Quick and Easy Canapes

Egg & Bacon Vol au Vents

Egg & Bacon Vol au Vents, Caprese skewers, Tuna and Cucumber Wedges

Here are some really easy canapé ideas that can be put together in next to know time, they look great and they taste fab!  The amount of ingredients used will depend on how many canapes you are looking to make so you will need to adjust accordingly.

For the vol au vents I used 3 hard boiled eggs mashed together with a few tablespoons of mayonnaise, don't overdo the mayo, you don't want the mixture to be too loose, season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.  I had two packs of ready made vol au vent cases (24 cases) which you then spoon or pipe the egg mixture into.  I grilled two rashers of bacon which I then cut into thin strips and placed a couple of slices into each vol au vent and then topped with some cress.  Not only do these look really good but they are so tasty.

Caprese skewers, Tuna and Cucumber Wedges

The caprese skewers are so easy, I used a bag of mini mozzarella pearls, there were 12 in the pack. Drain them from the liquid and pat dry.  You will also need 12 cherry tomatoes, 12 basil leaves and 12 cocktail sticks.  Place a folded basil leaf on top of the cherry tomato, top with the mozzarella pearl and skewer with the cocktail stick, it really is that quick!  I had a bottle of balsamic glaze which I also put out so people could drizzle over themselves but the skewers tasted amazing as they were, the flavours of each component just go so well together.

Lastly for the tuna and cucumber wedges I mixed together one drained can of tuna with half a finely chopped red onion, freshly ground black pepper and a few tablespoons of mayo.  Again, don't overdo the mayo, you don't want the mix to be sloppy it needs to hold together to sit on the cucumber.  I cut a cucumber into 12 thick slices and then topped each slip with a spoon of the tuna mix.  If you like a bit of heat you can add a few drops of tobacco to the mix just to spice it up a bit.

I made these recently for an afternoon tea and they went down really well, great flavours from all of them and again, so quick to put together, give them a try and let me know what you think.

Chicken with Hash Browns

Chicken with Hash Browns

• 1 large potato
• ½ tbsp. Coconut oil
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 chicken breast fillet, sliced into strips
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp Turkish chilli flakes
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• Freshly ground black pepper
• White wine vinegar

Method:

Put a saucepan of water on to boil, add a couple tablespoons of white wine vinegar. Grate the unpeeled potato and squeeze out any excess liquid.

Melt half of the coconut oil in a small non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat. 

Add a large handful of the grated potato and use a spatula to flatten it out across the base of the pan, naturally add more potato if required. 

Fry the potato for around 5 minutes and then carefully turn it over in the pan and fry for a further 5 minutes until the potato is cooked through and has a nice crisp to it.

Melt the remaining coconut oil in a second frying pan, chuck in the spring onions, chilli, tomatoes and chicken, stir fry for around 5 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

Crack the eggs into individual ramekin dishes and once the water is boiling tip them straight in and cook on a rolling boil for 3 minutes, this should give you lovely runny yolks. Once cooked lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside.

When the chicken has cooked add the Turkish chilli flakes and the spinach to the pan and toss together with the other ingredients until the spinach is fully wilted.

Slide the hash brown onto a piece of kitchen roll in order to soak up any excess oil then plate it up. Top with the chicken and spinach mix and finish with the poached eggs and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.

This recipe is taken from Joe Wicks, "Lean in 15" cook book, the original recipe uses rose harissa, however I`m not a fan of harissa so I substituted this with the Turkish chilli flakes. This is a light yet filling meal, ideal for lunch or dinner and its one of those dishes you can mix up with a variety of ingredients that you may have in the fridge or store cupboard, mushrooms, bell pepper, spiralised courgette/butternut squash in place of the spinach, make it your own!

Open tuna salad sandwich with poached egg

Open tuna salad sandwich with poached egg

• Tin of tuna, drained
• 2 tomatoes
• Handful of black olives
• Small handful of feta cheese, cubed
• Spring onion, sliced
• Wedge of cucumber cut into quarters
• Handful of mixed salad leaves 
• 2 eggs, break each egg into a small ramekin dish
• Bread of choice
• Salad dressing
• White wine vinegar

Serves 2

Method:

Cut off a couple of decent slices of bread, butter them and place onto your plate.  Top the bread with some salad and then put the tuna on top followed by the feta, cucumber, spring onions, olives and tomato, season with a few grinds of black pepper.

Bring a medium pan of water to the boil, add a few splashes of white wine vinegar and then tip in the eggs and cook for 3 minutes.  Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place each egg in top of your sandwich, drizzle over some salad dressing and serve.

This is quick and easy to make and is a super tasty lunch.  My local Co-op sells a mature cheddar and jalapeño bread which is what I used here, it is seriously good, go get some, trust me you won't regret it!  This is perfect when sat out in the garden with a nice cold glass of Pinot on the go, a great way to welcome in the summer to come!

Heavenly Mushrooms on Toast

Heavenly Mushrooms on Toast

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 100g smoked pancetta cut into cubes
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 25g unsalted butter, plus extra for spreading
• 2 x 300g packs of mixed mushrooms
• 3 tbsp white wine
• Large handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Eggs (1 per serving)
• Thick slices of sourdough or crusty white bread

I came across this recipe in the Waitrose magazine and the recipe is by John Torode, this made for a really tasty lunch…

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a high heat, add the pancetta and fry until golden brown. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and soften, without colouring, for about 2 minutes. 

Increase the heat and add the butter, once it starts to sizzle and foam add the mushrooms and stir to ensure the mushrooms are coated with the pancetta and garlic.

 Once the mushrooms have browned then add the wine and then reduce down until there is a small amount of liquid remaining, season with pepper and then stir through the parsley.

Keep the above on a low heat whilst you then soft boil your eggs for 5 minutes, once done drain under cold water and then set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Toast your bread under a grill or on a hot griddle pan until lightly charred. Spread with butter, top with the mushrooms and serve with the soft boiled egg on top.

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