Scrumptious holiday dishes
It’s party season and every good party needs a signature cocktail and delicious snacks. Here are some recipes for your ‘ideas list’
Mini crustless quiches
Makes about 16-18 regularsized muffins – gluten-free
Base:
12 large eggs ½ cup cream ¼ cup milk 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 2 tbsp other herb, optional ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper
Vegetable options:
1 cup sliced 1 cup broccoli, cut into small florets 1 cup fresh chopped 1 red bell finely ¼-½ cup onion, diced finely
Add-ins (optional):
1½ cups cheddar, mozzarella, or half of each 250g bacon, or sausage, or other meat, fully cooked
Feel free to include whatever vegetables you like, or what you have on hand.
Method:
mushrooms,
spinach,
pepper,
thinly
roughly
chopped
If using meat (bacon), cook it fully first. Set it aside to cool, then cut it into small pieces. Preheat oven to 180°, and thoroughly grease (butter, coconut oil, or non-stick spray) a muffin tin. Fry up the onion until it is soft and golden, and set it aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Get all your veggies 1 tablespoon caster sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder pinch of salt 180ml milk 1 egg 50g unsalted butter, melted 250g smoked salmon, cut strips 250g sour fraiche 1 tablespoon fresh chives balsamic vinegar serving
cream
or
finely
crème
chopped
beads,
into
for
SIFT the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the combined milk and egg, then half diced up and ready to go. Add all the veggies to the bowl with the egg mixture, and stir to combine. Stir in half of the cheese, and all of the meat.
Using a ¼ cup measure, scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Fill to about 6mm from the top, then sprinkle a small amount of reserved cheese over each.
Place it in the oven, and bake the melted butter. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
Lightly brush the pan with a little of the remaining butter. Drop two teaspoons (10ml) of blini mixture into the pan.
Cook for 30 seconds or until browned lightly underneath, and bubbles appear on the surface. Turn, cook for 30 seconds to one minute, or until the blinis are cooked.
Repeat with the remaining butter and blini mixture. To serve, top the blinis with smoked salmon, crème fraiche, chives and the balsamic beads which have the appearance of dark caviar. for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is fully set and the cheese has just started to turn golden on top. Remove it from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before running a butterknife around each muffin, and gently remove them from the pan. Enjoy while warm, or let them cool before storing them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Roasted chickpea dip
A chickpea dip, also known as hummus, is traditionally made with tahini, which is a sesame seed paste. Tahini, however, can be expensive or difficult to find. By roasting half of the chickpeas with cumin seeds before blending them, the hummus still has a nutty flavour.
Ingredients:
2x410 tins chickpeas, drained, but keep liquid 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed 5 tblsp (75ml) sunflower or olive oil, 1 tsp (5ml) cumin seeds 1 tsp (5ml) ground cumin 100ml lemon juice ¼ tsp (1.2ml) salt black pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C