Share a bite
DONNA HAY With party season in full-swing, it pays to add a few chic nibbles to your repertoire. Impress your guests with elegant finger food perfect for sharing
Caramelised onion, olive and anchovy bread 1 loaf Turkish bread 3/ cup store-bought caramelised onion relish
4 12 anchovy fillets 1/ cup kalamata olives, pitted
2 Olive oil, for brushing Blue cheese+, to serve Preheat oven to 180C. Place the bread on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Carefully slice the top off the loaf and remove the soft bread inside, leaving a shell with a 1cm border. Spread the caramelised onion over the bread and top with the anchovies and olives. Brush the edges of the bread with oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Serve with blue cheese. Serves 4. + Use a sharp stilton or roquefort or a mild gorgonzola dolcelatte. Crispy chicken with tarragon salt 2 x 200g chicken breast fillets, skin on and
sliced+ 1 clove garlic, crushed 2 Tbsp chopped tarragon 2 tsp olive oil Rice flour, for dusting Vegetable oil, for deep frying Tarragon leaves, extra 1 Tbsp sea salt flakes Place the chicken, garlic, 1 Tbsp of chopped tarragon and olive oil in a bowl and toss to coat. Dust the chicken in the rice flour and shake to remove excess. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over high heat until hot. Cook the chicken, in batches, for 2-3 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper. Add the extra tarragon leaves to the saucepan and cook for 30 seconds or until crisp. Place the remaining chopped tarragon and salt in a bowl and mix to combine. Serve the chicken with the crisp leaves and tarragon salt. Serves 4. + For a little spice, sprinkle the crispy chicken with dried chilli flakes or a little ground paprika. Polenta chips with lemon aioli 3 1/ cups chicken stock
2 1 cup instant polenta 30g butter, chopped 1/ cup finely grated parmesan
2 Sea salt and cracked black pepper Olive oil, for brushing 5 cloves garlic 3/ cup whole-egg mayonnaise
4 2 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind Sea salt flakes Place the stock in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, add the butter, parmesan, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Spoon on to a 20cm x 30cm baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and spread out to 1cm thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Preheat oven to 220C. Cut the polenta into 2cm x 10cm fingers and brush with the oil. Place on a baking tray with the garlic and cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crisp. Squeeze the garlic from its skin, place in a bowl and mash. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon rind and salt and mix well to combine. Sprinkle the polenta chips with salt and serve with the lemon aioli. Serves 4. Polenta chips are also great served with fish.