Christmas means more than just presents, tinsel and turkey; it’s also party season! If you’re planning to throw a festive get together this year, you’ll need to think of some suitable finger food to go with your festive drinks. From themed canapes to classic hors d’ouevres, we’ve come up with three perfect nibbles.
Homemade vegetable crisps
A healthier alternative to the classic bowl of communal potato chips, these veggie versions taste delicious and will also relieve guests of some of their Christmas indulgence guilt.
Ingredients
- About 1kg of vegetables (parsnips, beetroot, carrot, sweet potato)
- Salt and pepper
- Herbs and spices to season
Steps
Step 1
Wash and slice the vegetables into thin slices before placing on an oven tray. Bake for about 2 hours at 150˚C, keeping each type of vegetable separate on the tray.
Step 2
Take them out when they are crisp, and sprinkle with seasoning.
Sweet potato cakes with smoked tofu
A healthy take on a classic British canape, these morsels of fishy goodness combine deliciously with the sweet flavour of the potatoes and creamy texture of the cheese. Easy to make and undeniably tasty, they should be a Christmas party staple.
Ingredients
- 1kg sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
- 100g of flour
- 1 spring onion finely chopped
- 60g melted butter
- 280g of cream cheese
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 200g smoked tofu, cubed or thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper
- Dill to garnish
Steps
Step 1
Boil the sweet potato for 15 minutes until soft. Once cool, combine it with the spring onion, the flour, some salt and pepper and three quarters of the melted butter until the mixture is smooth.
Step 2
Line a large baking tray and grease it with the remaining butter. Place the mix on the tray, squashing it into the corners. Bake for around 30-40 minutes until crispy on top.
Step 3
Once the sweet potato is cool, cut it up into bite-sized squares.
Step 4
In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, lemon juice and seasoning.
Step 5
Spoon a teaspoon of cheese onto each potato square and then top them with a piece of tofu.
Step 6
Garnish each piece with dill and place on trays to serve.
Mini mince pies
A staple Christmas dessert, the mighty mince pie can be downsized for party nibbles. Dust them off with icing sugar and a blob of brandy cream.
Ingredients
- 500g shortcrust pastry (either shop bought or homemade)
- 1 large jar of mincemeat
- 1 orange cut into segments
- 1 finely chopped apple
- Zest of 1 lemon
- A small tart tin
- A small star cookie cutter
Steps
Step 1
Combine the mincemeat, orange, apple and lemon in a bowl. Roll out the pastry as thinly as possible without breaking it.
Step 2
Use the tin to mould the pastry into little cups. Fill each tart case and then add in a teaspoon of mincemeat to each.
Step 3
Using the star cookie cutter, cut out lids for each pie. Once fully assembled, place them in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes at 220˚C. Once cooled, dust with icing sugar.
If you know there will be kids at your party, why not make some delightful gingerbread men biscuits too?
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