The Canapé Bumper Bonus!!!

Because who doesn't love party nibbles?!

I’ve been working full-time as a private chef for the past 4 years and the question I get asked the most is “what’s your favourite thing to cook?” : a slightly annoying question because I don’t have a simple, seamless answer.

I adore exploring new cuisines, whether that’s eating or cooking, and I’m often guided by what’s in season (and let’s be honest, what the client wants!)

There is one category of food I absolutely adore - from creating new ideas to prepping & assembling the beautiful little morsels, I truly love canapés : miniature mouthfuls of happiness, everyone’s favourite part of a wedding or party, and an endless horizon of creativity.

Nibbles & drinks parties have made up at least 50% of my work over the years, so I wanted to share some of my best-selling canapés with you that you can make ahead of time, for next time you’re entertaining.

So let’s get into the recipes!

Steak tartare filo cups

Salty, tangy, crispy & luxurious, these are everything you could want from a canapé. They’re also easy to put together, served room temperature and can sit quite happily for an hour before serving - the queen of low maintenance nibbles!

Ingredients (makes 30)

6 sheets filo pastry - cut into 3 inch squares

100g butter - melted

2 x 250g fillet steaks

1 shallot - finely diced

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3-4 drops tabasco

2 tsp capers

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt & pepper - to taste

100g mayonaise

20g chives, finely chopped

Method:

Start by putting the steaks in the freezer to firm up, which will make dicing up the tartare much easier.

For the filo cups, take 1 square of filo, brush with the melted butter then place over another square of filo turned 90 degrees so that you 1 square under 1 diamond shape. Repeat with 1 more square and 1 diamond (4 layers in total) brushing each one with butter. Push into a hole of a mini muffin tray and repeat until you’ve used all of the muffin tray holes.

(If you don’t have a mini muffin tray, you can use a regular sized one and have much larger canapés, and make half of the quantity)

Bake at 180C for 5-10 minutes until crisp and golden. Keep an eye on them: once they start to brown, they darken very quickly. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile, remove the steak from the freezer and cut into 1/2cm dice, or as small as you can! Mix with the shallots, capers, parsley, dijon, worcestershire, tabasco & season to taste.

When the filo cups are baked and completely cooled, spoon the tartare into each cup and top with a small blob of mayo. Sprinkle over the chives, if using.

Crab, chilli & lemon vol au vents

I couldn’t write lovingly about canapés without including the absolute classics, vol au vents. Once you’ve sorted the little puff pastry casings, you can let them cool & fill them with whatever you like. I’ve made countless fillings over the years but one that always goes down well is this; zingy, fresh, light & absolutely perfect with a glass of fizz.

Ingredients (makes 30)

2 x sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry, cut into 30 rectangles

1 egg - to glaze - beaten

For the filling:

200g picked white crab meat

100g brown crab meat

1 lemon - zested

1 red chilli - finely chopped

150g creme fraiche

Salt & pepper to taste

20g chives, chopped

Method:

Roll out the puff pastry sheets to thin them out slightly then carefully cut your rectangles. You can make these any size you want; I tend to cut mine 6x3cm.

Once you have your rectangles, use a knife to score a square leaving a 1/2cm border, making sure not to cut all the way through, as seen:

Arrange each pastry rectangle on a baking tray lined with parchment and brush with the beaten egg. Bake in the oven at 180C for 10-15 mins until golden, slightly puffed up & crisp. Leave to cool completely.

Meanwhile, mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl well. Taste for seasoning.

To assemble, take each vol au vent and, using the back of a spoon, gently push down the middle section so that you have a divot to contain the filling. Spoon the filling into each, garnish with extra chopped chives and enjoy! These will remain crisp for 30-40 mins after being filled.

Black truffle & mushroom arancini

No exaggeration, I have made thousands of arancini over the years, and this flavour is far by the most popular. Crispy, savoury with decadent truffle, my clients always love them and, to be honest, I can’t blame them.

FULL RECIPE!