Appetizers Archives - vespresso cooking

Goat Cream Cheese, Pea and Quail Egg Triangles

These goat cheese, pea and quail egg triangles are simply extraordinary. They are delicious, flavorful and the fresh green peas add a lovely spring quality to the dish. What I like the most about the appetizers is they are a crowd-pleaser. These adorable guys are also a wonderful alternative to conventional appetizers, letting aside the fact that they’re ready in less than 30 minutes. To ease up my work, I use store-bought puff pastry and I bake it between two trays. This method keeps the dough from rising excessively in the oven, which leads to a relatively thin, golden and flaky crust. Those crispy rectangles are then iced with a tangy and flavorful goat cheese cream, topped with peas and quail eggs arranged chaotically. Continue reading Goat Cream Cheese, Pea and Quail Egg Triangles

Spring Canapés (Focaccia with Goat Cheese, Strawberries, Prosciutto and Balsamic Reduction)

This lovely canapés are more than suitable for spring. The base is a delicious homemade nigella seed focaccia which is topped with tangy goat cheese, juicy strawberry slices, smoky Prosciutto roses, fresh mint ribbons and a balsamic vinegar reduction. I simply love balsamic vinegar reduction, it’s such a versatile condiment; its acid and slightly sweet taste and its unmistakable aroma go wonderfully with different types of cheese, vegetables and fruits and it tastes divine paired with vanilla-flavored desserts, too. Since it’s springtime and my garden abounds with flowers, I decided I should garnish my canapés with edible flowers, just for aesthetic reasons.

For my canapés I used homemade focaccia (I used this recipe). The only changes I’ve made are the following: I prepared the dough, I placed it in a bowl, I covered it with cling film and I refrigerated it overnight. The next morning I kneaded the dough and I rolled the bread, I garnished it with nigella seeds and I drizzled it with olive oil. After 1 hour of rising, I baked it for about 20 minutes.

I usually make my own balsamic vinegar reduction. I add 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to a saucepan and I boil it until the liquid becomes syrupy and reduces by 1/3 cup. I pour the reduction in a jar and I leave it to reach room temperature before refrigerating it. Since it thickens considerably as it cools down, I reheat it in warm water before using. Continue reading Spring Canapés (Focaccia with Goat Cheese, Strawberries, Prosciutto and Balsamic Reduction)

Wild Garlic Hummus

Hummus is an oriental chickpea and tahini paste. It is hearty, smooth and creamy and it has a rich and nutty sesame seed flavor. It is a high-protein vegan spread and it’s also so easy to make. I’ve tried a myriad of recipes over the years, I played both with the ingredients and with the different techniques involved in preparing this simple yet delicious spread. I learnt two tricks which I use each time to get an incredibly creamy texture. I remove the skins of the chickpeas by squeezing them with my fingers – this extra step makes a smoother final product. The second trick is to start the hummus by mixing the tahini with lemon juice and olive oil, which creates a mayonnaise-like consistency emulsion. This two tricks make the difference between a regular and an over-the-top delicious hummus.

The version of hummus I bring you today is a velvety, flavorful and colorful hummus, a wild garlic hummus, to be more accurate. Wild garlic is a wonderful plant, it has a fresh garlicky taste and it is packed with nutrients, from carotenoids to vit A, vit C and vit B complex. I’m not a fan of the raw wild garlic, I find it too overpowering, so I blanch it for 40 seconds before using it, to temper its wild taste. Continue reading Wild Garlic Hummus

Scotch Quail Eggs

Scotch eggs are nothing else but boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, coated in bread crumbs. Whenever I’m making scotch eggs, I like to use quail eggs because the final product is small and appetizing, but you can also use chicken or duck eggs. They can be served either hot or cold. Served hot, they make a delicious and hearty main dish and served cold, they make some eye-catching and mouth-watering appetizers.

I love my scotch eggs soft boiled with a crispy crust and an oozing, velvety and buttery yolk, but this is of course a matter of preference. If you like your eggs soft boiled, it is extremely easy to get that oozing yolk in this recipe too. The secret is that the boiling time should not be longer than two minutes and a half. A two-minute boiling interval makes the quail egg very difficult to peel and a three-minute boil starts to solidify the yolk, so a two and a half minute interval seems to be golden. Continue reading Scotch Quail Eggs

Tomato Confit

Confit is a French cooking technique used for preserving poultry (duck, goose, rooster) which also involves roasting the meat in its own fat. The meat is seasoned to perfection and roasted slowly on low temperature in duck fat. The meat becomes incredibly tender, so tender that it simply melts in your mouth. This technique is also used for fruits and vegetables. The main difference is the fact that the cooking liquid is not an animal fat, but a vegetable fat for veggies or a sugar-based syrup for fruits.

Tomato confit is a wonderful way to cook these lovely veggies. The tomatoes are seasoned generously with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. After that, they are slowly roasted on low temperature until they are tender, juicy and slightly caramelized on the edges. This technique brings out their own sweetness and concentrates their own flavor. This simple and humble ingredient can elevate almost every dish, from pasta, polenta or risotto, to sandwiches or crostini or can even be served as a side dish. Even though the tomato confit can be time-consuming, the effort definitely pays off! Continue reading Tomato Confit

Baked Zucchini and Feta Cheese Patties

I grew up in a meat-lover environment and the thought of a meatless lunch was simply unbearable. I try really hard to break the chain and I try to include in my family’s diet as many fruit and veggies as possible. It’s been a while since I’ve discovered this delicious zucchini and feta patties and I tend to make them once or twice a month. They are so simple to make, you just mix some basic ingredients, you form 12 balls, you flatten them and you bake them in the oven at high temperature. This way, the patties have a crunchy crust and a soft, almost creamy center. This being said, this delicious recipe has quickly become my summer “must-make”, and I hope it will become yours, as well! Continue reading Baked Zucchini and Feta Cheese Patties

Grilled Corn with Herb Butter

Nothing reminds me of my childhood as grilled corn does. Now that I think of it, I can even taste its unmistakable flavor and its sweet and warm smell. I remember taking the hot corn right from the burning coal and devouring the whole thing, without even waiting for it to cool down. Since that particular moment I had hundreds, maybe thousands of them and I enjoyed with the same pleasure each and every single one of them. This time I chose to grill the corn to enhance its sweetness and then I dressed the knobs with a herb butter mixture. There’s not much to say about the herb butter, maybe just the fact that that beautiful bouquet of herbs came from my own garden. I wish I could describe how divine the combination was! Continue reading Grilled Corn with Herb Butter

Chicken Liver Pâté

I love chicken liver pâté. I think I could eat everyday bread with pâté and scallions without getting sick. Unfortunately, store bought pâté is full of chemicals. I often find myself at the grocery store, standing in front of a shelf, reading the tag, getting scared, putting the tin back on the shelf and leaving immediately. That is why I make my own pâté. It’s tasty and it’s not time consuming.
Continue reading Chicken Liver Pâté