By JO ABI
I could live on canapés. To me, they are the perfect food – small, flavoursome and never boring. Instead of feeling stuffed after eating them, you feel incredibly satisfied because you’ve eaten so many different foods in perfectly small, pretty little parcels and you still have plenty of room left for Christmas lunch.
The beauty of canapés is that they don’t have to be difficult to make. Forget making glazes and froths and foams and anything else that can be described as a ‘cooking technique’. You don’t need any complicated, reality TV cooking show-inspired processes to make stunning canapés that are delicious.
All you need are the best quality ingredients you can find. Then, it’s all about the flavour combinations and simple but clever presentations.
No, don’t freak out – I promise it’s easy peasy. Here are three of my favourite simple canapés that will impress your family and friends at Christmas:
1. Hungarian Salami Bruschetta.
I use the word bruschetta to describe anything I put on top of really good bread. Traditional bruschetta is delicious but using Hungarian salami instead of the usual tomato/garlic/basil/olive oil combo gives it a nice twist that Christmas guests of all ages will enjoy.
Buy the best bread you can find – think ciabatta, vienna, a French bread stick or any variety of vienna sourdough – and cut it into pieces approximately 5cm by 5cm.