Spring Sharing Platter

by Dominic Franks from DomInTheKitchen.com @DomInTheKitchen

We had friends over for lunch last weekend and even though the weather has remained ghastly I wanted to make something that felt like spring could potentially be on its way.

I also wanted something easy, I could bung into the middle of the table and let people help themselves whilst we all catch up on the latest comings and goings in the village.

A sharing platter with a wild garlic hummus and a beetroot and whipped feta dip were simple and quick to pull together, whilst these mushroom and asparagus mini quiches were the perfect bitesize mouthful for grazing a gossip!

Kitchen tools that could be useful:

The Haverhill Oil and Vinegar Pourers are perfect to add oil to the dips and the Hoxton salt and pepper mills are a great way to add seasoning.  The Barkway Acacia Chopping Boards are ideal for using as the sharing platter themselves.

Prep:  15 mins
Cooking time:  30 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4 - 6

For the Wild Garlic Hummus

• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas – drained and rinsed
• 40g (small handful) of wild garlic leaves – finely chopped)
• the zest and juice from 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons of chickpea liquid (aquafaba) from the can
• a pinch of salt
• a pinch of ground cumin

Method:

1. Wash your wild garlic thoroughly and chop well, then set aside.
2. Place the wild garlic and chickpeas into a food processor and process for 1 minute until turned to a rough pulp. Add all the remaining ingredients and process until you have a creamier consistency. It will be slightly grainy but that’s ok. If it’s dry or you want to thin it out and make it creamier, add more tahini or more liquid from the tin, until you like the consistency.
3. Drench with olive oil and adjust seasonings, adding more salt, cumin, olive oil, or lemon juice if needed.

For the Beetroot Whipped Feta Dip

• 1 x 200g block feta
• 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
• 1 cooked beetroot - chopped
• 1 garlic clove – peeled
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• The zest and juice of one lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and whizz for a couple of minutes until everything is whipped and creamy.  It will start off slow and lumpy but will turn wonderfully light.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste. If it’s looking a little thick, add another squeeze of lemon juice and then whizz again.

For the mini asparagus quiches

• roughly 8 to 10 mushrooms of your choice (I used chestnut mushrooms) – thickly sliced
• 1 bunch of British asparagus – trimmed
• a garlic glove – grated
• butter and olive oil
• fresh rosemary and thyme– finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 3 eggs – beaten
• 200ml Greek Yoghurt
• a little milk to loosen the mix
• 1 sheet of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry

Method:

1. You will need a 24 – hole mini muffin pan which you should grease with butter.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 170C (fan)
3. In a large pan gently melt a generous amount of butter with a little olive oil and add the mushrooms and gently sauté until starting to soften and take on a little colour (roughly 5 mins).  
4. Add the garlic and chopped herbs and sauté for another few mins.  
5. Add the asparagus and stir to ensure they’re all coated well, then place the lid onto the pan, turn down the heat and let the asparagus soften for 5 mins.
6. Turn off the heat and set aside whilst you roll out your pastry.  
7. Use cookie cutters that are bigger than your mini muffin pan holes and cut out circles to fill the pan. Line all the muffin pan holes with pastry rounds.
8. In a bowl, beat the eggs into the yoghurt.
9. Add a dash of milk if needed to slightly slacken the mix.  
10. Spoon the sauteed vegetable mix into the pastry cases followed by the yoghurt egg mix and bake on 160C for about 15 - 20 minutes until golden and risen, set aside on a wire rack to cool.
11. You’re now ready to assemble the platter.  I’ve chosen my favourite veg such as carrots, celery and pointed red pepper, along with some asparagus spears which I gently sauted in butter and olive oil for 5 mins. 
12. Arrange them randomly on the chopping board with bowls filled with the dips and scatter the mini-quiches all over too.  Fill in any gaps with some salad leaves.

Tip:

You can make the dips and the quiches the day before ahead of time. They will keep for 24 hours in an airtight container in the fridge. The quiches can be frozen for up to 1 month and reheated in the oven from frozen for 10 minutes.