Food & recipes

Three Showstopping Canapes For The Festive Season

Upgrade your Christmas buffet with these nibbles

Beetroot and Mushroom Blinis

Ingredients:
150g pre-cooked beetroot, 3tbsp creme fraiche,
125g ricotta,
Small bunch dill half roughly chopped, 40g butter, 250g button mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves finely chopped, 1 pack pre-cooked blinis

Method:
In a bowl, whisk together all the blini ingredients until smooth. Leave in a warm place for 30 mins until frothy. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, brush with the melted butter and drop teaspoonfuls of batter into the pan, spacing 5cm apart, and cook for about 1 1/2 mins, before turning and cooking for another minute. Cook in batches until the batter has been used.
In a food processor, whizz beetroot, creme fraiche and ricotta until coarse. Season well, stir in the chopped dill and chill until required.
Melt butter in a large frying pan, add mushrooms and garlic and fry until deep golden.
To serve, put the blinis on a platter, spread with a teaspoonful of beetroot mix, add a few mushrooms and garnish with a small sprig of dill.

Cranberry and Brie Bites

Ingredients:
Cranberry sauce, 250g puff pastry, 125g Camembert sliced and cut into 16 squares, soft thyme leaves to serve

Method:
Preheat oven to Gas 6, 200°C, fan 180ºC and line a baking tray with nonstick baking paper.
Roll puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut into squares about 2.5cm. Bake for 10 minutes until golden and risen.
Top each square with a small slice of Camembert and a spoonful of cranberry sauce. Return to the oven until the cheese melts.
Garnish with thyme

Cucumber and Feta Rolls

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, 100g Sun-dried tomatoes, 100g Feta

Method:
Using a peeler, peel a whole cucumber into long thin strips. Once you get close to the centre, turn it over and start again. Cut each strip in half. Save the core to use in a salad.
Take 100g (3 1/2oz) feta and crumble all but 1 tbsp of it into a bowl. Add 100g (3 1/2oz) finely chopped sundried tomatoes. Combine thoroughly with a spoon.
Press a small piece (around 1 tsp) of the feta and tomato mix onto a piece of cucumber and roll it up tightly. Arrange on a serving dish. Continue until you have finished all of the strips. You should have enough for about 30 rolls.Crumble over the remaining feta for a garnish and drizzle over a little of the sundried tomato oil

Recipes from Hello Fresh