Have you invited some friends round for appetizers? Keep things simple and make some finger food: tasty morsels you can eat with your fingers without having to worry about washing up piles of dirty plates and cutlery afterwards.
The key to all finger food is simplicity. Forget about mountains of food you’d struggle to eat with four hands. Two handy hints are to avoid anything that might dribble sauce everywhere and always start with a solid base. Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. Mini-croissants with goat’s cheese and tomato marmalade. It couldn’t be simpler. Cut some puff pastry into two triangles, add a little goat’s cheese and marmalade in the widest part, roll up and bake in the oven.
Original tip: decorate with poppy seeds.
2. Salmon and tartare sauce canapés. Start with a base of crustless sliced bread, spread a thin layer of tartare sauce on top and add a slice of smoked salmon. Decorate with a small piece of gherkin.
Original tip: cut out the sliced bread with a biscuit cutter to give them more exciting shapes.
3. Tomato, olive and cheese mini-brochettes. This may well be the simplest finger food ever. Spear a whole cherry tomato with a cocktail stick, followed by a cube of Emmental cheese and a pitted green olive.
Original tip: finish the mini-brochettes off in a frying pan with a dash of extra-virgin olive oil for a couple of minutes.
4. Courgette and Parmesan cheese chips. Slice the courgettes as finely as you can, drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil on top and arrange them on a baking tray, making sure they don’t overlap. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and heat in the oven until they’re nice and crispy.
Original tip: mix some oregano or rosemary with the Parmesan cheese to give it an irresistible aroma.
5. Breaded aubergine and mozzarella strips. Cut the aubergines and mozzarella into strips and coat them in flour, egg and garlic breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven (or fry, if you dare).
Original tip: use cornflour instead of breadcrumbs.
6. Sobrasadaand cheese sponge cake. All you need is flour, eggs, butter, baking powder and salt. Mix the ingredients together and blend. Add the cubes of cheese and sobrasada. Next, stir with a wooden spoon, pour into a ring-shaped mould and pop into the oven. When ready, serve like a cake in 1 cm thick slices.
Original tip: you can put the mixture into fairy cake moulds and decorate with grated cheese for a show-stopping finger food sensation.
7. Sliced bread wraps. Use a rolling pin to stretch out a slice of bread as much as you can. Spread a layer of fresh cheese on top, followed by some boiled ham and rocket leaves. Roll up, leave to cool and cut into slices.
Original tip: you can swap the ham for tuna mixed with a few drops of aromatic olive oil with black olives.
