The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Alice Zaslavsky's three-ingredient Christmas canapes

Alice Zaslavsky

Loading

Entertaining this festive season? Whip up these clever little three-ingredient canapes in less time than it takes to open a packet.

Warm olives with macadamias and chilli

INGREDIENTS

Warm olives with macadamias and chilli
Warm olives with macadamias and chilliSupplied
Advertisement
  • 600g olives (a mix of large Sicilian/black/red if you can find them)
  • 200g raw, unsalted macadamia nuts
  • 1 tbsp chilli flakes
  • olive oil (optional)

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 220C (220C fan).
  2. Whack all ingredients into an oven-proof dish (bonus points for using the one you'll serve them in) and pour in a splash or two of olive oil if you need a little extra slip.
  3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the olives start to shrivel and the nuts begin to burnish.
  4. Serve immediately, with a little bowl for the pips.

Mango, prosciutto and finger lime

INGREDIENTS

Advertisement
  • 2-3 ripe mangoes
  • 1-2 packs of prosciutto or jamon
  • 3-4 finger limes (or 4-5 fresh limes if you'd prefer)
  • coarsely ground black pepper
  • canape spoons, to serve

METHOD

  1. Cut open the finger lime through the centre, horizontally, and squeeze out the 'caviar' into a small cup or bowl. Reserve. Alternatively, cut your limes into squeezable wedges, 6-8 per lime.
  2. Slice cheeks off mango as close to the pip as possible. Use a large metal spoon to scoop out the flesh in one big cheek. Turn on the flat edge and cut into 5-6 long, even slices. Cut the remaining two slices off the leftover pip (or just save these for snacking).
  3. Arrange a mango slice on each canape spoon.
  4. Peel off a slice of your chosen cured meat, fold into a rosette and place atop the mango.
  5. Use a teaspoon to scoop a little finger lime on top of each, or pop a lime wedge alongside each mango slice.
  6. Sprinkle liberally with black pepper (which is a seasoning, not an ingredient, if we're being pedantic!).

Triple cream, raspberry and champagne

INGREDIENTS

Advertisement
  • 1 wheel of triple cream brie (Brillat-Savarin or equivalent)
  • 1 punnet raspberries
  • 1 splash of bubbles (champagne or sparkling – it's really just for effect)
  • 40cm or so of unflavoured tooth floss
  • 4 toothpicks or bamboo skewers

METHOD

  1. Poke your skewers into the cheese just below the very top. Use the skewers as a guide to garotte your cheese lid off, using the taught piece of tooth floss to slice it cleanly.
  2. Give the cheese a little time to soften (this could be as little as 20 minutes if it's one of those hot Aussie Christmas days).
  3. Peel off the cheese lid, and use a fork to mash a few raspberries at a time into the centre of the cheese. Pour in a little of your chosen bubbles at a time, and keep mashing until you're happy with the brie-bubbles-berry ratio.
  4. Serve with crackers or crusty bread. Or maybe just some teaspoons.

BONUS RECIPE

Christmas caprese wreath

Advertisement

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-2 packs of canape toothpicks/bamboo skewers
  • 3-4 punnets of cherry tomatoes (a mix of colours and shapes here is fun, too)
  • 2-3 jars of bocconcini, sliced in half
  • 1 jar of cherry/baby bocconcini (optional)
  • 1 bunch basil
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

METHOD

  1. Give your chosen cheese a chomp and sprinkle a little salt over it if it's a little on the bland side (which it invariably will be, if I'm honest).
  2. Spike tomatoes, bocconcini, basil and baby bocconcini (if using) onto the skewers in varying patterns, with a couple of basil leaves, tomatoes and cheese pieces on each.
  3. Arrange on a large round plate with the toothpick/skewer handles facing out, so that guests may marvel at your Christmas creativity and cheer.

These recipes featured in the Good Food Christmas television special on Nine.

The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.

Sign up

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement