New Year’s Eve canapé selection

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C conventional. Put a baking tray in to warm for toasting the baguette slices later.

2. 2

   Caramelise the onions: thinly slice the brown onions. Heat 15 ml olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium–low heat, add the onions with a pinch of sea salt and cook gently, stirring every few minutes until deep golden and sweet — about 30 minutes. In the last 2 minutes add the balsamic vinegar and clear honey and cook until glossy. Turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly.

3. 3

   Make the tartlet cases: unroll the ready-rolled shortcrust pastry. Using a 6–7 cm round cutter, cut 12 rounds and gently press each into the holes of a 12-hole tart tin so the pastry sits snugly against the sides. Prick the bases with a fork, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans or dried pulses. Blind bake until the edges are just turning golden, 12 minutes; remove the paper and beans and bake a further 5 minutes until the bases are dry.

4. 4

   Make the goats' cheese filling: crumble the goats' cheese into a bowl, stir in the crème fraîche, pick the thyme leaves and fold in most of them. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Spoon a little of the cheese mix into each pre-baked tart case, top with a small spoonful of the warm caramelised onions and a few extra thyme leaves, then bake the filled tartlets for 9 minutes until just warmed through.

5. 5

   Warm the mini blinis on a baking tray in the oven for 4–5 minutes until just hot. Meanwhile, zest half the lemon and cut the rest into wedges.

6. 6

   Assemble smoked salmon blinis: spread a little crème fraîche on each warm blini, top with a small piece of smoked salmon, a few shreds of lemon zest and a sprig of fresh dill. Finish with a light grind of black pepper.

7. 7

   Prepare the crostini: slice the baguette into 18–24 thin slices, brush each side lightly with the remaining 15 ml olive oil and place on the warmed baking tray. Toast in the oven until crisp and golden, 6–8 minutes, turning once.

8. 8

   Cook the mushrooms: heat the butter and a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the chestnut mushrooms in a single layer (work in batches if necessary), add the chopped garlic and thyme, and sauté without overcrowding until the mushrooms are browned and any liquid has evaporated, 5–7 minutes. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

9. 9

   Stir in the double cream, simmer for 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened, then remove from the heat and stir in most of the chopped fresh parsley.

10. 10

    Assemble the mushroom crostini: spoon the creamy mushroom mixture onto the toasted baguette slices, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve straight away while warm.

11. 11

    Arrange the three canapé types on a platter: goats' cheese tartlets, smoked salmon blinis and mushroom crostini. Garnish the platter with extra dill sprigs and lemon wedges and serve immediately.

Tips

• Caramelise onions low and slow — rushing them ruins the sweetness. Make them up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate.
• Blind bake the tartlet shells properly so the bases don’t go soggy once filled — prick the bases and use baking beans for a crisp result.
• Toast the baguette slices just before serving and assemble the mushroom crostini at the last minute so they stay crisp.
• If you're short on oven space, warm blinis in a frying pan over a low heat in batches.
• Store leftovers in separate containers (tartlets, blinis, mushroom mix). Reheat tartlets and mushroom mix gently in the oven; blinis are best refreshed in a warm oven for a minute or two.

Substitutions

• goats' cheese → soft cream cheese, same quantity

  Stays close

• smoked salmon → cooked prawns, roughly chopped, same quantity

  Noticeably different

• chestnut mushrooms → button mushrooms, same quantity

  Stays close

• ready-rolled shortcrust pastry → ready-rolled puff pastry, same quantity

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

340

Calories

14 g

Protein

30 g

Carbs

18 g

Fat

3 g

Fibre

5 g

Sugar

500 mg

Sodium

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