Mezze Platter - Love and Lemons (2024)

FAQs

What does a mezze platter have on it? ›

What Is a Mezze Platter? Mezze (or meze) is an assortment of small dishes eaten as appetizers or a light meal. Its contents vary by region, but the concept of grazing on a board filled with savory goodies remains the same. Dips and spreads, such as hummus, yogurt, and baba ganoush are commonplace.

There's no trick to eating mezze: all one needs is a plate and an appetite. Often, silverware is not required since these foods are eaten with the hands, though serving utensils are useful for plating. Bread is used to scoop up dips, and can also work as a vessel for grabbing falafel and grilled meats.

Mezze platters consist of a variety of dips (such as hummus and labneh), fresh veggies, nuts, pita chips, herbs, finger foods like stuffed grape leaves, and more.

The short answer: If your smorgasbord focuses on cured meats and sliced cheeses, it's closer to a charcuterie. If your components are dips and small portions of appetizer foods that needed preparation, it resembles a mezze platter.

From Turkish meze and Greek μεζές (mezés), both from Ottoman Turkish مزه (meze), from Persian مزه (maze, “taste, snack”).

My biggest tip for making your mezze platter look as great as it tastes is to include garnishes like fresh herbs and lemon wedges. They'll fill in any awkward gaps between components and add gorgeous pops of color. Spread out the prep. A mezze platter is easy to put together…IF you don't do all the prep in one go.

Meze or mezze? It's up to you. Meze with one 'z' is more commonly used in Greece and 'mezze' in Turkey, but many Mediteraneans use the words interchangeably. They mean the same thing, and they're both delicious.

A meze is not a meal course like an appetizer (although meze dishes can be served as appetizers), but rather a dish, hot or cold, spicy or savory, often salty, that is served alone or with other mezethes as a separate eating experience.

Well-known dishes include baba ghanouj, tabbouleh, sfeeha, falafel and shawarma. An important component of many Lebanese meals is hummus, a chickpea puree dish, and many dishes are eaten with flatbread. Well-known desserts include baklawa, sfouf and ka'ak.

What country is mezze platter from? ›

Meze (also spelled mezze or mezé) (/ˈmɛzeɪ/, /ˈmɛzɛ/) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in Albanian, Bosnian, Armenian, Kurdish, Levantine, Turkish, Bulgarian, Greek, Iraqi, Egyptian, and Iranian cuisine. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti.

Meze is very similar to the Spanish snack foods known as tapas, but it is generally prepared using different ingredients than the Spanish version.

Meze or mezze 'to taste', is the name for a number of small dishes or appetizers served before a meal, often with a drink. The food is common in the Eastern Mediterranean. Drinks include anise-flavored liqueurs, such as arak, ouzo, raki or different wines. These dishes are similar to the tapas of Spain or finger food.

There is a set pattern to the dishes: typically olives, tahini, salad, and yogurt will be followed by dishes with vegetables and eggs, then small meat or fish dishes alongside special accompaniments, and finally more substantial dishes such as whole fish or meat stews and grills.

Meze is a selection of small plates served alongside drinks or as appetizers in countries like Greece and Turkey. Popular meze dishes include babaganoush, falafel, hummus, tabbouleh and halloumi cheese, but these can vary by region.