Seven snacks to serve your party guests (and not a cocktail sausage in sight)

We're finally approaching this year's eagerly awaited party season, and perhaps you've already signed up to host gatherings and dinner parties, or volunteered to bring a platter of nibbles to a friend's bash. 

But what to serve with your fancy fizz and festive cocktails? We've moved way past tiny sausages on sticks and piles of stale Twiglets.

Instead, consider snack-sized delights such as vodka-cured salmon served thinly on rye, homemade Asian-inspired crisps with a sweet chilli dip, and strips of spiced steak with sweet red pepper (party sausages may be out, but steak on skewers? That's more like it). The flavours are bright and bold, better to team with welcome drinks. Enjoy!

Vodka and caraway cured salmon on rye

A Lithuanian take on the traditional Scandinavian gravadlax, try it with chilled shots of good vodka. The vodka and caraway make for a delicious combination, and the beetroot pickle lends a fresh tartness. Don’t forget to start two days before you want to eat it.

MAKES

35 canapés or 12-16 larger portions

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg very fresh centre-cut salmon fillet

• 2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed

• A generous ½ tbsp of caraway seeds, lightly crushed

• 75g sea salt flakes

• 75g caster sugar

• 75ml vodka

• 20g dill, chopped, plus extra to garnish

• Rye bread, to serve

• Lemon wedges (optional) 

For the quick beetroot pickle

• 4 small raw beetroot, grated

• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 4 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

1. Cut the salmon in half across the fillet, remove any pin bones and set aside on a board, skin-side down.

2. Place the crushed peppercorns in a bowl with the caraway seeds, salt and sugar, then mix in the vodka.

3. Evenly spread the mixture on to the flesh side of the salmon, pressing it in until you have used it all.

4. Lay the dill evenly over the surface of the fish. Now sandwich the two pieces of salmon together, skin-side out, so that the curing sides are touching each other. Tie with kitchen string, tucking in any filling that spills out, then wrap the fish tightly in cling film – I like to wrap it twice so that it is really secure.

5. Place the parcel in a dish to catch any escaping liquids and refrigerate for 48 hours. You can weight the salmon down with something heavy if you like. And, if you remember, you can turn it a couple of times, but it doesn’t really make that much difference.

6. To make the beetroot pickle (which can be prepared a few hours before you want to serve it), place all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover and leave for about two hours in the fridge, then drain off the liquid thoroughly before serving the grated beetroot with the salmon.

7. Remove the salmon from the cling film and gently wipe off the excess dill and cure. Place the fish, skin-side down, on a board and scatter with a little extra dill.

8. Serve the salmon with the beetroot pickle on the side and slices of good rye bread.

9. Alternatively, assemble the canapés yourself by thinly slicing the salmon, placing it on rye bread and topping it with a little of the pickle. You could also serve it with lemon wedges instead.

Recipe from The Art of the Party by Kay Plunkett-Hogge (Mitchell Beazley, £12.99)

Pomegranate and cumin cashews

MAKES

150 grams

INGREDIENTS

• 150g raw unsalted cashews

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp Aleppo pepper flakes or dried chilli flakes

• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 2 tsp honey

• 1 tsp fine sea salt

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/Gas 2. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Toss the cashews with the cumin, Aleppo pepper flakes, pomegranate molasses, oil, honey and salt in a bowl to combine.

3. Spread the seasoned cashews on the prepared tray and bake for around 20 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time, until they are golden.

4. Serve the nuts slightly warm or at room temperature.

5. The nuts will keep in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for around one to two weeks.

Recipe from The Jewelled Table by Bethany Kehdy (Hardie Grant, £25)

Sweet potato crisps with a creamy chilli sauce

This dipping sauce is based on yuzu kosho, the Japanese citrus paste made from pounding green chillies with salt and yuzu skin. You can buy jars from Asian stores, but this is a homemade version using lime zest and jalapeño, swirled here into a creamy buttermilk base.

SERVES

Four to six

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large sweet potatoes, skin on

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the creamy chilli sauce

• 1 garlic clove, sliced

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 1 thumb-sized jalapeño or other green chilli, sliced

• 1 tbsp yuzu or lime juice

• Thick zest of 1 lime

• 60ml mayonnaise

• 90ml buttermilk

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/Gas 2.

2. Thinly slice the well-scrubbed sweet potatoes lengthways on a mandolin, about 2½mm thin. They should be thicker than you might think as they will shrink and become crisp. If they are too thin, they can burn in places before they are cooked.

3. Rub both sides of the crisps with the oil and place on one very large baking tray or two smaller ones. Bake for 45 minutes or until crisp. You may want to swap the two trays (if using) around halfway through the cooking time.

4. In the last 10 minutes or so of baking, flip over the potatoes so they dry out.

5. Remove the crisps from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt and leave to cool on the tray. If not eating immediately, place in a tin or sealed container and line the base with baking paper so it absorbs any moisture.

6. To make the creamy chilli sauce, in a mortar and pestle crush the garlic, salt, green chilli, yuzu or lime juice and lime zest until they form a paste. Scrape into a small serving bowl and add the mayonnaise and buttermilk. Stir to combine.

7. Serve the creamy chilli sauce with the potato crisps.

Miso kale crisps

(pictured above)
Try to use big leaves of kale, with the stems removed, and then rip or cut into pieces. The pre-cut bags include the tough, woody stems, so avoid those as the stems don’t go crisp like the leaves. Wasabi can be used in place of the miso, but reduce the quantity by half.

SERVES

Four to six

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp pale (shiro) miso

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar

• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil

• 150g kale or cavolo nero

• 1 tbsp togarashi or furikake spice mix

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/Gas 2. In a large bowl, mix the miso, rice vinegar and coconut oil together.

2. Remove the stems from the kale or cavolo nero and cut the leaves into 6cm pieces. Add the kale leaves to the miso mixture and massage it into the leaves.

3. Place the kale in a single layer on a large baking tray or two smaller ones. Sprinkle with the spice mix and bake for 20 minutes or until crisp.

Recipes from My Asian Kitchen by Jennifer Joyce (Murdoch Books, £20)

Souk olives

These have a distinctive tangy and uniquely Moroccan taste.

MAKES

450 grams  

INGREDIENTS

• 100g pitted black dry olives

• 100g drained pitted green olives

• 100g drained pitted red-brown olives, such as kalamata

• 2 small preserved lemons, flesh and rind chopped

• 60g drained gherkins, roughly sliced

• 20g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

• 1½ tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

METHOD

1. Mix all the olives, preserved lemons, gherkins and parsley together in a large bowl.

2. Stir all the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth, then pour the mixture over the olive mixture and toss until well-coated.

3. Transfer to a clean airtight container, and keep in the fridge for up to five days.

Recipe from Casablanca by Nargisse Benkabbou (Mitchell Beazley, £20)

Roasted red pepper and anchovy salad on roasted garlic toasts

SERVES

Four

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large heads of garlic, unpeeled, plus 1 fat clove, finely chopped

• 4 large thyme sprigs

• 1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 4 large red peppers

• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar

• 8 small slices rustic white bread, about 1cm thick

• 16 good-quality anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6.

2. Remove the papery skin from each head of garlic and take a thin slice off the top of each to expose the cloves.

3. Take a large square of foil, place the garlic into the centre, add two of the thyme sprigs, drizzle each head with one teaspoon of oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap in the foil, place in a roasting tin along with the peppers, and roast on the top shelf of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, turning the peppers until the skins have blackened in places.

4. Remove the peppers from the tin, drop them into a plastic bag and leave until cool enough to handle. Return the garlic parcels to the oven and roast for a further 35 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, slit open the peppers, working over a bowl so you catch the juices, and remove and discard the stalks, seeds and skin. Tear the flesh into 1cm-wide strips and add to the bowl of juices with the chopped garlic clove, vinegar, remaining thyme leaves and oil. Stir well together.

6. Remove the garlic from the oven and set the parcel aside. Toast the slices of bread. (I put mine on the bars of a preheated cast-iron ridged griddle long enough to give the bread a smoky taste, then finish it off in the toaster.) Unwrap the garlic and squeeze some of the purée from each clove and spread it on to the toast while both are still hot. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Season the peppers, and spoon some on top.

7. Garnish each slice with the anchovy fillets, drizzle over some of the pepper juices, and serve while the toast is still crisp.

Recipe from Spanish Flavours by José Pizarro (Kyle Books, £16.99)

Bagna càuda

This interpretation of bagna càuda is easy to whip up with store-cupboard ingredients, making a great improvised starter. Serve it with a glittering array of crunchy veg, which offset its pungency, or try it with cold roast pork.

MAKES

One generous bowl, for sharing

INGREDIENTS

• 10 garlic cloves, peeled

• 300ml whole milk

• 15 good-quality, salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed and finely chopped or good-quality, jarred anchovies in oil

• 25g unsalted butter

• ½ of a 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained

• 1 tbsp double cream

• 3 tsp red wine vinegar

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• Juice of ½ lemon

To serve (vary according to what’s in season)

• Breakfast radishes, rinsed

• Romanesco cauliflower (or regular cauliflower), broken into florets and blanched in boiling salted water for two minutes

• Red or white chicory leaves

• Fennel bulb, rinsed and sliced

• Baby carrots, rinsed and trimmed

METHOD

1. In a bowl, cover the garlic cloves with 100ml of the milk, and soak for one hour. Discard the milk, and put the soaked garlic cloves in a saucepan.

2. Cover the soaked garlic with the remaining milk and one tablespoon of water. Cook very gently, part-covered with a lid, over a very low heat, for about 20 minutes, until the garlic is soft enough to mush into the milk (but don’t mush them in now, as you will blend the dip later).

3. Add the chopped anchovies and cook, stirring, until the anchovies have dissolved. Add the butter and stir until melted.

4. Transfer to a food processor and blitz with the drained beans, cream, vinegar and olive oil until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add the lemon juice and black pepper to taste, and more olive oil, if you wish.

5. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with the prepared vegetables alongside.

Recipe from A Lot on Her Plate by Rosie Birkett (Hardie Grant, £25)

Lightly spiced fillet beef with peppers

You could use sirloin for this, but I love the butteriness of the fillet steak against the smoky paprika and sweet red peppers. You will need pintxo sticks or skewers.

MAKES

8-12 skewers

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp mild smoked paprika

• Good pinch of dried oregano

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 500g fillet steak, about 2½-3cm thick

For the garnish

• 2 long red peppers, halved lengthways and deseeded, then halved again across the middle

• Olive oil, to coat

METHOD

1. Mix together the olive oil, paprika, oregano, garlic, and some salt and pepper in a bowl.

2. Slice the steak into lengthways strips about 1cm thick. Pop them into the bowl of marinade and leave for about an hour.

3. Heat a frying pan until very hot. Coat the red pepper halves in olive oil, and place them in the hot pan. Season with a little salt. Turn them every now and then. Add a splash of cold water – the steam will help them soften. Then, when they are soft and have caught some colour, remove and set aside.

4. Now take the skewers and thread a beef slice on to each one – you want the skewer to pierce the meat three times.

5. Cook until you have a nice char on the outside, but the meat is still pink and tender on the inside. This should take about two minutes.

6. Remove from the heat and serve each skewer with a few slices of red pepper.

Recipe from A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas by Kay Plunkett-Hogge (Mitchell Beazley, £15.99)