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If you’re chronically online like me, you’ve likely stumbled upon those aesthetic videos of girls assembling a perfectly curated snack plate and devouring it in a way that makes every single bite look equivalent to gold.
There are many iterations of this phenomenon: the Tiffany plate (popularized by Tiffany Magee, featuring cottage cheese and mustard, always), a savory snack plate, or, my favorite, girl dinner, which is basically a smattering of everything yummy you can find in a fridge.
But Courtney Cook, a resident Southerner, has brought a British tradition to the American mainstream. A Ploughman’s lunch is as classic a lunch in the UK as chicken salad is over here, marked by a hunk of crusty bread, some cheese, and some pickles. Courtney often adds savory sauces, fruit, and more onions than the average person would typically eat in a sitting, and while she does abide by tradition using ingredients straight off the Tesco shelf, there’s certainly a way to make this trend Southern.
The Base
Let’s start with the crux of the lunch plate: bread, cheese, pickles. All of these things can remain on your Southern plate. Opt for a piece of toasted sourdough, a scoop of pimento cheese, and a pile of Wickles, our favorite Southern pickle brand.
The Proteins
Courtney often adds a hard-boiled egg or the umami-rich soy sauce egg to her plate for added protein. Obviously, we’re going to swap that for a classic Southern-style deviled egg, or two, or three.
Now, while Brits famously add pork pie or some sort of pâté to their plate, Southerners can reach for a slice of cold spiral ham or a scoop of chicken salad to incorporate a little meat.
The Sauces
Courtney might be the world’s biggest fan of Branston Pickle, a super savory sauce that’s like a jammy version of Worcestershire and fermented veg. I had to try this for myself and can confirm it’s excellent, but not always super available. Instead of Branny P, she calls it, reach for A1 Steak Sauce, Alabama white barbecue sauce, or a good ‘ole dollop of Duke’s Mayonnaise.
The Add-Ons
Vegetables are next. Slices of Vidalia onions, raw spring onions, carrots, and whole tomatoes usually round out her plate, and they’re perfect for our Southern version, too. Hit the farm stand and pick a ripe Bradley to slice up with a sprinkle of salt.
No proper Southern lunch would be complete without a cheese straw. So, to add a little more savory crunch to your plate, grab a pack from the deli or, better yet, make them yourself.
The Perfect Bite
The beauty of a snack plate, a girl dinner, or a Ploughman’s lunch is that every bite can be a choose-your-own adventure. Pile a slice of sourdough high with pimento cheese, a drizzle of white BBQ sauce, and a slice of Vidalia onion. The next bite? A scoop of chicken salad on a bite of tomato, with a little extra mayo for good measure.
Looking for more Southern dining inspiration? Click here.
