Category: Appetizers

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Whole30 compliant

Roasted red peppers with basil, garlic, tomatoes, anchovies and olives

Belinda

Make sure you have lots of crusty bread for these, as the juices are gorgeous!!  This is a recipe I use a lot in the summer months and it’s from the wonderful Delia Smith.
This recipe is quite simply stunning and is better when served at room temperature. It’s important to use a solid, shallow roasting tray 16 x 12 inches, approx. If the sides are too deep, the roasted vegetables won’t get those lovely nutty, toasty edges.

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Serves 4 as a starter

4 large red peppers (green are NOT suitable)
4 – 6 medium, sweet tomatoes
8 – 10 tinned anchovy fillets, drained
6 large cloves garlic
10 dessertspoons Italian extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
A really good handful of fresh basil leaves
2 to 3 Kalamata olives per pepper half, halved or quartered (optional)
Lots of really good focaccia bread (preferably with olives in it!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Begin by cutting the peppers in half lengthways, removing the seeds but leaving the stalks intact. (They’re not edible but they do look attractive and they help the pepper halves to keep their shape)
Lay the pepper halves in a lightly oiled roasting tray. Line the base of each pepper with fresh basil leaves, then cut the tomatoes into quarters and place two quarters in each pepper half. Keep some basil for shredding and garnishing the dish at the end.
After that, snip 1 or 2 anchovy fillets per pepper half into rough pieces and add to the tomatoes. Don’t be put off by the anchovy, you don’t taste it in the final dish, as it melts and just enhances all the flavors.
Peel the garlic cloves, slice them thinly and divide the slices equally among the tomatoes and anchovies. Add the Kalamata olives if using.
I sometimes put more garlic, basil and anchovy than it says to, as I love the flavors, so you can play with this a bit!
Now spoon a good dessertspoon at least, of olive oil into each pepper half and season well with ground pepper, but no salt because of the anchovies.
Place the tray of peppers in the oven and roast for at least 50 minutes and up to 1 hour. Transfer the cooked peppers to an attractive serving platter with ALL the precious juices poured over, and garnish with more fresh slivered basil.
These do need good bread to go with them as the juices are sublime!
Focaccia with olives would be perfect!

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Gluten Free · Nuts

Goat cheese stuffed radicchio

Belinda

Again, I am so keen to get this out, that I haven’t yet got a photo. Although I’ve made this several times and always to raves, I keep forgetting to have my camera handy!
INGREDIENTS:
2 heads radicchio
8 ounce goat cheese
1/2 cup pistachio nuts, lightly toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaved parsley
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve radicchio heads down the middle. Cut out hard core and remove
several layers of inner leaves to hollow out a small hole for stuffing. Chop up radicchio leaves and combine
with goat cheese, pistachios, shallots, parsley and olive oil; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Fill
radicchio halves with stuffing. Bake until hot and golden, about 30 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings

Appetizers · Gluten Free · Holiday Food

Bacon wrapped dates in a cream sauce

Belinda

These are not for the faint hearted or calorie conscious, but are delicious as a little starter. I don’t yet have a photo, but for now you can just picture them in your mind!  Unctious!!

Serves 6 as a starter
12 rashers of bacon (streaky)
24 pitted Medjool dates

Sauce
Large knob of unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
5 fl oz dry white wine
1 ¼ cups whipping cream
2 heaped tsp grain mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chopped parsley to garnish

Preheat the oven to 450F
Hold a rasher of bacon by one end and use the blunt end of a knife to gently stretch it out by another quarter – this helps make the bacon crisper when cooked. Repeat with all the bacon. Cut each rasher in half and roll one half around each date.
Refrigerate while you make the sauce
Melt the butter in the frying pan over a gentle heat, add the garlic and shallot and sweat gently for about 5 mins until soft but not colored
Add the wine, turn up the eat and boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
Strain the mixture through a sieve and return to the pan. Add the cream and mustard bring to a rolling boil and boil for 30 secs. Season if necessary (bear in mind that the bacon is salty)
Divide the mustard /cream mixture between six 4 inch diameter gratin dishes.
Add four dates to each dish.
Bake for 8 to 10 mins until the sauce is bubbling and the bacon browning.
Finish off the dish with 2 minutes under a very hot grill to really crisp up the bacon.
Serve sprinkled with parsley and serve with some granary bread

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Do-ahead · Gluten Free

Butternut squash and tahini spread

Belinda

This is a recipe from the incredible Yotam Ottolenghi who has several restaurants in London.

Serves 6 to 8

This squash spread is very moreish and will keep in a jar in the fridge for several days. In which case, when you want to serve it, bring it back to room temperature before piling on pita bread or crusty bread like hummus.
Date syrup is a wonderful sweetener and has a great depth of richness. If you can’t find it, don’t worry, you can do without it but it adds huge dimension to this dish  it is also available on Amazon and is not expensive.

1 very large butternut squash (2lbs roughly) peeled and cut into chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Just under 1/3 cup tahini paste (The recipe says 70g, so I am trying to convert it.)
Just under 1 cup of greek Yoghurt (The recipe says 120g)
2 small cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp mixed black and white sesame seeds (or just white if you don’t have black)
1 1/2 tsp date syrup
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh coriander)

Hest the oven to 350F. Spread the squash out on a medium sized baking tray, pour over the olive oil and sprinkle on the cinnamon and salt.
Mix well, cover the tray lightly with aluminum foil and roast for about 70 mins, stirring once during the cooking. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
transfer the cooled squash to the bowl of a food processor along with the tahini, yoghurt and garlic.
Roughly pulse so that everything is combined into a coarse paste- you don’t want it too smooth.
You can also do this by hand using a fork or a masher.
To serve, spread the butternut in a wavy pattern over a flat plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds, a drizzle of the date syrup and the chopped cilantro.

 

Appetizers

Caramelized onion, apple and bacon in phyllo cups with gorgonzola

Belinda

This is a variation on the previous blog recipe with the addition of apple and bacon. Outrageous huh?

Ingredients

2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large yellow onions, sliced (1/4 inch slices)
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped finely
1 packed tbsp brown sugar
4 strips hickory smoked bacon, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup good gorgonzola cheese, crumbled. (Please don’t buy that ready crumbled stuff, it’s not Italian and tastes like wallboard)
26 mini phyllo shells from 2 x 1.9 oz packages in the freezer section. Prepare/cook according to the instructions

Directions

To make the caramelized onions, heat 2 tbsp butter and olive oil over medium low heat in a large non stick skillet.
Add the onions, cover and cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove the lid, and cook an additional 15 minutes or until beautifully caramelized.
To make the apples and bacon, heat the chopped apples in the remaining 1/2 tbsp butter and brown sugar in a small pot over medium heat. Saute for 10 to 12 minutes or until the apples are softened and lightly browned.
Wipe the pan clean and place the bacon in it. Saute over medium heat or until crispy and browned, stirring occasionally. Drain on paper towels.

To assemble the shells, place the caramelized onions, cooked apples and bacon and salt in a small bowl and mix well.
Evenly distribute the mixture among the mini phyllo shells. Top evenly with the crumbled gorgonzola.
You can put them in the oven at 400F for about 5  minutes until the gorgonzola is melted, but you don’t have to. I rather like the melty cheese on the top. Watch them incase the pastry starts to burn though.

This recipe makes 13 servings of two phyllo cups each.

 

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers

Caramelized onion tart with gorgonzola and brie

Belinda

If you can’t find fresh tarragon you can use crushed fennel seeds (about 1/2 tsp) and sprinkle over the tart. to replace the tarragon.
Makes 9 – 12 appetizer sized squares

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups sliced onions, sliced root to top into 1/4 inch slices (about 2 large onions)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground pepper
8 oz frozen puff pastry, (defrosted in the fridge for a couple of hours)
3 oz chilled brie, rind removed and diced
3 oz gorgonzola or other blue cheese, diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (or 1/2 tsp or so of crushed fennel seeds)

Directions

 Heat the oil in a large deep pan on medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until wilted and stating to brown. Add the sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat and cook gently for 25 to 30 minutes or until richly caramelized.
Add a little water if the onions look like they’re starting to dry out. Cool.

Roll the pastry into a 10 by 14 inch rectangle, or whatever shape you want. Place the pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Prick with a fork at a couple inch increments to prevent the pastry from forming big bubbles while baking.

Spread the onions over the pastry, all the way to the edges of the pastry. Dot with the cheese, sprinkle with the tarragon. Refrigerate if not baking immediately.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 18 to 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the pastry is crispy.
Cool for 5 minutes then cut into wedges or squares and enjoy!

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Fish · Gluten Free

Tuna tapenade

Belinda

This is one of Ina Garten’s recipes and is delicious as a quick starter to put over toasted crostini.
I beg you to use Italian tuna in olive oil, not American tuna, as it has twice the flavor.

Makes about 36 crostini full.

10 – 12 oz canned Italian tuna packed in olive oil
2 tsp anchovy paste
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 large cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp)
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp good olive oil (plus extra for brushing the bread slices)
1/3 cup Italian mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
1 tbsp drained capers
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
36 slices French bread sliced diagonally

Drain all but 1 tbsp of the oil from the tuna then flake the fish into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Add the anchovy paste, thyme, lemon zest, garlic and  parsley and pulse a few times.
Add the lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil, and the mascarpone cheese and process until smooth.
Add the olives, capers, salt and pepper and pulse just to incorporate.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap  and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile heat a grill or use a heavy ridged flat pan. Slice the French bread diagonally and brush with olive oil and put on the grill until lightly browned. You can also put the slices on a sheet pan and roast at 400 F for about 6 minutes or until toasted.
Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Mound the tapenade on the toast pieces and sprinkle with the extra chopped parsley and serve on a large platter.

 

Appetizers · Asian flavors · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Nuts

Asian lettuce cups with spicy ground turkey filling (CleanCuisine)

Belinda

This makes 4 to 6 servings

1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil, you may need more depending on the size of the an you’re using.
3 tbsp minced red onion or shallots
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (I prefer the dark meat)
4 tbsp soy or tamari sauce
1 tbsp chile garlic sauce, or more if you like spicy food
1 tsp fish sauce
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/3 cup chopped peanuts (dry roasted are nice to use)
1 large head or 2 small heads of Boston or Butter lettuce as long as you can fill it well. (See picture)

Chop the onion and set aside.

Peel the ginger root then grate with the large holed side of a cheese .
Chop the garlic finely.

Heat the oil in a large non stick frying pan, add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute or so.

Add the ground turkey to the frying pan with a bit more oil, if needed, breaking apart the meat and spreading it out in the pan, then add the soy sauce, chile garlic sauce and the fish sauce. Cook until the turkey is brown and crumbling apart and the sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

While the turkey cooks, wash, dry and chop the fresh cilantro making 1 cup. Remove the core end from the lettuce, separate the leaves and wash, drying gently in a salad spinner.

Chop the peanuts and put them in  a small bowl to serve at the table.

When the turkey is done, add the freshly chopped cilantro and mix well together, cooking for about 2 more minutes.

Serve the turkey filling and lettuce leaves in separate serving bowls alongside the chopped peanuts in the smaller bowl.

Each person takes a lettuce leaf, fills it with the desired amount of filling, tops it with some chopped peanuts then eats the mixture from the lettuce cup.

Sme people like to fold the lettuce over to resemble a taco, but be careful your lettuce id not the breaking sort and you are left with a large pile of filling on the table!

 

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Fish · Gluten Free

Salmon Rilette

Belinda1 Comment

A fellow Los Angeles food blogger called “The Pasadena Chef” posted this and it is divine!!
If you are talking fish in NYC there is no better restaurant than Le Bernadin. Chef Eric Ripert is a genius and I came across this recipe for his house starter which is served before every meal.

2 cups dry white wine
1 tbsp minced shallots
1 lb fresh boneless, skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 oz smoked salmon, diced
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup a good mayonnaise
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
toasted baguette slices

Combine the white wine and shallots in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Simmer over medium heat for 2 minutes until the shallots are tender. Add the salmon pieces and poach for just 2 – 3 minutes until they are barely opaque.

Remove the salmon pieces from the wine with a slotted spoon and drain them on a baking sheet lined with kitchen towel. Strain the wine reserving the shallots. Place both salmon and shallots together and put into the fridge to cool.

Combine the cooled salmon pieces, shallots, smoked salmon, chives and some mayonnaise and lemon juice and gently fold together

Use the lemon juice and mayonnaise sparingly, so you have just enough to moisten the mixture. It will need salt inspite of the smoked salmon.

Serve cold with the toasted baguette slices. This is lovely served with champagne or a white burgundy

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Meat

Grilled stuffed Portabello Mushrooms stuffed with Italian sausage, spinach and mozzarella

Belinda
 
Serves 4.  Great for a BBQ.  This is from a great food blog.

4 large Portobello mushrooms (get the biggest ones you can find)
12 oz. mild or hot Italian sausage
1-2 T olive oil (for browning sausage and onions and brushing on mushrooms before grilling)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup tomato sauce or marinara sauce
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
8 oz. coarsely chopped spinach leaves
2 T chopped fresh basil
2 T chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup grated mozzarella, plus 1/2 cup for sprinkling on topPreheat gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Heat a small amount of olive oil in heavy frying pan, then crumble Italian sausage into pan and cook about 5 minutes, breaking apart with back of the turner as it cooks. When sausage is well-browned, remove to bowl.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil, then saute onions until they’re starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking until onions are starting to brown, a few minutes more. Add Italian sausage back into pan, then add red pepper flakes and tomato sauce and simmer 2-3 minutes while you chop the spinach.

Add chopped spinach and let it wilt and cook down, stirring so it’s evenly distributed in the sausage/onion mixture. Turn off heat and stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese and chopped basil and parsley.

Remove stems from mushrooms caps, being careful not to break them then brush both sides of mushrooms with olive oil. Put mushrooms on grill, inside facing down, and cook about 4 minutes, until mushroom is slightly browned and starting to soften.

Remove mushrooms from the grill. (I put them on a wooden cutting board.) Carefully stuff the inside of each mushroom with sausage/spinach/cheese mixture, then top each mushroom with about 2 T grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Carefully put mushrooms back on grill, stuffing facing up of course! Cover grill and cook about 5 minutes, checking often and removing from grill when mushrooms are cooked through, and cheese is melted and starting to brown, and stuffing mixture is hot. Serve immediately.