Our 10 best canapé recipes

Devilled quail eggs

These dainty small egg halves, scattered with rust-red paprika and vibrant leafy dill, make for a very pretty platter. Serves 12
6 quail’s eggs
1½ tbsp sour cream
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Smoked paprika, to taste
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Dill sprigs, to garnish 1 Put the eggs in a pot filled with cold water, cover with a lid and bring to a seethe.

2 Turn the heat off and let the eggs sit down for 2 minutes. Drain and cool under cold race water, then peel them. 3 Cut each egg in half vertically. Carefully scoop the egg yolks out and put them in a separate stadium. Line up the egg whites, ready to be filled. 4 To the yolks, add the dark cream, mustard, paprika, and temper to taste, then stir until well combined. Put the assortment into a shriek udder and fill each egg blank. 5 Sprinkle the quail eggs with paprika and dill, and serve immediately. Andrea Soranidis, thepetitecook.com

Medjool dates with crozier blue cheese

credibly the easiest canapé you could make, but besides the richest in relish : a blob of salty, sweet and sour blue cheese melting into the caramel-tinged dried yield. Makes 20
10 medjool dates
Ripe crozier blue or dolcelatte 1 Split the dates lengthways and remove the rock. Arrange on a plate and top each half with a little nugget of cheese. Darina Allen, A Simply Delicious Christmas (Gill & McMillan)

duck with jerusalem artichoke crisps

On the other end of the spectrum, this is a much more elaborate affair – aromatic duck kernel paired with wrinkle gold Jerusalem artichoke. For the brine duck
800ml water
4 tbsp salt
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 bay leaves
6 cloves
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
3 duck breasts For the chip
400g Jerusalem artichokes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper 1 Pour the water into a large pot and add all the ingredients for the seawater, except the duck. Dissolve over a average heat and stir until the salt and boodle have dissolved. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and leave until wholly cold. Put the dip breasts in a non-reactive cup of tea and pour over the cold brine. Cover with cling film and refrigerate nightlong. 2 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas bell ringer 4. Take the duck breasts out of the seawater, dry with kitchen composition and put in an ovenproof cup of tea. Roast for 18 minutes. They should remain pink inside. 3 Wash the Jerusalem artichokes and cut them super-thin – if you have a mandolin, use that. Divide the slices, keeping them in one layer, between two baking trays lined with baking parchment, then drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil into each trayful and sprinkle with strategic arms limitation talks and pepper. Bake in the oven at the same temperature as the dip for 25-30 minutes, or until they become crisp and golden. Cool on a wire scud. 4 Cut the duck into cubes. Pierce a toothpick through each cube and thread the Jerusalem artichoke crispen on top, so each canapé looks like a little sailing boat. Trine Hahnemann, Scandinavian Christmas (Quadrille)

Pork scratchings with spiced apple dip

Crunchy, buttery, savory mouthful of pork barrel with odoriferous, spiced apple, these workplace wonders as an appetizer. Allow them to dry for one workweek.
Takes a while to cure, but easy to prepare – and so deserving it : pork scratchings with spice apple drop. Photograph: Tamin Jones/Guardian For the pork scratchings
20 x 10cm pork skin
600ml rapeseed oil, for deep-frying
Salt For the zest apple dip
1 large bramley apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
30g salted butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
Ground cinnamon, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 Set the oven to 120C/250F/gas mark ½. Put the bark in a ridicule canister, overlay with water and cook for 2–3 hours in the oven. Drain off the water, pat the skin dry on kitchen paper and place, skin-side up, on a cable rack. Use a tea-towel or cheese fabric to cover and set aside in a cool, dry place to dry out for 1 week. 2 To make the spice apple dip, put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and fudge over a low hotness for about 20 minutes until the apple breaks down, stirring occasionally. Spoon the apple puree into a serve serve and set digression until you are ready to serve. 4 Heat the rapeseed vegetable oil in a deep, heavy-based pan until smoking hot. meanwhile, cut the tenderised dry pork clamber into finger-sized rectangles, approximately 5 ten 2cm, using a sharp couple of scissors. Sprinkle lightly with salt. 5 french-fry the pork barrel scratchings a few at a fourth dimension in the hot vegetable oil until they puff up like prawn crackers and treble in size – about 2 minutes. Lift them out with a slot spoon and drain on kitchen composition while you cook the perch. 6 Serve with the spice apple puree. Gregory, Richard and Oliver Gladwin, Shed : The Cookbook (Kyle)

Honey and chilli potatoes

Deep fried potatoes dressed with a lemony, gratifying and fiery sauce make an excellent sharing dish.
Makes a decent bowl
450g new potatoes, boiled in the skin, peeled, cut in half and allowed to cool
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp salt
50g cornflour
Vegetable oil, for deep frying For the sauce
1½ tsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp vinegar (eg rice, malt or white wine vinegar work well)
1½ tbsp honey
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves or spring onion greens (optional) 1 Combine the skin potatoes with garlic, bolshevik chili flakes, nigella, salt and cornstarch in a boastfully stadium and set aside for 5 minutes. 2 Heat the petroleum in a deep-fat fryer to 180C/350F. Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with about 2 tbsp of water to make the cornstarch stick better to the potatoes. deep fry in batches for 3–4 minutes until crisp and golden, then drain on kitchen wallpaper and keep aside. 3 For the sauce, heat the oil in a separate pan or wok. Add the garlic and bustle until it starts to turn gold, then add the chili flakes, sesame seeds, catsup, vinegar and honey and stir for a hour or then until mix well and the sauce turns glossy. 4 Toss the fry potatoes in the sauce, scatter with coriander or give onions and serve immediately. Vivek Singh, Spice at Home (Absolute)

Gougères

These pantry bum mouthfuls are precisely this is the kind of hors d ’ oeuvre that messes up your appetite before dinner : it ’ s thus absolutely moreish.
Makes about 36
120ml whole milk
120ml water
8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
½ tsp salt
130g all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature
170g cheese, eg gruyère or cheddar, coarsely grated

1 Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas target 7. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment wallpaper. 2 Bring the milk, urine, butter and salt to a rapid seethe in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over a high heating system. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium-low, and immediately start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon or heavy whisk. The boodle will come together and a light crust will form on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring well – with vigor – for another minute or two to dry the boodle. The dough should now be very smooth. 3 Turn the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or into a stadium suitable for mixing with a hand mixer – or a wooden spoon and elbow dirt. Let the boodle sit for a infinitesimal, then add the eggs one by one and beat, beat, beat until the dough is thick and glistening. Make certain that each testis is wholly incorporated before you add the adjacent, and don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be concerned if the boodle separates — by the time the last egg goes in, the boodle will come together again. Beat in the grate cheese. Once the boodle is made, it should be spooned out immediately. 4 Using about 1 tbsp of dough for each gougère, drop the boodle from a spoon on to the lined bake sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between the mounds. 5 Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 190C/375F/gas tag 5. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pans from battlefront to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougères are fortunate, firm, and, yes, puff : another 12-15 minutes or indeed. Serve warm, or transfer the pans to racks to cool. Dorie Greenspan, Baking Chez Moi (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Polenta ‘pizza’ with crumbled sage

fudge polenta makes a wonderfully utilitarian bake base, topped here with shards of sage and molten cheese.
Serves 4
960ml water
Salt
130g stone-ground polenta
225g fresh mozzarella
75g grated parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino romano cheese
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Leaves from 1 bunch dried fresh sage (or a little chopped rosemary)
Red pepper flakes
Black pepper 1 Bring the water system to a boil in a big heavy saucepan and add 2 tsp strategic arms limitation talks. Whisk in the polenta and continue whisking as it begins to bubble. After a infinitesimal or two, when the polenta has thickened a sting, reduce the heat to broken and let it cook gently, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes, until thickened and politic, with no sensitive cornmeal taste. If the polenta gets besides blockheaded as it cooks, add a bite more water. Remove a spoon and cool, then taste and adjust the season if necessary. 2 Spread the polenta on a lightly oiled baking cup of tea to a thickness of 1-2cm. Let it cool and rig, preferably overnight, in the refrigerator. 3 Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6, with a single-foot in the top third gear. Tear the mozzarella into big shreds and disperse it over the polenta. top with the parmesan. Drizzle lightly with petroleum and crumble the sage leaves on top. 4 Bake the polenta until the tall mallow is bubbling and lightly browned : 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with crimson pepper flakes and impertinently earth black capsicum to preference and let cool slightly. 5 Serve cut into rough wedges or squares.
David Tanis, One Good Dish (Artisan)

Spicy yam and labneh

equitable the ticket for those who like dips and dunk : a mess of blue root vegetables combined with lashings of creamy yogurt.
Full of eastern promise : Spiced yam and labneh. Photograph: Tamin Jones/Guardian Makes a well party bowl
For the yam
300g water yam
150g carrots
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2cm fresh ginger, peeled and minced
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
Salt
2 tbsp carrot juice
Juice of 1 orange
2 tbsp rice milk, or cows milk
1 tbsp groundnut oil For the labneh
250g creamed labneh or thick salted yoghurt
Juice and grated zest of ½ lime
1 tsp sumac plus extra to garnish
1 tsp za’atar 1 Peel the yam, cut it into humble pieces and steep it immediately into a pan of coldness water to stop discoloration. Peel the carrots and add them to the pan. Bring the water to the seethe and cook the tubers for around 35 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash them with the garlic, spices, seasoning, juices, milk and oil. 2 Mix the labneh with the lime juice, nip and spices. Serve the yam puree in a bowl with the labneh dolloped on top. Sprinkle with sumac and serve with strong bread. Sally Butcher, Salmagundi (Pavilion)

Cayenne and cheddar biscuits

More buttery, bum, moreish good – these savory snaps are as arrant with chutney or tapenade as they are on their own.
Makes 40
200g plain flour
130g unsalted butter, cubed
180g cheddar, grated
1 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
A pinch of salt
Poppy seeds, to decorate 1 Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blitz until good combined. If the dough doesn ’ t come together when pinched, add 1 tbsp cold water and safety blitz again. 2 Knead the dough in a bowl into a testis. 3 Tip the boodle come out of the closet on to a lightly floured come on, and roll into a log 4cm in diameter. Cut in half. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour. 4 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Roll the logs in the poppy seeds, if using. Slice each log into 20 magnetic disk and transfer them to a flour baking sheet lined with parchment. 5 Bake in the oven for 14-15 minutes, until gold and the edges are brown. Let them cool on a electrify wrack, then store in an airtight container or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Milli Taylor, Party-Perfect Bites (Ryland Peters and Small)

Sardines cured in vine leaves

cost-efficient but eminently gay party food – fresh sardines give you a seaside flavoured hit normally associated with oysters and caviar . A dip in the sea : sardines cured in vine leaves. Photograph: Tamin Jones/Guardian Makes 20
4-6 sardines (up to 100g each), filleted, trimmed
10-12 vine leaves in brine (jarred or vacuum-packed)
½ lemon
2-3 tsp sea salt
60-100ml olive oil To serve
1 tomato
2 finely chopped spring onions
Sour cream 1 Start by removing the reduce membrane that coats the bark of the pisces – you can do this easily by scraping at the tip of the fillet with a sharp knife to expose the membrane, then grabbing it with your fingers and pulling. reprise with the rest of the fillets. 2 Use half the vine leaves to line a wide colander or a cooling system rack on a tray. Slice the gamboge into thin slices and lay them on the vine leaves. 3 adjacent, lay the fillets skin-side down on the leaves and scattering with the salt, so every fillet gets a light sprinkling all over. It is time to put the sardines to bed – cover the sardines with the remaining vine leaves and pat them down with your fingers so the leaves cling to the fish and they are snugly tucked in. Allow them to sit like this for 15 minutes. They will have exuded some melted, thus pat them down again and leave for another 15 minutes.

5 now remove the top layer of leaves ( you can use these to garnish your serving plate if you want ) and, using some kitchen newspaper or a clean fabric, pat the sardines to dry them and remove any excess salt. Pack them tightly ( like sardines ) into a little container, discarding the bottomland layer of leaves and lemon slices, then pour over the olive petroleum ( adequate to cover them ) and seal until you come to serve. 6 The sardines will be ready to eat in 20 minutes, and will keep well in the electric refrigerator for 2-3 days. 7 To serve, cut the sardines into small bite-sized pieces, piercing each with a toothpick and arrange them on a plate. Halve a tomato and squeeze it over the plate as you ’ five hundred hug a lemon, so all the seeds and juice come out and add freshness and zing, then sprinkle with the chop spring onion and serve with the sour skim. Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, Honey and Co : Food from the Middle East (Saltyard)