Showing posts with label appetizers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appetizers. Show all posts

Potato Pancakes with Salmon and Creme Fraiche


Ingredients:

2 Large Russet Potatoes (Peeled)
1/2 Onion
4 Scallions (sliced thin on a bias)
1/3 Cup minced Shallot
3 T Chickpea Flour
1 1/2 tsps Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Cup Creme Fraiche
3/4 Pound Smoked Salmon (Lox) (sliced thin)

Directions:

1. In a food processor fitted with a shredder blade, shred your potatoes and onion (if you don't have a food processor you can use a cheese grater). Place in a large bowl and mix in your scallions, shallots, chickpea flour, salt and pepper. Incorporate completely.
2. Heat up a large non-stick skillet with enough Canola Oil just to coat the bottom. Once the oil is hot, take a small handful of your potato mixture, form a 1/2" thick patty in your hand and place in the oil. Fry on both sides til golden brown, remove and let drain on a paper towel. Season the tops with a little pinch of salt.
3. Continue this process until all your potato mixture is used up.*Note: You can make these ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes to warm them back up!
4. When ready to serve top the potato pancakes with some Crème Fraîche and Smoked Salmon.

Phyllo Asparagus Spears

Ingredients:

24 asparagus spears, wood ends trimmed
6 sheets frozen phyllo, thawed
3-4 tablespoons melted butter (and/or Pam cooking spray)
12 thin slices prosciutto (about 6 ounces), cut in half crosswise
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or more)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Steam asparagus in a steamer basket set over 1-inch of boiling water just until bright green, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a colander to cool. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface (cover the remaining phyllo with a damp clean towel). Brush lightly with butter. Cut into 4 rectangular pieces. Cut the asparagus spears down to 4 inch lengths.
3. Place 1 piece of prosciutto on each phyllo rectangle, lining up along 1 short edge. Arrange an asparagus spear over the prosciutto, letting the tip lay beyond the top edge of the phyllo. Sprinkle with Parmesan (I like it more than most). Roll up and secure the edge of the phyllo with butter, if necessary. When rolling, leave the asparagus tip unwrapped about one inch. Wrap foil around the exposed asparagus tip so it doesn’t burn. Arrange on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
4. Bake until phyllo is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Spinach and Feta Cheese Sambousek

Ingredients:

500g fresh spinach leaves
1 large onion, chopped
40ml any salted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp ground allspice
60g  Feta cheese, crumbled
Juice of 1 lemon
400g puff pastry
Flour  

Directions:

1. Chop off thick stems of spinach and place leaves in a saucepan (without water) and steam with the lid on until the spinach is soft. Squeeze out all the liquid from spinach and chop coarsely.
2. Stir-fry onion in 30ml of butter, until golden. Add spinach, salt, pepper, allspice and lemon juice. Mix well, and leave spinach in the hot pan to dry out excess liquid. Set aside to cool. When cool, add crumbled cheese.
3. Cut puff pastry in half. Dust rolling surface and the rolling pin with flour. Roll out each half into a thin sheet, turning the sheet over a few times and dusting it each time with a little flour. Cut into rounds with a pastry cutter.
4. Pile up the rounds and wrap in cling film. Place spoonful of spinach and cheese mixture on a round of pastry. Now lift up 4 sides of each stuffing filled round and pinch the opposite edges together, making a 4 cornered sambousek. Seal the openings by pinching the edges firmly. Prepare all pastry rounds in the same manner. Place the sambousek on sheets of foil on baking trays, brush the tops with the remaining butter and bake in a pre-heated oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F for 25-30 mins or until golden. 

Cheese Puffs

Ingredients:

1 egg (room temperature)
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup rice milk
1½ cups tapioca flour
1/2 cup packed (3 ounces) grated rice cheese of your preference, the sharper the better 
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a mini-muffin tin.
2. Place all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. (At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.)
3. Pour the batter into the muffin cups (fill all the way) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffy and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and enjoy immediately before they deflate. Once cooled, they can be frozen and reheated in a 350°F toaster until hot.

Ham and Broccoli Puffs

Ingredients:

4 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed and finely chopped
1 carton (8 ounces) spreadable chive and onion cream cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. On a lightly floured surface, unfold puff pastry. Roll each sheet into a 12-in. square. Cut each into 16 squares.
2. Place a heaping tablespoonful of broccoli mixture in the center of each square. Brush edges of pastry with eggs. Bring opposite corners over filling; pinch seams to seal.
3. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
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