New Year Canapés by Chef Justin!

December 31, 2014 by Justin @ Justin's Food Company

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, just new year to go then we can all stop eating and drinking way to much

Here's a couple of tasty canapé ideas great for a New Year's Eve party!


Parmesan shortbreads
To make these easier and less time consuming use a sheet of ready made short crust pastry, if you do have time give making your own a go.
Makes 20

Ingredients
- 200g beetroot, cooked and peeled
- 30g toasted pine nuts
- 100g Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pack of ready rolled short crust pastry
- To garnish 15g toasted cashew nuts 10g Parmesan, shaved (use a veg peeler) Handful of cut mustard cress

The Method
- Start with preheating your oven to 190c.
- Open and lay flat your shortcrust pastry sheet, sprinkle over 50g of the grated Parmesan then roll over with a rolling pin.
- Now fold the pastry in half ( like a Christmas card) gently roll once more, the pastry needs to be rolled about 4mm thick, use a pastry cutter to cut out 20... keep re-rolling the pastry if necessary, place the shapes onto a not stick tray or a tray with parchment paper and then bake in the oven until slightly golden and crisp, around 8-10 minutes. - - Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Now for the pesto, place all the ingredients together in a food processor; pulse until a rough paste forms and the ingredients are well combined
- Taste and check seasoning
- Use a teaspoon to top shortbreads with the pesto
- Garnish with toasted cashew nuts, Parmesan shavings and mustard cress.


Caramelised pear wrapped in prosciutto with Stilton Chesse

Ingredients
- 2 conference pears
- 5 slices of prosciutto ham
- 200g English Stilton
- 1 small baguette
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 50g butter
- 50g soft brown sugar

The Method
- Preheat your oven to 190c - slice 20 rounds from your baguette, lay on a baking tray, drizzle over some oil then baked for 10-15 minutes, they need to be golden and crispy, once done take out of the oven and allow to cool
- Cut the pear into slices (leave the skin on) about 1cm wide. You need to be able to see and taste the pear but small enough to fit on top of the canapé
- Heat the butter and sugar together over a medium heat in a thick bottom pan and add the cut pear. Cook for around 5 minutes until they are soft and golden in colour, remove them from the cooked juice and place on a try to cool
- Cut your Stilton into slices and place on top of your toasted bread
- Slice each piece of prosciutto into 4, then wrap up each piece of pear and place on top of your cheese........ done!
- Before serving warm through a preheated oven (190c) for 5-8mins

Happy new year everyone!

This recipe is courtesy of Chef Justin from Justin's Food Company
https://www.facebook.com/www.justinsfoodcompany.co.uk