the middle and one at either end to form the eaves.
I then arrange crackers, glued at the top edges with more butter, on top of the bread to firm up the roof. Once solid, I pipe goat’s cheese in zig-zag patterns across the crackers.
I use a sharp paring knife to slice the carrots, cucumber and radishes into ultra-thin pieces and stick these, in alternating colours, to the goat’s cheese to form the tiles. I stick a celery stick on top to finish the roof.
DOORS AND WINDOWS: I cut squares of orange pepper to make the windows, and glue on with more goat’s cheese. The door is made from thin slices of celery (snipped with scissors), with a pomegranate seed knocker.
I set the completed veggie chalet on a wooden board and use a palette knife to spread Boursin cheese all around it; this must be thick enough to support the trees and foliage.
Finally, I make a path out of wasabi peas (you could also use chopped grapes or nuts) lined with tiny mushrooms to look like wild toadstools.
FINISHING TOUCHES: The three penguins are each made of two olives, one hollowed out and filled with soft cheese, with carrot pieces for the feet and beaks.
I make a vegetable patch from chopped pecan nuts, surrounded by cranberries, and planted with miniature cabbages and broccoli florets. Then I add purple broccoli edging to the house.
The tree is made from a sliver of cucumber, curled around a cocktail stick with an orange pepper star on top. This will certainly brighten up your festive table.