Sacred and Immaculate Heart Veggie and Fruit Platters
While you can’t go wrong with a heart-shaped cake or jello mold (well, scratch that, you CAN definitely go wrong with a heart-shaped jello mold, but it will still be fine), sometimes you want a healthy feast day food option. These fun platters can be made to any size, for a few or a crowd. My first exposure to them was when a friend brought a couple to a party we hosted, and they were a bit hit. They can be made with any red/orange/yellow fruits and veggies you prefer.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is depicted as a flaming heart, usually surrounded by a crown of thorns, with a cross on the top, and it is often bleeding from a wound in the side. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is traditionally also on fire, surrounded by a crown of flowers rather than thorns, and is usually shown pierced by a sword.
Ingredients
Red Fruits and Veggies (for the hearts):
- Strawberry halves, watermelon cubes, raspberries, cherries, red bell pepper slices, radish halves, tomato slices, cherry tomatoes
Yellow and Orange Fruits and Veggies (for the fire):
- Orange wedges, cantaloupe slices, peach slices, mango slices, pineapple spears or chunks, baby carrots, yellow and orange bell pepper slices, yellow tomato slices, yellow cherry tomatoes
Sacred Heart Decoration (for the thorns and cross):
- Pretzel sticks, pretzel twists, chocolate covered pretzels, pocky sticks, chocolate chips, sliced mushrooms, jicama sticks
Immaculate Heart Decoration (flowers and leaves):
- Mini marshmallows, large marshmallows cut into rounds, mint leaves, fresh mozzarella balls in ciliengine or pearl size, basil leaves
Instructions
- Select your red fruits or vegetables as a base and form them into a heart shape on a plain clear or white platter. It’s best to get the pieces close together and mounded up a bit. If you’d like to use different options on the same platter, they can be mixed or arranged in stripes or concentric hearts. Select a yellow and/or orange fruit or veggie for fire. These can be arranged just coming out of the top, or also as a radiating border going all the way around the heart. Then add the cross at the top and the thorns across the middle of the Sacred Heart, and the flowers and leaves across the middle of the Immaculate Heart. Toothpicks or sword-shaped skewers can be used to serve.
- My favorite combinations are below.
Strawberry Chocolate Sacred Heart
- A mounded heart of strawberry halves with orange wedge fire, a pocky stick cross, and chocolate-covered pretzels for the thorns. Note: use a knife to cut the peel and pith off the orange then slice to get a brighter orange color than in the segments.
Veggie Dip Sacred Heart
- A dish of taco dip in the middle (1 tub of sour cream + 1 packet taco seasoning) surrounded by a heart-shaped layer of cherry tomatoes, outside that a heart-shaped layer of sliced red bell peppers. Around the heart, slightly spaced-apart baby carrots radiate outwards. At the top, red and orange bell pepper slices are arranged as fire, with a jicama stick cross. Across the center, jicama sticks and sliced fresh mushrooms for the thorns.
Mint Watermelon Immaculate Heart
- A mound of watermelon cubes with orange wedge fire, and large marshmallows cut into rounds with mint leaves for the flowers. Optional: drizzle with lime juice and sprinkle with a bit of salt and/or cayenne pepper.
Caprese Salad Immaculate Heart
- A heart-shaped mound of cherry tomatoes, with a line of ciliengine-size fresh mozzarella ball and basil leaf flowers across the middle. On a larger platter, you can create a border of mozzarella and basil to include more. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
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