The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Festive treat Mushroom choux buns, salmon blinis, camembert bon bons
CHRISTMAS is fast approaching so I have put together a selection of canapes to get you in the mood for those nights when friends and family drop in.
Serves 8 +
Ingredients: CHOUX BUNS
70g milk
70g water 45g butter 75g flour Pinch of salt 2 whole eggs
Filling -
250g button mushrooms 50ml double cream
50g butter
SALMON BLINIS
90g Buckwheat flour 5g baking powder 150ml milk
1 whole egg
1tbsp vegetable oil Smoked salmon Crème fraiche
CAMEMBERT BON BONS
125g Camembert cheese
50g plain flour
50g butter
100ml milk
2 ½ gelatine Leaves soaked 100g breadcrumbs
Egg and flour for breadcrumbs
METHOD:
Pre heat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4, Fryer 180C
CHOUX BUNS
First, to make the filling, slice all the button mushrooms. In a saucepan, heat the butter on medium then add the mushrooms and season with a small amount of salt. On a low heat, continue to cook until they are soft and any residue from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the cream and mix thoroughly. If you have a food processor you can blend this into a puree then push it through a fine sieve or it can be chopped up until fine. Set aside until needed.
For the buns, heat the butter, milk and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the flour and salt. The mixture will thicken quickly. Work the mix until smooth and it’s coming away from the edge of the pan.
Continue to beat for around two minutes. Remove from the heat and add your eggs one by one, beating in the first before adding the next. Transfer the mix to a piping bag and pipe identical size buns onto greaseproof paper. If you wish, sprinkle with some parmesan cheese.
Place in the oven and cook for around 12 minutes. Do not open the oven during the cooking process as it will cause the buns to collapse.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before making a small hole and piping in your mushroom filling.
SALMON BLINIS
Take a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and the milk. Gradually add in the buckwheat flour, salt and baking powder. Once fully combined pour a small amount into the pan, just enough to cover the bottom. Cook the same way as a pancake. Flip over after the first side is cooked and continue on the other. Remove and allow to cool on a rack before cutting out. When building add a small amount of crème fraiche with a fold of smoked salmon.
CAMEMBERT BON BONS
Firstly, soak the gelatine. Warm the milk in a pan. Melt the butter and whisk in the flour in a separate pan to make a roux. Once you have a sandy texture mix gradually add the milk. The mix will go quite thick. Add the cheese followed by the gelatine and mix thoroughly. Chill and allow to set. Roll into small bitesize balls. In three separate bowls have some flour, whisked egg and breadcrumbs. Roll your balls into the flour dusting off any excess, then into the egg mix, then roll in to the breadcrumbs. You can now gently lower these into the fryer, cook for one minute or until golden brown.
I have served these with onion mayonnaise which I made by slowly cooking sliced onions for around an hour in a pan until dark brown in colour, blitzing in a food processor then adding this to a mayonnaise.