Canapes

If you are having a dinner party soon and want to take things to the next level, the easiest way to impress your guests is with some canapes before sitting down to supper. We thought we would share with you some really elegant and easy canapes to wow everyone with, when you are next entertaining. More importantly you can do most of the hard work before the big day so you will have less to worry about.

Presentation is key so make sure you have some pretty plates, slates or chopping boards to display the canapes on.

Smoked salmon with a lemon crème fraiche on a blini

You can make these incredibly easy by buying the blini’s ready-made or quickly whip together the below batter;

Makes approx. 25 blinis

75g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
100ml milk
30g unsalted butter
You will also need;

200ml crème fraiche
200g smoked salmon
1 lemon
Bunch of dill
For the blinis – whisk together the flour, baking powder, eggs, salt and some of the milk. Don’t add all the milk in one go so you can keep a nice, thick batter. Melt the butter in a frying pan on a medium heat and drop teaspoons of the batter in, leaving space for them to spread. Cook until golden on both sides.

For the lemon crème fraiche – combine the zest of 1 lemon and a 200ml tub of crème fraiche and a bit of salt and pepper. We put the crème fraiche into a piping bag to make it easier to put onto the blinis but you can just use a palette knife.

The beauty of these canapes is you can make the blinis and crème fraiche in advance and it is just assembling them on the day. Put a good dollop of the lemon crème fraiche onto a blini and fold some smoked salmon on top and finish off with a sprig of dill and you are good to go!

Prawn and chorizo skewers with a gremolata dip

This is a super simple canape but people always go crazy for it.

Makes 20 canapes

20 cooked king prawns
200g Chorizo – cut into approx. 3mm slices
For the gremolata;

Zest of 1 lemon
½ finely crushed garlic clove
1 tbsp of finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp of olive oil
All you need to do is fry the chorizo and skewer a cooked king prawn with a slice of the chorizo in the middle.

For the gremolata – mix all the ingredients together and put in a pretty bowl in the middle of the prawn skewers.

Dill scone with goat’s cheese and caramelised red onion

100g goat’s cheese
1 red onion
Olive oil
Brown sugar
Balsamic vinegar
For the scones (makes 10 scones, 20 canapes);

175g plain flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
45g butter, in small squares
1 tbsp finely chopped dill
1 egg beaten
You will need a 3cm pastry cutter

To make the scones – preheat the oven to 200°C. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and put in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 1 beaten egg and the dill and pulse until a soft dough. If it is still very crumbly you can add a dash of very cold water. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and briefly knead until smooth. Gently roll out to a 1-inch thickness and stamp out 10 rounds with the pastry cutter. Place on greaseproof paper on a baking tray and bake until firm and golden, 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack – cover the cooling scones with a cloth, keeping some of the steam in, this will result in soft and light scones.

To make the goat’s cheese light and fluffy, whizz it up briefly in a food processor with some salt and pepper.

Finely slice the red onion, then cook very slowly with 1 tbsp. of olive oil and a pinch of salt for 20 minutes until very soft and turning golden. Add 1 tbsp. of brown sugar and 1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar and continue to cook over a low heat for another 10 minutes until sticky and caramelised. You can store this in your fridge in a sealed container for 2 weeks.

You can do all of the above days in advance so, again, it will be just putting the canape together on the day.

To put together – slice the scones in half and pipe/spoon a dollop of goat’s cheese and decorate with the caramelised onions.

Pecorino marinated in truffle honey wrapped in parma ham and rocket

You will have to put this canape together on the day otherwise the rocket will wilt but this is another super easy canape.

200g pecorino or similar cheese
Truffle honey (if you don’t have this, normal honey is fine)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 packet of parma ham
Rocket
Cut up the cheese in to 2cm x 1cm rectangles and marinate overnight in a good covering of the honey, lemon zest and some salt and pepper.

To assemble – Cut each slice of parma ham into three long strips. Roll the marinated cheese in one of the strips with a rocket leaf.

Don’t forget it is very important to make a few extra so you can “test” them out before your dinner party guests gobble them up.