thepassionatecook

Bacon-wrapped king prawns on rosemary skewer with lemon-olive oil dip

Super easy idea for a stylish and very tasty appetiser... it doesn't get better than this!
It's so simple, it doesn't really require a recipe as such... the success lies in choosing top quality ingredients. We're lucky here in Singapore, because seafood is easy to come by and especially the shellfish is incredibly fresh and tasty. Try to find a good fishmonger in your area and insist on buying king prawns that have never been frozen. You will be rewarded with prawns that are juicy and succulent and very, very tender.

Next, choose your bacon. This really only works with thinly cut (or, as they like to say here, "shaved"). I have always been an advocate of thinly cut cold meats - I will often be overheard at the deli counter saying that I "want to be able to read my newspaper through it" ;-)
The kind of bacon you want is a raw/dry-cured bacon from the belly which is generously seasoned (here in Singapore I get this at the Swiss butchers in Dempsey, in London I would buy Pancetta from Waitrose or Sainsbury's) - you want a nicely cured piece of raw bacon - don't even think about buying your average breakfast bacon... the slices are so thick that it become impossible to gauge if the prawns are propery cooked and they ooze too much water as well... I have no idea what they put in that and I don't think I want to find out!

Then you need an excellent-quality extra-virgin/cold pressed olive oil. I personally like French because it has the subtlest tast in my opinion, but I am also partial to some Portuguese. Take your own favourite, as long as you don't use a non-descript supermarket brand you should be fine. Mix with the same amount of lemon juice and shake well in an old jam jar to prepare the dip.

Avocado & goats cheese crostini with slow-roast balsamic tomatoes

I've always liked having friends over for dinner parties with tons of food... the stress involved beforehand, not so much. It takes years of practice to select just the right dishes that won't leave you frazzled when your guests are here - even more of an art than cooking itself, I should think.

This recipe is one of the amuse-bouches I made for last night's farewell & birthday party with the lovely Heidinger family... there aren't many people who appreciate food just as much as we do, but these people certainly do! Even better, they enjoy the preparations just as much and aren't shy to offer a hand, even if push DOESN'T come to shove. Those are the best dinner parties - where you can go at a leisurely pace, everybody chips in and there is just as much fun to be had with the preparations as the actual food itself.

The secret lies in selecting dishes which allow for advance preparation, leaving just a few bits and bobs required for assembly sur place and a la minute. These easy-peasy canapes are one example - the tomatoes are slow-roasted in the oven in the morning, the avocado & goat's cheese cream takes no time at all to put together and even the garlic-infused crostini-bases can be prepared well in advance. Less chance of panic, more time to chit-chat... party food par excellence!

Prawncakes on lemongrass skewers

These skewers full of wonderfully exotic flavours are a wonderful addition to any party spread... or an excellent entree at your next BBQ! They're a far cry from the ones served as pub grub, full of grease and served with the ubiquitous store-bought sweet chilli sauce. These here are fresh and healthy as they are grilled rather than deep-fried. Quickly put together, they benefit from a few hours in the fridge for the flavours to mingle - so you have time to get on with other stuff.

The picture above was taken at a catering I did a while ago - limited in space, I had to use my Foreman Grill, but they are even better grilled on a charcoal BBQ and eaten straight off it. Serve them with a dipping sauce consisting of brown sugar, soy sauce and lime juice, add chopped garlic, chilli and coriander to your liking.

Similar types of prawn cakes are available throughout Asia - on a recent trip to Vietnam, we saw them on almost every streetcorner. They call them Chao Tom there and they're actually moulded, lollipop style, onto pieces of sugar cane. While this is available at most supermarkets here, I realise that it is more difficult to get your hands on it elsewhere, which is why this version using lemongrass is a great alternative - the fringe benefit being the wonderful flavour it imparts!

Sesame prawns with sour mango & cucumber salad

So I might struggle to find some ingredients here, but prawns are something Singapore definitely has no shortage of and the quality is absolutely amazing! There are many seafood restaurants in town and for someone coming from a country/continent where seafood is rarely available fresh (meaning that it hasn't been frozen or transported on ice somewhere along the supply chain), this country certainly is prawn heaven. No matter where you go, you can be sure to be served the plumpest and juiciest prawns - fingerlickingly good.

Our first experience of eating prawns here was on Boat Quay - now, to even the most seasoned, but still undiscerning tourist, this might look like the tourist trap par excellence... in the middle of the Financial District and close to all the sights, a row of restaurants lined up along the river, right where the cruises depart. If it wasn't for two little boys (and the two adults lugging them around and cheering them on "come on, it's only 35C in the shade!") who happened to be utterly exhausted after what really was just a short walk, it wouldn't even have crossed our minds to enter one of the eateries there on the river. Where we come from, big, fat panels of glossy photos of, well, food (but not the kind of foodporn you find on blogs these days, just poorly photographed dishes of unidentifiable food objects) don't really scream "die, die, must try" or even "decent food at reasonable prices" at you... they holler "get out of here as fast as you can, this is a complete rip-off and you'll probably be hugging the toilet for days".

Not so here. After passing by the 15th restaurant and its seafront garden and fending off many a smooth-talking waiter, I let myself finally be lured into one of them (it was the "fish and chips available" that did it, you might remember that the day before, my son had said that he hated Chinese food and that was that) - and Chris and I had the most wonderful selection of top-quality prawns we had had in a very long time. The sheer variety on offer will bowl you over, but I will have to delve into the weird (cereal prawns, anyone?) and wonderful (drunken prawns, yessir!) ways of enjoying your crustaceans on another occasion.

Now that I call a (fantabulous!) kitchen my own and have a great wet market just around the corner, I obviously want to get my hand dirty and cook again... Vietnamese being one of my favourite cuisines on this continent, I finally embarked on getting my money's worth out of Lemongrass and Lime, a cookbook I bought ages ago - I had simply been struggling to find the ingredients. And what in London would have involved a car journey to the Asian supermarket and my tried and trusted fish monger, both in different parts of town, is now available right on my doorstep... you can see why I am loving it here, right?

These prawns are deep-fried just for a minute in order to retain all their succulent juices, the crispy coating of a light batter providing a lovely contrast of textures. I love the salad they come with it, its flavours being like a summation of what Vietnamese cooking is about: fresh, crunchy ingredients bursting with flavour - sweet, sour, salty all happening in one bite in perfect unison. It actually uses the same sauce you will serve for dipping, the ubiquitous Nuoc Cham. I have made a mental note to include coriander and mint leaves when I make it again, just because I am addicted to these herbs and they feature widely in Vietnamese cooking, so I think the food police has nothing on me.

Way better than cereal prawns, but that's just my personal opinion!!!

Spice-roasted pumpkin seeds

Halloween is upon us and I couldn't believe my luck when I found a pumpkin here in Singapore, despite the fact that Halloween is not much of a tradition here (thank you generous S'porean friends, old and new, who I keep annoying with where to find this and where to buy that... what would I do without you!)!

Now, in any other situation, I wouldn't really care all that much if I went without pumpkin carving for a year, Halloween isn't really celebrated in Austria, either, so it's not like I'll sit here and weep if I can't run around the block in a witches costume and scratchy wig in 32C! But we're house-bound at the moment, quaranteened, if you will, and I promise I will spare you the details - suffice to say that after days of making spiders out of buttons and a few pipe cleaners and drawing gazillions of pumpkins, bats and witches, I had ONE pumpkin, TWO children and a LOT of time on my hand. And it's amazing how much you can get out of just one fruit!

First up and out: the seeds. This is a novelty for me, as I said, Halloween was a non-entity when I grew up and my farmer granddad always used to say "pumpkins are for the pigs". All I knew was the pumpkin seeds (and the oil made from it) which we bought in the shops - dark green kernels, already hulled. Imagine my surprise when I bought the seeds here and they came in their white shells!

So this year, with lots of time on my hands, I decided to recycle what would normally have ended up in the bin or, as in previous years, featuring as part of our scary pumkpin display - I can't find the picture right now, but it's basically a carved pumpkin "being sick"... you get the idea.

This recipe is incredibly easy to do, and there's a chance these beauties will be done before you finish carving - a lovely pre-dinner snack, tasty morsels that add some crunch to your salad or a spicy sprinkle on your pumpkin soup... they're so versatile, you'd be foolish to chuck them in the bin! (They're also a great home-made gift to bring along to dinner parties - stored in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, they'll easily keep for a few weeks!)

Potato and blue cheese soup shots with garlic butter ryes

I can't believe we're almost half-way through the first month of a new year... January, of course, is always a busy month around here - unlike other households, we're not going on a diet to keep half-hearted resolutions, on the contrary! We have so many birthdays to celebrate that we just go on indulging as if we had managed to keep our waists from expanding over the holidays! I have never been one for birthdays, I love celebrating other people's, but I normally tend to ignore my own. Ever since my youngest son, Henrik, was born three days after my birthday in 2007, my birthday has turned into a complete non-event... so much so that this year, I am rising in defiance and will celebrate not once, but at least four times: dinner with food blogging friends tomorrow, birthday brunch with local Mums on Friday, birthday dinner with the family (seafood extravaganza at home, yeah, in important situations like this one, I don't trust anyone else to cook my food ;-)) and a surprise dinner organised by my husband, probably a bit later in the year as he's left it till too late as usual...

Plenty of occasions to serve up some finger food then - this recipe is one that I promised to post in English eventually and here it is: a creamy, indulgent potato and blue cheese soup served in shot glasses, accompanied by crispy garlic butter toasts. The soup is wonderfully moreish and comforting on a cold winter evening, so also stands in as a perfect and quick weekday supper! You can use any blue cheese, but I tend to go for a creamy gorgonzola, if you prefer something a bit more pungent, try it with stilton or roquefort. If you want to go for something a bit less rustic and more luxurious, you could also use some truffles instead of the cheese and truffle oil for the toasts... You must, however, go out of your way to find good rye bread for the garlic butter crisps, the wonderful aroma of caraway and honey that is traditionally used in Austrian/German rye bread is a great complement for this wintery soup - simple toast just wouldn't cut the mustard here!

Festliches Fingerfood

Hereinspaziert! Willkommen zum 22. Türchen in Zorra's Kulinarischem Adventkalender... und für diesen Blog ganz untypisch mal ein Beitrag auf Deutsch! (But do not fear, most of the recipes do have a link to a recipe in English!)

Weihnachten steht nun wirklich schon fast vor der Tür und nichts könnte besser passen, als Euch ein paar Leckerbissen für die Festtage anzubieten. Fingerfood war immer schon meine grosse Leidenschaft und über die Jahre haben sich auf diversen Veranstaltungen auch saisonal gut zu Weihnachten passende Leckereien angesammelt. Diese leckeren kleine Häppchen eignen sich hervorragend als Aperitif zum Empfang oder können, wie bei mir zuhause üblich, über den ganzen Abend verteilt im Stil einer Cocktail-Party serviert werden. Ein Anlass und Rahmen findet sich über die kommenden Tage auf jeden Fall.

Ein wenig von allem ist dabei: ein wenig Luxus, ein wenig für's Auge, etwas Warmes, etwas Kaltes - aber eines haben sie alle gemein: sie sind gut vorzubereiten! So kann man seine Gäste beeindrucken, ohne noch in letzter Minute in der Küche schuften zu muessen... und kann als Gastgeber/in nicht nur imponieren, sondern auch selbst den Abend geniessen.

Ich wünsche Euch gutes Gelingen, frohe Festtage und einen guten Rutsch in ein weiteres kulinarisch aufregendes Jahr!

(Weitere Ideen gibt's unter der Kategorie "Canapés and Fingerfood")

Kartoffel-Gorgonzola-Süppchen mit Knoblauch-Toasts
(für etwa 30 Shotgläser)

Diese Suppe sollte lauwarm serviert werden - dabei darauf achten, dass sie dünn genug ist, damit sie leicht aus dem Schnapsglas getrunken werden kann. Zum Anrichten am besten eine Squeeze-bottle verwenden und die Tülle auf die richtige Grösse zurechtschneiden.
Wer's luxuriöser möchte, kann statt Gorgonzola auch Trüffel verwenden und die Toasts nach dem Grillen mit Trüffelöl bestreichen!

1 Zwiebel
1 Knoblauchzehe
1 EL Butter
ca. 500 g mehlige Kartoffeln
100 ml Sherry Oloroso
500 ml Gemüsesuppe
75 g Gorgonzola
3-5 sehr dünne Scheiben Roggenbrot
15 g Butter
1 kleine Knoblauchzehe
Salz, Pfeffer

Zwiebel und Knoblauch schälen und klein hacken, dann in Butter anschwitzen. Kartoffeln schälen und klein würfeln, kurz mitrösten. Mit Sherry ablöschen und nach etwa drei Minuten mit Suppe aufgiessen. Auf mittlerer Hitze köcheln, bis die Kartoffeln weich sind. Gorgonzola zugeben und so lange köcheln, bis er geschmolzen ist. Mit einem Stabmixer fein pürieren. So lange mit Suppe verdünnen, bis eine gute Trinkkonsistenz erreicht ist.

Für die Toasts die Butter in einer Pfanne schmelzen, gepressten Knoblauch dazugeben und mit Salz abschmecken. Die Roggenbrotscheiben in ca. 2 cm Streifen schneiden, mit Knoblauchbutter bestreichen und unter dem heissen Grill etwa 2 Minuten lang leicht braeunen.

Suppe in Shotgläser füllen und mit je einem Toaststreifen dekorieren.

Croustades mit asiatischem Krabbensalat
(ca. 45 Stück)

Knackiges, erfrischendes Fingerfood mit einer exotischen Note! Die Croustades gibt es im Feinkostladen oder bei Ikea zu kaufen, die Krabbe lässt man am besten vom Fischhändler kochen und auslösen, dabei Braunes und Weisses getrennt einpacken lassen!
Diese Croustades sind leicht und kalorienarm und auch für die ein Genuss, die auf die Linie achten müssen...

1 Krabbe (ca. 1.2 kg)
(ergibt ca. 250 g weisses und 5 EL braunes Krabbenfleisch)
40 Stueck Croustades
1/2 Kopf Romano oder Eisberg-Salat
2 EL gute Mayonnaise oder Aioli
4 EL Limettensaft
1 EL Fisch-Sauce (Nam Pla)
2 gehäufte EL Braunzucker
1 EL gehackte Minzblätter
3 EL gehackte Korianderblätter
2 Kaffir-Limetten-Blätter (Asiatischer Feinkostladen)
1 kleine, rote Chilli-Schote
Tabasco, Salz, Pfeffer

4 EL braunes Krabbenfleisch klein hacken und mit der Mayonnaise zu einer sämigen Masse rühren. Mit Salz, Pfeffer und etwas Tabasco abschmecken.
Das weisse Krabbenfleisch gründlich auf etwaige Schalenteile untersuchen, diese entfernen, dann das Krabbenfleisch mit einer Gabel auflockern.
Für die Marinade Braunzucker in Fischsauce und Limettensaft auflösen. Über das weisse Krabbenfleisch giessen. Die Kräuter klein hacken, die Chilli-Schote von Kernen und Membranen befreien und klein schneiden. Kräuter und Chilli unter das weisse Krabbenfleisch mischen und abschmecken. Der Salat kann bereits am Vorabend zubereitet werden und im Kühlschrank aufbewahrt werden.

Salat in feinste Streifen schneiden und dann grob hacken.
Zum Anrichten jeweils 1/2 TL von der Krabbenmayonnaise auf den Boden der Croustades setzen, diese bis zur Hälfte mit Salat füllen und einen gehäuften Teelöffel Krabbensalat daraufsetzen. Eventuell mit einem kleinen Korianderblatt dekorieren.

Chicorée-Schiffchen mit Parmaschinken und Zitronen-Salbei-Maronen
(für 24 Schiffchen)

Maronen gehen für mich Hand in Hand mit Winter... und somit passt dieses Canapé super zur Jahreszeit!

Alles lässt sich lange im Voraus zubereiten - das Anrichten der Schiffchen erfordert etwas Geduld und Geschick, der Geschmack ist aber ein absoluter Hit... und aufregend und ungewöhnlich ist dieses Fingerfood auf alle Fälle!

ca. 80 g Maronen (trocken aus der Konserve oder im Ofen geröstet und geschält)
50 ml Olivenöl
8 Salbeiblätter
Schale und Saft einer Bio-Zitrone
Salz, Pfeffer
6-8 dünne Scheiben Parmaschinken
24 mundgerechte Chicoréeblätter

Die Maronen können am Tag zuvor zubereitet und zugedeckt bei Zimmertemperatur aufbewahrt werden.
Dazu das Olivenöl in einer kleinen Pfanne leicht erwärmen. Den Salbei in einem Mörser oder mit einem Nudelholz etwas stampfen, damit sich die Aromastoffe entfalten. Die Zitronen mit einem Zestenreisser oder einem Gemüseschäler schälen und klein hacken. Salbei und Zitronenschale im warmen Öl etwa 5 Minuten schwach köcheln lassen, Maronen zugeben, vom Herd nehmen und mindestens eine Stunde ziehen lassen.
Die Maronen aus dem Öl heben. Grob hacken und mit etwas von dem verbliebenen Öl, dem Zitronensaft, Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. Die Mischung sollte saftig sein, aber trocken genug, um nicht zu tropfen.

Den Parmaschinken in 24 Stücke schneiden, auf den Chicorée-Blättern drapieren und mit jeweils 1 TL Maronen versehen. Dabei soviel vom Chicoréeblatt freilassen, dass man die Schiffchen gut in die Hand nehmen kann.
Auf einem Teller anrichten und bis zu einer Stunde bei Zimmertemperatur beiseite stellen.

Gorgonzola-Quichettes mit Zwiebel-Thymian-Konfit
(für 24 Quichettes)

Wunderbare, warme Häppchen, die immer gut ankommen, denn Quiches waren schon immer bestes Comfort-Food!

Das pikante Konfit aus roten Zwiebeln, Balsamico und Thymian hält sich im Kühlschrank über Wochen, vor dem Anrichten sollte es aber unbedingt zumindest auf Zimmertemperatur gebracht werden.

200 g Mürbteig
150 g Gorgonzola
2 Eigelb
4 EL Mascarpone (ca. 175 g)
2 EL Sahne
Salz, Pfeffer, Muskatnuss

Fuer das Zwiebelkonfit:
15 g Butter
1 rote Zwiebel
1 gehäufter EL Braunzucker
1 EL guter Balsamico-Essig
1 EL Thymianblätter (am besten frisch)

Die Mürbteigschalen können bis zu einer Woche im Voraus gebacken werden. Es gibt sie im Spezialhandel auch fertig zu kaufen.
Mürbteig auf einer bemehlten Fläche ein paar Millimeter dick ausrollen, in einer beschichteten Mini-muffin Form (ich verwende eine Silikonform) leicht über die Ränder ragend auslegen, die einzelnen Formen mit einem Stück Backpapier auslegen und mit Backbohnen oder getrockneten Hülsenfrüchten füllen. Im vorgeheizten Backrohr 12-15 Minuten vorbacken. Auskühlen lassen und in einer Metalldose bis zu einer Woche aufbewahren.

Für das Zwiebel-Konfit die Butter in einer Pfanne schmelzen, die Zwiebel schälen und in 5 mm Scheiben schneiden. In der Butter rösten bis sie weich werden ohne zu bräunen. Braunzucker zugeben und leicht karamelliseren lassen. Mit Balsamico ablöschen, auf kleiner Flamme etwa 15 Minuten köcheln lassen, bis die Flüssigkeit verdampft ist. Thymianblätter zugeben, mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken und abkühlen lassen.

Die Mascarpone-Ei Mischung kann ebenfalls gut vorbereitet werden. Dazu Mascarpone und Eigelb gut verschlagen, mit Salz, weissem Pfeffer und Muskatnuss nach Geschmack würzen.

Vor dem Servieren Backofen auf 200 C aufheizen. Gorgonzola würfeln und auf die Teigförmchen verteilen. Mit jeweils ca. 1-2 EL Mascarpone-Ei-Gemisch bis zu einem Drittel anfüllen, im Ofen ca. 10 Minuten backen.
Aus dem Ofen nehmen und vor dem Servieren noch etwas abkühlen lassen. Mit etwas Zwiebelkonfit dekorieren und auf Servierplatten anrichten.

Gänselebertrüffel mit Lebkuchenbrösel und Apfelkompott
(für 40 Trüffel)

Der Ferrari unter den weihnachtlichen Canapés! Cremige Foie Gras-Trüffel mit weihnachtlich gewürztem Apfelkompott... nichts ist dekadenter!

Die Lebkuchenbrösel lassen sich auch gut aus altem (oder gekauftem) Lebkuchen machen - dann ist dies eines der leichtesten und schnellsten Canapés überhaupt.

400 g Dose Gänseleber (foie gras)
100 ml Sauternes oder anderer Süsswein
Salz und weisser Pfeffer nach Geschmack
1 Handvoll getrocknete Preiselbeeren

Für die Lebkuchenbrösel:
(Nur etwa ein Drittel wird fuer die Trüffel gebraucht, der Rest kommt auf den Keksteller!)
65 g Honig
50 g Braunzucker
45 g Maiskeimöl
1 grosses Ei
240 g Mehl
2 TL Backpulver
1 TL Zimt (gemahlen)
1/2 TL Ingwer (gemahlen)
1/2 TL Nelken (gemahlen)

Für das Apfelkompott:
2 mittelgrosse Äpfel
1 Zimtstange
1 Handvoll Nelken
1 Vanilleschote
Saft 1 Limette
1 TL Vanillezucker
20 ml Sauternes (oder anderer Süsswein)

Wenn man sie selbst macht, bereitet man zuerst die Lebkuchenbrösel vor (Ich mache das oft schon Wochen im Voraus). Ansonsten einfach alte oder gekaufte Lebkuchen fein mahlen und zur Seite stellen.

Dafür Honig und Zucker in einem kleinen Topf anwärmen, gerade genug, um den Zucker aufzulösen - nicht zu heiss werden lassen! Backrohr auf 180C aufheizen.

Mehl, Gewürze und Backpulver versieben, die Honigmischung dazugeben und zu einem glatten Teig verarbeiten. Öl und aufgeschlagenes Ei dazugeben und gut kneten. In Frischhaltefolie einwickeln und im Kühlschrank eine Stunde lang rasten lassen.
Nach und nach je einen Teelöffel Lebkuchenmasse mit leicht befeuchteten Haenden zu einem Ball rollen, auf ein gefettetes Backblech setzen und bei 180C im Ofen ca. 15 Minuten backen.
In der Küchenmaschine zu feinen Bröseln mahlen, dann auf einem Backblech verteilen und im Backofen (100C) 15 Minuten nachtrocknen lassen.

Die Trüffel koennen ebenfalls schon zumindest am Vortag zubereitet werden. Die Gänseleber putzen (etwaige Blutgefässe sorgfältig entfernen), mit dem Sauternes zu einer homogenen Masse verarbeiten, mit Salz und weissem Pfeffer würzen und die Masse im Kühlschrank fest werden lassen.

Für das Kompott die Äpfel schälen, entkernen, in kleine Würfel schneiden und sofort mit Limettensaft beträufeln. Gewürze in einen Teefilter geben, zuschnüren und gemeinsam mit den Äpfeln und den flüssigen Zutaten in einen Topf geben. Zugedeckt schwach wallend in etwa 10 Minuten köcheln, bis die Äpfel weich sind.
Gewürze entfernen, dann mit dem Mixer oder einer Gabel die Äpfel zu einem groben Purée verarbeiten. Auskühlen lassen.

Zum Rollen der Trüffel sollte man möglichst kühle Hände haben - kalt Waschen oder regelmässiges Abkühlen in Eiswasser hilft!
Jeweils einen TL Trüffelmasse schnell zu einem gleichförmigen Ball rollen, dann in Lebkuchenbrösel wälzen und kaltstellen.
Die Trüffel koennen bereits am Vortag gerollt und im Kühlschrank aufbewahrt werden.

Zum Servieren jeden Trüffel mit einem halben Teelöffel Apfelkompott versehen, eine getrocknete Preiselbeere daraufsetzen.

Asian crab salad croustades

The festive season is near, I am doing everything I can to get into the Christmas spirit, which I always find hard... it's the climate, I do need my snow to get into the mood! But it is snowing as we speak, so I can't complain, although it wouldn't be the first time that we have snow just before and then run out in T-shirts on the actual day!

I have much to look forward to over the next three weeks, my parents will be joining us for the celebrations after a month in Australia, my husband will be off until January - a luxury I haven't had for a long, long time! And so after baking several batches of cookies, some old and trusted, some new and instantly liked, I now need to sit down and plan the food...

There will always be an opportunity for fingerfood, so we'll have rather a lot of that... this recipe here is one that I concocted for a catering I did last week - an all girls' Christmas party, all girls' with astonishing waistlines, I have to say, and much of what I made was on the healthy and figure-conscious side. So if you want to indulge without piling on the pounds, here's a small step towards that.

Since white crab meat is quite expensive, I would suggest you buy a whole crab at your fishmongers and have them pit it for you (white and brown meat separately), it works out about half the price! I paid £12 at a rather pricey fishmonger whereas the crab meat alone would have cost me £30 - and that was for almost 50 canapes! I didn't want to throw out the brown meat, so made a little mayo with it for the base... adding some creaminess and a depth of flavour you won't get from the white. You could use just the salad and arrange on a leaf of gem lettuce for an easy and stylish starter.

These croustades are incredibly simple to make and bursting with flavour - the salad can be prepared well in advance and is relatively easy to assemble as well... just what you need when you've got a million things on your mind.

Tapas - a contribution to WTSIM

A little later than anticipated, I finally got round to organising my tapas extravaganza, all in honour of Andrew's WTSIM event this month. And if you haven't had the time to send in your entry yet, you should know that he has gracefully extended the deadline - no excuses now!

I am not sure why, but up until now, I had this immense fear of tortilla failure... and I don't even think it was due to scaremongering, it's more the fact that all the Spaniards I know (and even those who aren't Spanish, but are in love with Spanish food) seem to be extremely opinionated or simply picky when it comes to a tortilla española or Spanish omelett. Whenever I have eaten tortilla in the presence of Spanish friends, I have never heard a word of praise for it, it was always "too dry", "overcooked", "bland", "rubbery" or "just not how they make it here or there". So to get a tortilla right, I was assuming, you needed immense skill and hundreds of years of experience. After last week's first attempts, I can safely say that this is not the case, a natural talent or beginner's luck, maybe (patting herself on shoulder), but I believe to have found out that the quintessential factor is that it must be boiling hot outside so you can stand there over the hot stove, sweat running down your forehead, spine and just about everywhere imaginable and then you can make a pretty darn tasty tortilla just like a Spanish mama would.

When I called my friend Sonia to ask for rough guidance on how to make one (I had seen her do it a million times and never actually jotted down any notes), I was brave enough to pass an idea past her.

I: "So, what if I wanted to give the tortilla a little twist, you know, more than just potato and egg?"
She: "Well, some people put onion in."
(Me, thinking: well, that's a bit plain still.)
Me (actually saying out loud): "I was thinking more along the lines of feta, chilli and parsley".
She (not saying anything for a moment, just gasping along the lines of that's heresy, and if the tortilla really needed it, don't you think that 46,661,950 people would have gone and done something about it? And who the f*** do you think you are anyway, you bloody foreigner, to think you can change our culinary traditions just because you feel like it?)

In her defense, I have never heard her swear, this last bit is completely made up, but it might well have been racing through her mind. Understandably so.

Undeterred, I decided to go for the "adventurous, but still authentic" version that involved some chopped onions and then I did the unimaginable. I made a second lot, defiling the graves of my dear friend's ancestors by putting in some diced feta, chopped chilli and parsley... and you know what, my guests (admittedly completely ignorant when it comes to Spanish food) preferred that second version. But I didn't leave it at that, I had to get Sonia's opinion as well - she praised my traditional tortilla, saying it was tasty and moist and everything you'd expect, she wasn't raving about the eccentric version, which is just as well... but her kids ate it without complaints and they're pretty fussy and strongheaded usually, so I take this as a point in my favour.

I also made some gambas al ajillo, always a winner in my book with loads of garlic and chilli - although I love my prawns, it is the juices I make this for - brilliant for mopping up with some home-made sourdough! Inspired by Sonia's home region of the Basque country and their own twist on tapas (which the call pintxos... don't you love that name?) I made some pintxos of sauteed garlic & herb mushrooms with prawns. And again, although the prawns add a lovely colour and give it that little extra in the looks department, I am just as happy just with the mushrooms fried in a pan, drizzled with garlic and oil, then deglazed with sherry vinegar.

All in all, I made a vow to make tapas more often and especially the tortilla, which is not that hard to make at all - and seeing that it's one of my daughter's favourite foods, I better indulge her with it more often. Do try them all and see what you think: if you have no ties to Spain other than the odd vacation, try the "adventurous" version - I find it light, refreshing and super yummy. I also served this as part of a picnic spread at the Royal Henley Regatta and it went down a treat. It would be a shame to discard such a winning recipe just on the grounds of it not being entirely original, I hope you'll agree!

STOP PRESS:
The deadline for WTSIM has just been extended, as Jeanne, Andrew and myself were roasting in the sun at the Royal Henley Regatta on Saturday, we figured it's been hot enough out there to give you and ourselves a break... check details on SpittoonExtra - no excuses now not to indulge in a tapas evening!

Mini-poppodums with creamy chicken tikka

Excuse the quality of the picture, but this was taken at a catering I did last December - when you're standing in a crammed kitchen, working hard at feeding a very hungry mob, have got barely a centimetre of free kitchen worktop, yet 12 different types of finger food to plate and assemble, you obviously can't put your spot lights up or think much about aperture and all those fiddly photography things that I don't understand anyway... a snapshot will have to do.

I first came up with the idea for these canapés when I had a cocktail party to do where the guests/hosts weren't very adventurous eaters, even agreeing on the menu was a bit of a struggle - don't like egg, don't like fish, don't eat nuts, don't eat vegetables much... that sort of thing. And as if that wasn't enough, there was also a gluten-intolerant guest at the event, so I had to limit any wheat-containing bases to a minimum.

Poppodums are great in this situation, as they're made from chickpea, black gram or lentil flour and in England, even the pickiest and unadventurous eaters will love their Tikka Masala. My version is not truly a Tikka Masala, but it's got all the main flavours, namely cardamom and ginger, it's just a lighter version as it is marinated in yoghurt and spices,then grilled. You can add some tomato paste to it, if you want, but I chose not to, for aesthetic reasons more than anything, and they don't need it for taste.

These poppodums with chicken tikka have become a standard in my fingerfood repertoire since then - they're incredibly easy to prepare and always go flying off the trays... that last time, the girls who were serving never managed to get to the far end of the room, so much were people crowding over them. Sure sign of a delicious canapé, don't you think?