Recette du jour

From top left: stuffed cherry tomatoes, devil on horseback, savoury choux puffs.


15 underwhelming days to go and so it is, with a lumpen and laden heart that i'm getting myself mentally prepared for the end of the year 'thing'.

No doubt, by eleven in the morning on that fateful day, i'll have already been out to capture, pluck and disembowel - with bare hands and my teeth for the tricky bits - some unfortunate beast, dumped it unceremoniously into the animal sized crematorium along with a few neeps and tatties.

What can one do to speed up the "here's your prezzie/ where's mine ?/ohh thanks, i really needed a new cardigan take the bins out / what's for dinner ?" bit ?

A glass of champers and a handful of nuts doesn't really cut it, not even for the most humbuggiest of people (me).

So ... up with the sleeves, out with the mixing bowls and on with the tasteful apron ...... a word of warning: each filling makes about 30 bites - so you can do your own maths here.


Stuffed cherry tomatoes

450 g cherry tomatoes (about 30)

Preparation: 55mins

Wash & dry the tomatoes. Remove the stalks, seeds and pulp with a coffee spoon or a melon baller (the pulp can be saved for a sauce or soup). Place the tomatoes on a plate, face down to drain . leave in the refrigerator until needed (this can be prepared the night before instead of going out to the local bar for a good time).

Fillings :

Smoked haddock brandade

1 smoked haddock.
2 oz cream cheese
1 oz butter
2 tsps lemon juice
Sprigs of parsley

Flake the fish into a bowl; add in the cream cheese, butter and lemon juice. Transfer to a liquidiser. Blitz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Pipe into the tomatoes using a star nozzle. Garnish with parsley.


Prawn and dill filling

6 oz of peeled prawns.
1 1/2 level tbsp of fresh dill weed
3 tsps of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprig of dill

Chop the prawns and dill weed, mix with the lemon juice add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into tomato cases. Garnish with a small frond of dill weed.


Crab with lemon mayonnaise

5-6 oz white crab meat
1 ½ tbsp lemon mayonnaise
1 ½ tbsp of finely chopped parsley
Fine strips of lemon zest.

Mix the crab meat, mayonnaise and parsley in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Spoon into tomato cases then garnish with lemon zest.


Devils on horseback

Preparation: 30 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Temperature: 200° C

8 oz prunes (stoned)
2 oz shelled almonds
8 oz streaky bacon

Line a baking sheet with foil. Stuff each prune with an almond. Remove the rind and gristle from the bacon rashers. Cut each rasher into three equal lengths. Wrap one piece of bacon around each prune. Secure it in place with a cocktail stick. Put the rolls onto baking sheet. Cook in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Drain the rolls on a wire rack and serve warm.


Glazed frankfurters

Prepa & cooking time : 20 mins.

450 g cocktail frankfurters
6 oz redcurrant jelly
1 tblsp good mustard (Dijon)
25 ml lemon juice

Whisk together the mustard, redcurrant jelly and lemon juice. Cook over a low heat until the redcurrant jelly has dissolved. Add frankfurters and heat through gently (3 – 4 minutes) then
transfer to a warm dish and serve immediately.


Mini choux with savoury fillings

Use this choux pastry recipe

Savoury Fillings

Cheese and walnut - Beat together 6 oz of cream cheese and 2 oz of finely chopped walnuts.

Smoked haddock brandade – make half the amount for the cherry tomato recipe above.

Cheese & spinach – 50g cottage cheese, 50g feta cheese + 50g cooked chopped spinach. (blitz it all together in a blender).

Sharp cheese sauce – melt 50g butter in a pan. Stir in 2oz of plain flour. Cook for 2 -3 minutes then stir in ½ pint of milk until smooth. Boil + simmer (3 -4 mins). Stir in a handfull of grated cheese + 1 tsps mustard to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool slightly then fill the choux.

Tapenade – 275g black pitted olives, 1 tsps lemon juice, 115 (tinned) tuna, 25 ml brandy, 75g bottled capers, 6 anchovy fillets (drained) 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 tbsps mustard, ¼ tsps ground cloves, ¼ tsps ground ginger, ¼ tsps freshly grated nutmeg. 25 ml of good olive oil.

Put all into a blender – blitz – continue blitzing whilst gradually adding the oil in a thin trickle (as for making mayonnaise). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

More recipes here