Canapes For The Festive Season

By Jilly McCord

The festive party season is fast approaching and there is nothing I like more than a tasty canape before a meal or as part of a drinks party. There are 4 separate recipes here, but don’t get overwhelmed, you can try them one by one and hopefully just provide a few good ideas.

The key to keeping calm when you have guests is to make sure you get really organised in advance and have all of your garnishes and sauces ready ahead of time. The Cole & Mason | Acacia Wooden Chopping & Serving Board – Cole & Mason UK is perfect for serving these and mingling amongst your guests. They come in 3 different sizes, so can cater for any numbers you have coming over.

Difficulty: Medium

Cooking/Prep Time: 

Prep: 45 mins

Assembly: 15 mins

Serves: 12 of each canape (but recipes can all be scald up or down)

For the Rare Roast beef Yorkshire Puddings (Makes 12 small puddings):

Yorkshire Puddings:

Ingredients:

• 100g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 125ml milk
• Pinch of salt
• Sunflower oil – 100ml

Toppings:

• 1 fillet steak (or any pre-cooked rare roast beef)
• Bunch of chives
• Caramelised onion chutney
• Cream of horseradish
• 150g crème fraiche

Method

For the batter:

1. Use an electric whisk to mix all of the ingredients (apart from the oil) together until it is smooth and the consistency of single cream. Pour into a jug and set aside (this can be done several hours in advance and kept in fridge)
2. Once ready to cook, take a mini muffin tin and divide the oil between 12 holes. Place in the oven at 200C until very hot.
3. Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 mins until puffed up and crisp.
4. Remove and place on some kitchen paper and sprinkle with sea salt.

For the filling:

Mix 2 large tablespoons of creme fraiche or sour cream with 1 tablespoon of creamed horseradish

For the beef:

Either buy some ready cooked rare roast beef or take one fillet steak and sear on either side for around a minute. Baste with butter and garlic and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly.

Assemble:

Place your puddings on a board and fill with some of the horseradish mixture. Place a slice of the beef on top and any other garnish you want. I added some onion chutney and some chives. Redcurrants also look really festive on these.

For the Croustade cups with whipped goat’s cheese, basil and tomato:

Ingredients:

• Packet of croustade cups
• 1 small log of soft goat’s cheese
• 1 tbsp cream
• Pesto
• Sun blushed tomatoes
• Basil leaves

Method:

In a bowl, whip the goat’s cheese and cream until smooth and lighter. Spoon into a piping bag.

Assemble:

Pipe the whipped goat’s cheese into the cups. Add a small amount of pesto and half a sun blushed tomato per cup. Garnish with a basil leaf.

For The Korean Fried Chicken and Pickled Cucumber: 

Ingredients:

For the chicken marinade

• 1 large chicken breast
• 1 tub of buttermilk
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic granules

For the flour

• 100g plain flour
• 50g cornflour
• ½ tsp of paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• ½ tsp white pepper

For the glaze

• 2 tbsps soft brown sugar
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 1 tsp of gochujang paste
• 1 inch of grated ginger
• 1 clove of grated garlic
• 2 tbsps of soya sauce
• 1 tbsp of sesame oil
•  

To fry

• 300ml sunflower oil

Method

1. At least 2-3 hours before you plan to cook them (or overnight) place the buttermilk and spices in a tupperware and cut you chicken into small, bitesize pieces. Marinade the chicken in the buttermilk to flavour and tenderise.
2. Before you cook the chicken (this can be done in advance and stored in the fridge), place the glaze ingredients in a pan and slowly cook, stirring all the time until melted and glossy.
3. Mix the flour ingredients in a bowl. Take a deep sauce pan or wok and place the sunflower oil in and heat to 170C. Dredge the marinaded chicken in the seasoned flour, making sure it is totally covered. Gently lower the chicken bites into the hot oil and turn gently until golden brown and crispy. This should take around 2-3 minutes and the chicken will be cooked through.
4. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and use a pastry brush to glaze the chicken all over with the sticky glaze. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over if you have them.
5. Serve as they are on a skewer. Add some strips of lightly pickled cucumber to take them up a notch! (You can use a potato peeler to create long strips of cucumber and just lightly pickle them in white wine vinegar, salt and sugar for around 10 minutes).

For the Halloumi Tostadas with Avocado: 

Ingredients:

• Tortilla wraps
• 1 avocado
• 1 lime
• 1 packet of halloumi
• Sriracha mayonnaise
• Pink pickled onions (you can make or buy in most supermarkets).

Method:

1. Stone and mash the avocado and add the juice of half the lime. Add a sprinkle of salt. You can put this in a piping bag ahead of time but remember to add the avocado stone to the bag to keep the vibrant green colour.
2. Take a cutter and cut bitesize circles out of the tortilla wrap. In a hot pan with a little olive oil, fry on either side until crispy. Remove from the pan and sprinkle some sea salt on them. Set aside and keep warm.
3. In the same pan, add a couple of slices of your halloumi and cook until golden on either side. Cut into bitesize pieces.

To Assemble

Place the tortilla bites on a board. Pipe on the avocado and top with the halloumi pieces. Squeeze some sriracha mayonnaise (or any spicy mayonnaise) and top with some coriander and pink onions.