Merry Christmas all. Hope Father Christmas brought you everything you wanted and you enjoyed some quality time with friends, family and several boxes of mince pies.
With the festive season not quite over yet (phew!), lots of people this year seem to be planning to celebrate New Year's Eve with a party at home. So, for those of you who need some ideas for nibbles or a buffet, I thought I'd share my smoked mackerel pate recipe.
This couldn't be easier; it's ready in about two minutes and tastes delicious. Ideal served with crusty bread for a starter, on mini crackers as a canape, or with crudites for a buffet.
Ingredients:
1 packet smoked mackerel fillets
1 tablespoon soured cream**
1 tablespoon double cream
1 dessert spoon creamed horseradish (from a jar)
Juice of half a lemon
Black pepper to season
Method:
Remove the skins from the smoked mackerel fillets. These peel off really easily.
Put mackerel, soured cream, double cream and horseradish into a blender. Blitz for 30 seconds to a minute - the consistency is up to you but I prefer mine with a little bit of texture, not completely smooth.
Taste and add lemon juice and pepper as required.
The pate will keep for a couple of days covered in the fridge, so you make well in advance of your party.
*If you have any spring onions or parsley that need using up, you can add them when you blend the ingredients.
**This recipe is fairly foolproof and you don't need to be exact with ingredients. If you prefer you could use Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream.
Showing posts with label Recipe - canapé. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipe - canapé. Show all posts
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Canapés from the East at Hashi Cooking
One of the best things about Christmas is party food (also known as canapés!). I love drooling over the supermarket ads showcasing their festive offerings but have to admit that, if you can find the time, homemade canapés always taste better.
With my love of the bite-sized treat, the Canapes from the East class at Hashi Cooking sounded like the perfect pre-Christmas night out.
The class is just one evening, during which you learn how to make six different Asian canapés. Reiko demonstrates first, then you get the chance to make them yourself. Most importantly, you get to enjoy them all with a glass of fizz at the end!
My three favourites are below. You also take away all the recipes, making it easy to recreate them at home. Hope they give you some festive inspiration.
With my love of the bite-sized treat, the Canapes from the East class at Hashi Cooking sounded like the perfect pre-Christmas night out.
The class is just one evening, during which you learn how to make six different Asian canapés. Reiko demonstrates first, then you get the chance to make them yourself. Most importantly, you get to enjoy them all with a glass of fizz at the end!
My three favourites are below. You also take away all the recipes, making it easy to recreate them at home. Hope they give you some festive inspiration.
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| Watercress, calamari and prawn tempura |
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| Little gem lettuce with chestnuts and sweetcorn |
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| Prawn noodle salad with sesame dressing |
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sweetcorn fritters - recipe
These golden sweetcorn fritters are a real crowd-pleaser and are the recipe most often requested by Marc! The crispy batter, juicy sweetcorn and hit of chilli is a match made in heaven.
They're also really easy to make and work well for canapes, starters or even breakfasts.
Sold yet? Go on, give them a go. Guarantee you'll love them, or your money back (except not the second part).
Ingredients (Serves four for starters):
125g self-raising flour
1 egg
100ml milk
340g tin of sweetcorn, well drained
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 red chilli finely chopped (more or less, to your taste)
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to season
Vegetable oil to fry
Method:
Sift the flour into a bowl.
Make a well and add the egg.
Gradually beat together, adding the milk a little at a time, until you have a lovely smooth batter.
Add the sweetcorn, spring onions and chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Drop in spoonfuls of the batter and press down gently to form fritters.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy.
Serve with a simple salsa, or chilli sauce to dip.
Eat, enjoy.
They're also really easy to make and work well for canapes, starters or even breakfasts.
Sold yet? Go on, give them a go. Guarantee you'll love them, or your money back (except not the second part).
Ingredients (Serves four for starters):
125g self-raising flour
1 egg
100ml milk
340g tin of sweetcorn, well drained
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 red chilli finely chopped (more or less, to your taste)
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to season
Vegetable oil to fry
Method:
Sift the flour into a bowl.
Make a well and add the egg.
Gradually beat together, adding the milk a little at a time, until you have a lovely smooth batter.
Add the sweetcorn, spring onions and chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Drop in spoonfuls of the batter and press down gently to form fritters.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy.
Serve with a simple salsa, or chilli sauce to dip.
Eat, enjoy.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sort-of-vegetable bhajis (Indian vegetable fritters) - recipe
I don't know about you but I find a curry always hits the spot on a Sunday night - particularly when the rest of the weekend has been a little on the boozy side!
If I make the curry myself, I like to make these Indian-spiced vegetable fritters to go with it. Although it sounds like quite a lot of ingredients they're actually really easy to make, as everything is grated straight into one bowl.
Ingredients (makes 4):
1 medium carrot
1 small courgette
Half an onion
3cm finger of fresh ginger
1 red chilli
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
Pinch of salt
50g self raising flour
Sunflower oil for frying
Method:
Grate the carrot, courgette, onion, ginger and chilli into a bowl. Add the chopped coriander, mustard seeds, cumin and salt. Use your hands to scrunch all the ingredients together.
Add half the flour and mix again. If the mixture is thick enough to form patties, you don't need to add any more. If the mixture is still a little wet, add the rest of the flour.
Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan, over a medium heat. The oil should be about 1cm depth. Drop in a tiny bit of the mixture to check the temperature; if it sizzles and rises to the top, the temperature is right.
Form the mixture into patties - this recipe should make about four. Fry for around 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy.
Serve with curry, or as a starter - they're really good with mango chutney.
If I make the curry myself, I like to make these Indian-spiced vegetable fritters to go with it. Although it sounds like quite a lot of ingredients they're actually really easy to make, as everything is grated straight into one bowl.
Ingredients (makes 4):
1 medium carrot
1 small courgette
Half an onion
3cm finger of fresh ginger
1 red chilli
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
Pinch of salt
50g self raising flour
Sunflower oil for frying
Method:
Grate the carrot, courgette, onion, ginger and chilli into a bowl. Add the chopped coriander, mustard seeds, cumin and salt. Use your hands to scrunch all the ingredients together.
Add half the flour and mix again. If the mixture is thick enough to form patties, you don't need to add any more. If the mixture is still a little wet, add the rest of the flour.
Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan, over a medium heat. The oil should be about 1cm depth. Drop in a tiny bit of the mixture to check the temperature; if it sizzles and rises to the top, the temperature is right.
Form the mixture into patties - this recipe should make about four. Fry for around 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy.
Serve with curry, or as a starter - they're really good with mango chutney.
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| Simple to make in one bowl |
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| The beautiful colours of the ingredients |
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Apricots with goats cheese and rosemary - easy canape recipe
I made up this recipe to make the most of some sweet, juicy end-of-season apricots. They work in perfect harmony with tangy goats cheese. Add a sprinkle of fresh rosemary and you're in business.
These could also work well served with mixed leaves as a light lunch.
Ingredients:
150g soft goats cheese
10 apricots
3 stalks of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
Method:
In a bowl, mix the rosemary with the goats cheese.
Half and de-stone the apricots.
Top each apricot half with a teaspoon of the cheese mixture.
These could also work well served with mixed leaves as a light lunch.
Ingredients:
150g soft goats cheese
10 apricots
3 stalks of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
Method:
In a bowl, mix the rosemary with the goats cheese.
Half and de-stone the apricots.
Top each apricot half with a teaspoon of the cheese mixture.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Mushrooms with pine nuts, blue cheese and crispy breadcrumbs - recipe
This is another recipe I made for a recent BBQ. Extremely quick, extremely tasty. Good for veggies, good for carnivores. (Bad for nut allergies - sorry Ellie!)
Ingredients (makes 12):
12 field mushrooms
150g Blue cheese (I used Danish blue - but any would work)
50g pine nuts, toasted
1 slice bread, made into breadcrumbs
50g parmesan, finely grated
Method:
Divide the blue cheese and pine nuts between the mushrooms. Mix together the parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle over the mushrooms.
Grill for approx 10 minutes on medium heat, until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs toasted. Alternatively, cook on the BBQ for 5-10 minutes and finish off under a hot grill to crisp the breadcrumbs.
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Ingredients (makes 12):
12 field mushrooms
150g Blue cheese (I used Danish blue - but any would work)
50g pine nuts, toasted
1 slice bread, made into breadcrumbs
50g parmesan, finely grated
Method:
Divide the blue cheese and pine nuts between the mushrooms. Mix together the parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle over the mushrooms.
Grill for approx 10 minutes on medium heat, until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs toasted. Alternatively, cook on the BBQ for 5-10 minutes and finish off under a hot grill to crisp the breadcrumbs.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
You gotta roll with it - Vietnamese summer rolls recipe
Vietnamese summer rolls are fresh and light, filled with aromatic herbs - making them perfect for the hot weather. Oh, and unlike spring rolls (are there such things as winter or autumn rolls I wonder?), they aren't fried - but served cold.
As with most recipes, there are tons of different versions. It's really up to you to pick the flavour combinations that work best for you. I used basically the same ingredients as I used in my Vietnamese prawn salad
These weren't super quick to make, mainly due to the time it took me to roll them. The wrappers are extremely fragile when wet and my technique was clearly not great. (I did eat all my 'mistakes' along the way, which still tasted yummy). I'd allow up to an hour to be on the safe side.
Ingredients (Makes 8-10):
About half a packet of glass noodles, soaked for 10 mins in warm water
180g pack cooked & peeled tiger prawns, cut in half lengthways
Half a cucumber, deseeded and cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 packet Vietnamese summer roll wrappers (dried rice paper rounds - available in Asian supermarkets)
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
20 fresh mint leaves
For the dressing:
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 dessertspoon caster sugar
Juice of 1 lime
Method:
Whilst your noodles are soaking, prepare your vegetables.
To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in a pestle and mortar and grind.
Drain the noodles and pour over the dressing. Mix well.
To assemble the rolls, dip one wrapper in warm water for a couple of seconds. Let the water drain off, then place on a flat surface. Lay 3-4 prawns on the wrapper, about a third of the way up. Layer noodles, carrot sticks, cucumber and coriander on top. Start to roll, folding the sides in after the first roll. Place the mint leaves at the top of the roll, so they can be seen clearly (this is purely decorative). The damp wrapper will seal itself.
Repeat until you run out of ingredients.
These make a perfect starter, snackette, or light lunch. They'll keep overnight in the fridge (well covered) if you want to eat them for lunch the next day.
Delicious on their own, or served with a chilli dip.
As with most recipes, there are tons of different versions. It's really up to you to pick the flavour combinations that work best for you. I used basically the same ingredients as I used in my Vietnamese prawn salad
These weren't super quick to make, mainly due to the time it took me to roll them. The wrappers are extremely fragile when wet and my technique was clearly not great. (I did eat all my 'mistakes' along the way, which still tasted yummy). I'd allow up to an hour to be on the safe side.
Ingredients (Makes 8-10):
About half a packet of glass noodles, soaked for 10 mins in warm water
180g pack cooked & peeled tiger prawns, cut in half lengthways
Half a cucumber, deseeded and cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 packet Vietnamese summer roll wrappers (dried rice paper rounds - available in Asian supermarkets)
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
20 fresh mint leaves
For the dressing:
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 dessertspoon caster sugar
Juice of 1 lime
Method:
Whilst your noodles are soaking, prepare your vegetables.
To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in a pestle and mortar and grind.
Drain the noodles and pour over the dressing. Mix well.
To assemble the rolls, dip one wrapper in warm water for a couple of seconds. Let the water drain off, then place on a flat surface. Lay 3-4 prawns on the wrapper, about a third of the way up. Layer noodles, carrot sticks, cucumber and coriander on top. Start to roll, folding the sides in after the first roll. Place the mint leaves at the top of the roll, so they can be seen clearly (this is purely decorative). The damp wrapper will seal itself.
Repeat until you run out of ingredients.
These make a perfect starter, snackette, or light lunch. They'll keep overnight in the fridge (well covered) if you want to eat them for lunch the next day.
Delicious on their own, or served with a chilli dip.
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| Ready to rock (and roll!) |
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| The finished article |
Monday, July 25, 2011
Salmon tartare shots - recipe
I have a tendency to make work for myself. When we had friends over for afternoon tea last weekend, I wasn't content to just make scones, oh no, I also felt the need to make whoopie pies, gougeres and these rather pretty salmon tartare shots too. (My afternoon tea was awesome though ;-) )
They were actually very quick to make (it was the baking that took time). Nice fresh flavours; they'd also work well as a starter.
Ingredients (serves 4 in small shot glasses):
200g fresh salmon fillet
2 teaspoons capers
Half a red onion
Juice of 1 lemon
Half a cucumber
4 teaspoons of creme fraiche
2 teaspoons caviar (I use lumpfish caviar, which is only a couple of quid)
Method:
Finely chop the salmon, capers and red onion. Mix with the lemon juice. Distribute evenly between 4 shot glasses.
Finely chop the cucumber. Layer on top of the salmon mixture. Top that with a teaspoon of creme fraiche and half a teaspoon of caviar.
They were actually very quick to make (it was the baking that took time). Nice fresh flavours; they'd also work well as a starter.
Ingredients (serves 4 in small shot glasses):
200g fresh salmon fillet
2 teaspoons capers
Half a red onion
Juice of 1 lemon
Half a cucumber
4 teaspoons of creme fraiche
2 teaspoons caviar (I use lumpfish caviar, which is only a couple of quid)
Method:
Finely chop the salmon, capers and red onion. Mix with the lemon juice. Distribute evenly between 4 shot glasses.
Finely chop the cucumber. Layer on top of the salmon mixture. Top that with a teaspoon of creme fraiche and half a teaspoon of caviar.
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| Salmon tartare shots |
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Gougeres (cheese puffs) recipe
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The only time I've eaten gougeres before was at The Dorchester (Alain Ducasse), where they're served as canapes. They're basically a cheesy choux pastry bun (without the cream!) - very light, very moreish.
The only time I've eaten gougeres before was at The Dorchester (Alain Ducasse), where they're served as canapes. They're basically a cheesy choux pastry bun (without the cream!) - very light, very moreish.
We had friends over at the weekend, so I thought I'd give them a go. I was a bit nervous making them but they turned out perfectly - maybe not quite such uniform shapes as Mr Ducasse produces but nonetheless very tasty. Perfect little canapes - and if they're good enough for a 3* restaurant, they're good enough for me!
I used this basic recipe: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8377/cheese-puffs--gougeres-.aspx
My version below - I didn't use a food processor, so thanks to my sister for assisting with the mixing when my arms got tired (weakling!)
60g plain flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
Large pinch cayenne pepper
125ml full fat milk
65g butter (cut into small cubes)
3 large eggs at room temperature
50g finely grated Gruyere cheese
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons Parmesan, finely grated
Method:
Preheat oven to 220c
Combine the flour with the salt, pepper, rosemary and cayenne in a large bowl.
Separately, put the milk and butter in a saucepan, over a medium heat. Bring to the boil. Once the butter melts, turn the heat to low. Add the seasoned flour in one go. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon, until a dough forms in a ball.
Place the dough in a large bowl. Beat vigorously. Keep beating and add one egg, until absorbed. Repeat with the second egg. Separate the white from the yolk of the third egg and add only the white into the dough (reserving the yolk). Once the eggs have been incorporated, the dough should be smooth and satiny.
Add the Gruyere and mix thoroughly.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Use a teaspoon to drop small balls of the dough onto the sheet. Keep the size uniform, if possible.
Beat the remaining egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of milk to make a glaze. Gently brush the tops of the gougeres with the glaze and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 150c and bake for 10 more minutes, or until puffs are golden brown.
Remove trays from oven and leave puffs on tray until cool enough to serve. Eat whilst still slightly warm.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Padron peppers - recipe
I first had Padron peppers in Portugal, which is slightly strange as they're actually Spanish - unique to the Padron region in North West Spain. These are the Russian roulette of tapas - most of the peppers are very mild but around one in 20 is super hot.
Most tapas restaurants have these on the menu but if you fancy making them at home, Waitrose** at least definitely stocks them.
**And Lidl and M&S too apparently!
Ingredients (makes enough for a tapas style dish, or starter for two):
1 bag Padron peppers (150g)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Method:
Heat a good glug of olive oil in a frying pan.
Cook the peppers over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until the skin starts to blister.
Put the peppers into a serving bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.
Watch out for the hot ones!
Most tapas restaurants have these on the menu but if you fancy making them at home, Waitrose** at least definitely stocks them.
**And Lidl and M&S too apparently!
Ingredients (makes enough for a tapas style dish, or starter for two):
1 bag Padron peppers (150g)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Method:
Heat a good glug of olive oil in a frying pan.
Cook the peppers over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until the skin starts to blister.
Put the peppers into a serving bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.
Watch out for the hot ones!
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| Padron peppers |
Monday, May 23, 2011
Courgette fritters - recipe
When I was little, I loved Roald Dahl books and the BFG was probably my favourite. If you've read it, you'll remember that the BFG lived on snozzcumbers, which to me sounded pretty much like courgettes. Mainly because I thought courgettes were vile.
Fast forward a couple of years (/decades) and I actually rather like courgettes. I was very amused to come across a round courgette in Waitrose (see pic) and had to buy it.
I've made fritters from various other vegetables (potato, sweetcorn, carrot etc) and thought i'd give courgette fritters a go. Total success, they were amazing.
Ingredients:
2 medium courgettes (definitely don't need to be round!)
1 egg, beaten
Half an onion, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons flour
Handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used chives, mint and parsley)
Oil for frying (whichever you prefer to use)
Method:
Grate the courgettes into a large bowl.
Using either kitchen roll, or a clean tea towel, squeeze as much liquid as you can out of them. Throw the liquid away.
Add the onion, egg, flour and herbs to the drained courgette and mix.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. These will work better if you add oil to the depth of a cm or so (sorry weight watchers). When the oil is hot, add a heaped dessert spoon of the courgette mix at a time, lightly pressing down with a spoon to form patties. Leave to cook on one side for a couple of minutes and then turn over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
Drain on kitchen paper before serving - we had ours with ready made sweet chilli sauce.
Voila, snozzcumber fritters.
Fast forward a couple of years (/decades) and I actually rather like courgettes. I was very amused to come across a round courgette in Waitrose (see pic) and had to buy it.
I've made fritters from various other vegetables (potato, sweetcorn, carrot etc) and thought i'd give courgette fritters a go. Total success, they were amazing.
Ingredients:
2 medium courgettes (definitely don't need to be round!)
1 egg, beaten
Half an onion, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons flour
Handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used chives, mint and parsley)
Oil for frying (whichever you prefer to use)
Method:
Grate the courgettes into a large bowl.
Using either kitchen roll, or a clean tea towel, squeeze as much liquid as you can out of them. Throw the liquid away.
Add the onion, egg, flour and herbs to the drained courgette and mix.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. These will work better if you add oil to the depth of a cm or so (sorry weight watchers). When the oil is hot, add a heaped dessert spoon of the courgette mix at a time, lightly pressing down with a spoon to form patties. Leave to cook on one side for a couple of minutes and then turn over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
Drain on kitchen paper before serving - we had ours with ready made sweet chilli sauce.
Voila, snozzcumber fritters.
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