Party food can be fun and imaginative, as well as delicious.
The party season is just around the corner, and if you can't bear the thought of another sausage roll or vol-au-vent, find fresh inspiration for stylish finger food in The World in Bite Size, a new book by Paul Gayler, executive chef at the Lanesborough hotel in London.
The best canapes are stylish, elegant, and carefully constructed so they can be eaten in a dainty mouthful, without falling apart. Banqueting kitchens and party caterers compete to outdo each other with ever more extravagant ways of dishing up their delicious morsels, and in canapes, as in fashion, trends come and go - woe betide any caterer who is still serving those mini newspaper cones of fish and chips.
The "lollipop" presentation is hot this year, and an element of surprise is a welcome feature in a canape. Gayler combined both trends with his cherry tomato and mozzarella version which features a concealed nugget of tapenade.
Mini burgers are perennially popular at parties, and Gayler's low-fat chicken tikka burgers served on naan bread are a refreshing alternative to beef. If you're taking your deep fat fryer out of cold storage, you might as well make good use of it, and the Stilton fritters and Cajun popcorn recipes featured here score highly on the "soakage" factor, even if they're not for the diet-conscious. You could substitute thin strips of chicken for the crayfish, or fry up a mixture of the two.
What party would be complete without a huge mound of hummus, with pitta bread and crudites to dip? Gayler's Moroccan spiced version takes on a high-voltage appearance achieved with the addition of saffron to the mix.
Quails' eggs are very "now", according to Gayler, and they are on sale in Superquinn. They may be fiddly to prepare (save the tedious peeling job for a nimble-fingered assistant), but they look very impressive piled in a bowl, with a selection of seasonings in which to dip them.
Gayler's gastronomic round-the-world journey through tapas, mezze, dim sum, antipasti and sushi is packed with appetising recipes such as these, and lavishly illustrated with Peter Cassidy's appetising photographs.
Recipes taken from from The World In Bite Size, by Paul Gayler, which is published by Kyle Cathie (€21.70)
NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST - MOROCCAN STYLE HUMMUS
1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters
Good pinch of saffron filaments
400g cooked chickpeas, drained (the tinned variety is fine)
75g tahini
½ tsp ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 garlic coves, crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp virgin olive oil
Place the onion in a small pan with the saffron and two tablespoons of water. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. Drain into a colander and leave to cool.
Place the onion and all the remaining ingredients (except the olive oil) in a blender or food processor and blitz to a smooth puree, adding a little more water if necessary. Season to taste. Transfer to a serving dish, drizzle the olive oil over the top and serve with lots of toasted Middle Eastern-style flat bread.
THE SPICE ROUTE - MINI CHICKEN TIKKA BURGERS WITH MINT CHUTNEY
Burgers never lose their popularity, and these mini ones are always a talking point (pictured far left). The mint chutney adds a nice Asian touch to the dish.
1 tbsp tikka paste
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp chopped coriander
2cm piece root ginger, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
400g minced chicken breast
Cooking oil
4 small naan breads
for the chutney:
1 small bunch fresh mint
2cm piece root ginger, peeled and grated
1 small green chilli, chopped
Juice of ½ a lime
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
A little natural yoghurt, to blend ( water is fine, too)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place all the ingredients for the burgers (excluding the oil and the naan breads) in a bowl and mix well. With wet hands, mould the mixture into 12 small burgers. Place these on a plate and refrigerate them for an hour.
Meanwhile, make the chutney by placing all the ingredients in a blender with enough yoghurt or water to blitz to a thick consistency. Season to taste. Preheat a grill pan, then cook the burgers, brushed with a little oil, for three to four minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Cut each naan bread into three wedges, and toast until crispy. Top each naan bread wedge with a cooked burger and spear with a skewer.
EUROPE - CHERRY TOMATO AND BOCCONCINI LOLLIPOPS
A simple but eye-catching recipe based on the Caprese salad, Italy's ubiquitous pairing of mozzarella and tomato.
12 cherry tomatoes, stems removed
1 tbsp tapenade
12 bocconcini (baby mozzarella)
½ tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley
With a sharp knife, remove the top one centimetre of each tomato. Using a melon baller, scoop out the seeds of each one, ensuring that the outer "shell" is left intact.
Spoon a little tapenade into the base of each tomato, followed by one of the baby bocconcini. Skewer the base of each tomato with a large wooden or bamboo skewer. For the most eye-catching presentation, stand the lollipops in tall glasses. Combine the lemon zest, olive oil and parsley in a bowl. Drizzle a little of this over each tomato before serving.
EUROPE - STILTON FRITTERS
These little fritters are a great way to use up any trimmings or small pieces left from a cheese board. They taste delicious with plum chutney, or even apple, or a good tomato chutney. Vegetable or beetroot pickles would make a good accompaniment, too.
110g unsalted butter
150g plain flour, sifted
4 eggs beaten
150g Stilton cheese
100 Gruyère cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Bring 300ml water to the boil. Add the butter, then quickly sprinkle in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat.
Beat the eggs into the mixture in three stages, beating well each time. Then, while the mixture is still warm, beat in the cheeses. Season well. Heat the oil in a pan to 160 degrees Celsius. Fry the fritters in batches, dropping spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and cooking until golden. Drain on kitchen paper, then serve.
EUROPE - QUAILS' EGGS WITH SMOKED PAPRIKA AND SPICED SEA SALT
Quails eggs have suddenly become trendy, and are widely available. They have a delicate, almost gamey flavour and taste wonderful either soft or hard boiled.
12 quails' eggs
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp freshly chopped chives
¼tsp smoked paprika
Bring a pan of water to the boil, carefully immerse the quails' eggs and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the eggs for four minutes, then remove and immediately refresh in iced water. Carefully peel the eggs and place on individual spoons or alternately, pile them in a bowl. Mix the sea salt, chives and paprika, sprinkle a little on each egg and serve.
Other ways to serve quails' eggs include: with celery salt, to dip in anchovy-flavoured mayonnaise, or with caviar for a gastronomic treat.
THE AMERICAS - CAJUN POPCORN
You should be able to buy cooked crayfish tails in brine from your fishmonger, but small Norwegian prawns would also fit the bill nicely. The crispy crayfish cry out to be dunked in a spicy dip: try jazzing up a good quality mayonnaise with a little Cajun spice, or tomato ketchup with a few drops of Tabasco.
25ml buttermilk (or milk)
1 large egg white - lightly beaten until foamy
¼ tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp paprika
dash of Tabasco
125g plain flour
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g crayfish tails or small prawns, drained
Vegetable oil for deep frying
In a bowl, combine the milk, egg, garlic salt, paprika and Tabasco. Place the flour in another bowl and season with the cayenne, salt and pepper.
Dip the crayfish tails in the milk mixture, then dredge them in the seasoned flour. Heat the vegetable oil to 180 degrees Celsius. Immerse the crayfish in the hot oil and fry until they are golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
