These gourmet appetisers will ensure you have winners at your next do.
1. Asparagus Bouquet
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Calorie count: 100 calories (per serving)
Ingredients:
Salt, for blanching the asparagus
20 ml honey
50 g low-fat yoghurt
5 edible flowers
20 g pomegranate arils
10 g microgreens
50 g black olives, sliced
16 baby asparagus, peeled
Method:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the asparagus in the boiling water to blanch, remove it, and plunge into ice-cold water (shock). Remove, dry and arrange on a serving platter.
- Garnish the asparagus with the pomegranate seeds, edible flowers, microgreens and black olives.
- Drizzle the honey and low-fat yoghurt over the asparagus and serve.
Tip: Always ‘shock’ the asparagus in cold water after boiling to retain the bright green colour.
2. Brined Papaya Roulade
Serves: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Calorie count: 100 calories (per serving)
Ingredients:
10 g microgreens
80 g crumbled papdi
10 g orange zest
40 ml vinegar
50 g sugar
5 g nigella seeds (kalonji)
200 g raw papaya
Method:
- Peel the raw papaya and cut it into paper-thin slices.
- Heat a pan on a low flame add the orange zest, vinegar, sugar and kalonji and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Add the papaya slices and cook until the papaya becomes transparent. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
- Line a serving platter with crumbled papdi.
- Shape the papaya slices into rolls, and place them on the papdi.
- Serve garnished with microgreens.
Tip: Blanching papaya also cuts the raw smell.
3. Fresh Fig and Goat Cheese Pizza
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes + 30 minutes resting time
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Calorie count: 250 calories (per serving)
Ingredients:
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced
5 button mushrooms, sliced
4 fresh ripe figs, sliced
100 g mozzarella
30 g tomato sauce
For the pizza:
40 ml olive oil
20 ml water
20 g polenta
3 g salt
5 g sugar
5 g yeast
100 g flour (maida)
Method:
- To prepare the pizza dough, knead together the olive oil, water, polenta, salt, sugar, yeast and flour. Set the dough aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 220°C.
- Roll the dough out into an oval and half bake it. Remove and place on a baking tray. Spread the tomato sauce on the pizza base, sprinkle the mozzarella on top with mushrooms and figs.
- Bake in the oven for 6-10 minutes.
- Serve hot garnished with cherry tomatoes.
Tip: Dust the pizza dough with a little maida while rolling to make it crispy.
