How to Build the Perfect Organic Summer Veggie Platter

What better way to impress friends and family this festive season than with a platter to beat all platters.

Enough with the floppy carrot sticks, wilted cucumbers and pak’n’save’s finest cheap dip - let's go above and beyond this season, without needing to spend much extra at all!

In an entirely unashamed plug for fresh organic goodness, our veggie boxes have all your platters bases covered.

Envision crunchy new season carrots sashaying through a sea of freshly blended basil pesto; baby cos lettuce leaves throwing caution to the wind and diving base-first into a creamy homemade aïoli alongside skinny-dipping courgette sticks and zingy radishes that are totally ready to get a little naughty with your taste buds.

The greater the selection on your platter, the more compliments you'll receive - it's basic maths.

So here are a few veggies and dipping sauces we highly recommend for the best platter experience:

• Carrots: If they're large, slice them into sticks, otherwise leave them whole. Keep them fresh in a bowl of cold water - this will stop them going soft.
• Capsicum: Remove the seeds and slice into strips.
• Celery: Cut into sticks - we'd recommend peeling them to remove the fibrous strings that tend to lodge in one's teeth.
• Cucumber: For optimum crunch, telegraph cucumbers should be peeled, sliced in half lengthways, seeds scooped out with a spoon, then chopped into sticks. Our Lebanese and snacking cucumbers have much thinner skin, so don't need peeling.
• Fennel: Remove the stalks and slice the bulbs into wedges.
• Radishes: Leave whole, with a little bit of the stalk intact for grabbing purposes. If they're huge, chopping them into wedges is a great option.
• Snow peas: Remove the top and fibrous string.
• Courgettes: Cut into sticks, then briefly blanch in salted boiling water for a minute or two, then plunged into ice water.
• Green beans: Serve them raw or briefly blanch (as above) if they're on the larger side.
• Pesto: Blend basil with olive oil, nuts/ seeds, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parmesan cheese. Lemon juice or citric acid is key to preventing the pesto going dark with exposure to oxygen.
• Aïoli: Combine milk (dairy or non-dairy) with a touch of vinegar, mustard, salt, garlic and oil. Leave to sit for 30 minutes, then blend to form a thick white condiment.
• Tzatziki: Grate cucumber and leave for 30 minutes in a bowl sprinkled with salt. Squeeze out the excess moisture, then tip into a bowl with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and mint.
• Hummus: Drain a can of chickpeas well, then blend with lemon juice, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, tahini, olive oil and garlic.
• Green Goddess Dressing: Blend egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, anchovies and garlic. Slowly (SLOWLY!) drizzle in oil while still blending until a thick emulsion has formed. Add in tarragon, chives, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and water, then continue to blend until smooth. Tip into a bowl and add yogurt or sour cream and more freshly chopped chives.