Post written by jules from stonesoup | minimalist home cooking. Follow her on Twitter.
It’s that time of year. Time to get together with family and friends. Time for entertaining.
So for those of you like me, who would prefer to spend time with your loved ones rather than slaving away in the kitchen I’ve pulled together 5 great holiday appetizers that only have 5 ingredients each and are so simple you’ll be able to whip them up in 5 minutes or less.
Happy Holidays everyone.
dukkah with bread & olive oil
Dukkah (duck – AHH) is originally an Egyptian dish but it’s made it’s way around the world. It’s super easy to make and really fun to eat – and tastes something like a grown up version of peanut butter.
If you are catering for someone who is allergic to almonds, feel free to change the nuts to something that they are able to eat (if possible). Cashews are lovely as are hazelnuts.
2/3 cup roasted almonds
1 small jar ground cumin approx 1 oz or 30g
2/3 cup sesame seeds
extra virgin olive oil, to serve
crusty bread, to serve
Whizz almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Combine almonds, spices & seeds in a bowl. Season well with about a teaspoon of sea salt.
To serve, dip bread until a small bowl of olive oil then dip in the dukkah and enjoy!
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smoked salmon mousse
serves 6-8
This is one of those super easy recipes that seems like you’ve gone to a lot of effort.
It’s really important to minimize the amount of mixing of the cream to give a lovely smooth texture.
7oz (200g) cold smoked salmon
1 cup double (heavy) cream
salad greens, to serve, optional
lemon wedges, to serve
crackers, to serve
Whizz salmon in a food processor until it forms a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and add the cream. Stir until only just combined. Season and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve place a dollup of mousse on a plate and arrange greens (if using), lemon and crackers along side.
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cob loaf with philly cheese & spinach dip
serves 8 – 10
My Mum used to serve this on special occasions. I just love the fun of tearing the bread ‘bowl’ apart and using it to scoop up the flavorsome dip. If you can’t find a nice round loaf of bread by all means serve the dip in a regular bowl with your favorite crackers on the side.
1 large tub Philadelphia cream cheese LIGHT – 16oz or 450g
8oz (225g) frozen spinach, defrosted & squeezed dry
about 1/3 packet dried french onion soup
1 round cob loaf
Combine cream cheese and spinach in a bowl. Stir through some of the soup mix. Taste and keep adding until the dip is savory but not too salty.
Cut a large whole in the bread. Scoop in the dip to fill the whole & serve with the ‘top’ of the bread torn into chunks on the side.
antipasto platter
serves 4 – 6
The best thing about an antipasto platter is that all you need to do is get a few things from your favourite deli and pop them out for everyone to enjoy.
I’ve used proscuitto (parma ham), olives and toasted almonds but feel free to experiment with your favourite cheese or salami. Marinated vegetables such as sun dried tomatoes or eggplant can also be lovely.
The trick is to choose just 3 or 4 things rather than going overboard.
8 – 12 super thin slices proscuitto
handful large green olives
handful toasted salted almonds
crusty bread stick to serve
Arrange jamon slices on a large platter or chopping board. Add olives and almonds and serve with bread on the side.
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white bean & parmesan dip
Feel free to use whichever white beans you prefer. Canellini, butter beans, navy beans, borlotti or even chickpeas would all work.
This puree is a quick and easy starter to serve with warm pita bread or your favourite dipping vehicle.
Another option is to serve it on crostini – thin slices of baguette that have been toasted on one side and rubbed with a cut clove of garlic while still hot.
1 can canellini or other white beans (14oz or 400g)
1 – 2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2oz (60g) parmesan cheese, finely grated
3 – 4 tablespoons lemon juice
Drain beans and place in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Whizz until very smooth. Season to taste.
Serve at room temperature with pita or other bread.
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Editors note: For more fabulous recipes from Jules please take a moment to visit her site, it really is fantastic. She’s even self published a cookbook called “and the love is free”. It’s filled with Jules’ family recipes and was done as a tribute to her mum. (Please note this is not an affiliate link I’m just really loving these recipes and don’t want you guys to miss out on anything :)
A great idea for a post! I love the sound of the white bean and parmesan dip.
Yum! Great ideas, loving this post!
Still haven’t done my grocery shopping for christmas, so at least I’ll be able to add these ingredients to the list.
@ Mummy Zen – I’m most excited about making the dukkah – Haven’t had that since we lived in Australia but the bean and Parmesan dip is on my list as well!
@ Satakieli – I know good timing right? I do my shopping tonight so I’ll be loading up as well. Glad you enjoyed the post!
Mmm, these look so impressive! I love appetizers, between those and christmas cookies I’m surprised I ever can eat the main course this time of year.
These recipes look so good! I love Jules’ website! Her photography is always amazing!
That cream cheese and spinach recipe looks like something I would fix. However, it all looks yummy!
Would a blender or mixer work in place of a food processor?
All look very good, by the way.
Hi Kevin I imagine a blender would work fine for the Dukkah but not so sure for the salmon. I don’t think a blender chops things up as fine as a food processor does.
If you try it be sure to come back and let us know how it worked out for you!
Great tips, I will be trying out vegan/vegie ideas from here for sure for parties or I may just do it for us.
thanks guys
kevin
blender would be fine for grinding the nuts.
but you’re going to struggle to get the parmesan dip to blend and the salmon mousse will have the same problems I’m afraid.
your best bet would be to chop the salmon as fine as you can and mix it by hand for a chunky version.
for a food processor free version of the dip I’d mash the beans with a fork and stir through the rest.
hope that helps
do you whip the cream for the salmon mousse (before folding it in)?
hi katy
no. you need to use heavy or double cream which is about 48% milk fat and fairly thick to begin with so it’s just about gently stiring through the salmon.
although if you wanted to try a lighter option whipped cream may work well – let me know if you do try that out.
Jules, I had heavy cream (though not double… perhaps a difference?). After I pureed the salmon in the food processor it was not really a paste, but more like tiny chunks of minced salmon. I stirred in a tiny amount of cream, and it looked like I was going to end up with more of a salmon soup than mousse. So I whipped the rest of the cream, and folded it in. It worked beautifully — and really, tasted better the next day. Thanks for the great idea.
hi katy
glad it worked out in the end – I think the salmon soup thing might be because the fat content of the heavy cream is not as high as double cream – will have to investigate.
although the idea of whipped cream is a good one – should give a lighter more airy texture
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