Candy-Corn Tomato and Cheese Skewers With White Cheddar for Full GAPS

Yellow tomatoes, orange tomatoes, and a white cheddar tip give these savory Halloween tomato and cheese skewers their candy-corn colors. Fresh basil wraps around the little stacks, and a light drizzle of raw olive oil finishes the platter.

Everything is cut and assembled cold. You can make the smaller shaped bites below or keep the tomatoes whole for a simpler arrangement. The same measured ingredients make four appetizer servings; the number of picks depends on the size of the tomatoes and cheese pieces.

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What You Need

• 1 pint yellow grape tomatoes, measured whole before trimming
• 1 pint orange grape tomatoes, measured whole before trimming
• 8 ounces natural organic white cheddar, weighed before cutting
• Fresh basil leaves, as needed
• Cold-pressed organic extra-virgin olive oil, for a light drizzle
• Natural salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Choose ripe tomatoes that feel firm enough to thread onto a pick. Similar-sized yellow and orange tomatoes are easier to stack. Wash the tomatoes and basil, then dry them so the leaves are easier to handle and the platter does not collect extra water.

Use a plain block of white cheddar that you have already introduced and tolerated. Cut it yourself into small pointed pieces. Keep a broad enough base on each piece for the pick to pass through without splitting the cheese.

Use enough fresh basil for the bites you assemble. Add the olive oil as a light drizzle when you are ready to serve.

Cut the Pieces Before You Assemble

Halve the yellow tomatoes lengthwise for a broad yellow base. Trim the top and bottom from the orange tomatoes so the middle becomes an orange band. Cut the cheddar into smaller wedges or pointed pieces for the white tips.

Cut all three components before threading the picks. The tomatoes and cheese stay cold throughout assembly.

Tomatoes vary in size, so the pieces will not all match exactly. Keep the yellow base broad, the orange piece in the middle, and the white piece small enough for the three colors to remain visible.

Assemble the Tomato and Cheese Skewers

Thread a yellow tomato half, an orange middle, and a white cheddar tip onto each appetizer pick or mini skewer. Wrap a basil leaf around the base, or fold a larger leaf so it fits neatly with the bite.

Push the pick gently through the broad part of the cheddar. If a piece cracks, cut the next one a little larger so the bite holds together when lifted.

Arrange the bites in one layer on a serving platter. Put any extra prepared tomato and cheese pieces alongside them. The pint measures do not guarantee equal numbers of every shaped piece, so you do not need to force every trimming onto a pick.

Just before serving, add a light drizzle of the raw olive oil and season with natural salt and black pepper to taste.

Where This Fits on GAPS

This is a Full GAPS appetizer after natural cheese, raw tomatoes, basil, and the other ingredients have been introduced and tolerated. Raw vegetables come after diarrhea, abdominal pain, and other digestive symptoms have cleared. Follow your established dairy introduction before using the cheddar.

Choose natural organic cheese and cold-pressed organic olive oil. Keep the oil raw and add it at the end. The cheddar makes this a dairy recipe, and the tomatoes and basil are raw plant foods. Use it on Full GAPS after those foods are established.

Make Ahead and Storage

These bites are best served fresh. If you want to get ahead, thread them up to one hour before serving, cover, and refrigerate. Add the oil when you put out the platter.

Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to two days. The basil may wilt and the cut tomatoes may release juice, so their appearance is best on the day of assembly. Freezing is not recommended because thawed tomatoes soften and the basil wilts.

Other Variations

For a whole-tomato presentation, keep the yellow and orange tomatoes whole and thread them with small pieces of the same white cheddar. Arrange them on basil leaves. Keep the same ingredient quantities and raw olive-oil finish.

For a different cold dressing to serve with tomatoes, see Fresh Herb Vinaigrette for Full GAPS. Follow that separate recipe when you want its herb dressing.

Other Halloween Recipes

For another savory platter, make Cheese and Carrot Witches’ Brooms or Raw Jack-o-Lantern Pepper Vegetable Holders. The pepper-holder recipe includes the carving order and a finished guacamole link.

For a warm main dish alongside the cold bites, Beef and Cauliflower Stuffed Pie Pumpkins use small pumpkins as their serving bowls. For another candy-corn-colored choice, try Candy Corn Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits.

Questions Before You Start

How Many Picks Will This Make?

Start with the pint measures and eight ounces of cheddar. Tomato size and your cuts determine how many bites you can thread. Serve the extra pieces with the platter.

Can I Use Dried Basil?

Use fresh basil for this presentation. The leaves wrap around the bites or form a bed beneath the whole-tomato version.

Do the Tomatoes or Cheese Need Heating?

No. Cut and assemble them cold. Finish with raw olive oil just before serving.

Recommended Equipment

Have a paring knife, a stable cutting board, a kitchen scale for the cheddar, appetizer picks or mini skewers, and a serving platter ready. Choose picks long enough to hold all three layers.

Recipe Card

Holidays on GAPS

Holidays on GAPS is a course about holiday food and celebrations within GAPS.