Here are recipes for five easy to prepare nibbles that you can serve for your New Year’s Eve parties.
Prep time 60 minutes/Cook time 30 minutes/serves 20
Ingredients:
For the Mango and Prawn Skewers:
3 limes
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red chilli, chopped (de-seed and remove the membranes for a milder effect)
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 large mango, cut into 20 pieces
20 cooked prawns
For the Caviar Jacket Potatoes:
20 baby new potatoes
Olive oil, to drizzle
20 tsp crème fraiche
5 tsp caviar (any fish roe)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
For the Sticky Squash with Sesame Seeds:
1 large butternut squash
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp sesame seeds
For the Chorizo and Chilli Mini Pizzas:
1 pack soft middle Eastern flatbreads
75g (2 ½ oz) Manchego cheese
75g (2 ½ oz) chorizo, chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
For the Goat’s Cheese on Toast:
250g (9 oz) goat’s cheese
2 shallots, peeled
6 slices sourdough bread
3 tbsp chilli jam
3 tbsp chives, snipped
Method:
Mango and Prawn Skewers: Cut a large mango into 20 chunks then thread each onto a small skewer with a large cooked prawn. Combine the remaining ingredients to make a lime dressing. Marinate the skewers in the lime dressing for 1 hour (makes 20).
Little Caviar Jackets: Put 20 small new potatoes on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste. Roast for 25 mins at 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6), then cool to room temp. Cut a small cross in the top of each one, push open a little and top with 1 tsp crème fraîche and some caviar (makes 20).
Sticky Squash with Sesame Seeds: Peel a large butternut squash and cut into 20 x 3cm (1 in) cubes, then mix with 1 tbsp each of soy sauce, sesame oil and honey. Arrange the chunks on a large baking tray lined with baking parchment. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp sesame seeds, season and bake for 20-25 mins at 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6) until crisp. Put a cocktail stick in each chunk to serve (makes 20).
Chorizo and Chilli Mini Pizzas: Use a pastry cutter to cut out 20 x 6cm (2 ½ in) circles from a pack of soft Middle Eastern flatbreads. Grate 75g Manchego cheese and finely chop chorizo and ½ a red chilli. Scatter the cheese, chorizo and chilli over the bread bases, then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6) and bake for 10 mins (makes 20).
Goat’s cheese on toast Roughly mash 250g (9oz) goat’s cheese with 2 finely chopped shallots. Toast 5-6 slices of sourdough bread and stamp out 20 small circles. Spread each circle with some cheese, top with a small blob of chilli jam (you’ll need about 3 tbsp) and finish by scattering over some chives, snipped from a small packet (makes 20).
Frozen Grapes, Chocolate and Aguardiente
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This may sound a little strange as a New Year’s Eve dessert, but it’s a modern twist on the Spanish tradition of eating grapes for good luck, one grape being eaten for every strike of the clock at midnight on New Year’s Eve. You can substitute grappa for the aguardiente. This really works, incidentally as the combination of textures and flavours really go together. It’s also a great excuse for trying to get some good luck to come your way.
Prep time 180 mins (freezing the grapes)/cook time 10 minutes/serves 12
Ingredients:
1 bottle aguardiente (or grappa), chilled
2-3 bunches grapes, frozen
a few bars good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) [orange flavoured or chilli flavoured chocolates are particularly good]
Method:
Freeze the grapes, chill the grappa thoroughly then serve on a cheese board along with generous chunks of chocolate. Guaranteed to make a New Year party go with a swing!
