How to Arrange a Vegetable Tray

Use seasonal varieties of vegetables to make your vegetable tray colorful.

A vegetable tray or platter is a way to offer a healthy addition to your family get-together or party, as well as an economically friendly way to entertain. Each vegetable growing season offers different color and flavor choices to choose from. The key to arranging an vegetable tray is variety and visual appeal. As you get comfortable with arranging and cutting, you can experiment with more advanced techniques.

Things You'll Need

• Platter/tray
• Vegetables, at least four different kinds
• Decorative platter liners, if desired
• Lettuce leaves
• Small dish
• Dip
• Spoon
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Garnishments
• Small plates

Instructions

1. Choose a variety of different colored vegetables. This will make your vegetable tray more aesthetically pleasing than just a one-dimensional-colored tray. Depending on the season, you should be able to find at least four different colored items for your platter.

2. Wash each of your vegetables thoroughly before and after you cut them. Inspect each vegetable to make sure all dirt is removed. You will not be able to see if any pesticides have been removed, but thorough cleaning should ensure cleanliness. Make sure your serving tray is clean and dry.

3. Cut the vegetables with a sharp knife. Experiment with different cutting techniques for more appeal, if you feel up to it. You can get fancy with the cutting, or you can just alternate with different cutting angles or decorative edges.

4. Place any decorative platter liners or individual lettuce leaves on the platter if you want to include them for presentation.

5. Mix your vegetable dip. Ranch, onion and artichoke dips are popular choices, although there are numerous dips to choose from. Pour the dip into a small container, place a spoon in the dip container, and place it in the middle of your vegetable tray. The dip container should only be one-third the diameter of the serving platter, or smaller.

6. Determine how many different vegetables you will be placing on the tray. If there are six different vegetables, grab you first vegetable and arrange it on 1/6 of the tray, working around the dip container.

7. Grab the next vegetable and repeat the presentation process. You want to alternate colors as well as cutting patterns. You want the vegetables to be evenly distributed, as if they were evenly cut pieces of pizza arranged around a small container. If you have a vegetable platter with individual sections for different vegetables, this takes the guesswork out of separating the items.

8. Garnish the vegetable tray. You can use parsley leaves, lemon wedges or anything that adds color to the platter. Place small plates near the tray for guests to use. Serve and enjoy.

References

• Chew on That: How to Make a Killer Vegetable Tray