canapés – My Whisk and I

Jan’s Balsamic Toffee Tomatoes

May 7, 2023April 28, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This recipe is not mine to give out as it belongs to the South African chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen BUT you should make these for your next drinks party …. delicious just got so much better!

These tomatoes are incredibly tasty and the balsamic toffee perfectly balances with the toasty sesame brittle on which it sits. Easy and quick to make EXCEPT on a rainy day! The moisture in the air prevents the toffee from “sitting” on the tomato…

You can find this recipe in Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s book The French Affair (Struik; 2013) (p. 19).

Edamame Hummus

April 23, 2023April 14, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This spread or dip is packed with protein as edamame beans are green soy beans. Enjoy it on toast, crackers, as a dip or stirred into roasted veg.

250ml edamame beans, thawed
30ml tahini paste
30ml lemon juice
30ml olive oil
1,2ml salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
30-60ml water

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend for one minute.
Add the water a little at a time and keep blending until the hummus is smooth and creamy.
Taste the hummus and adjust the seasoning – often it needs a pinch of salt and some lemon juice.
Serve on crostini or crackers as a canapé or simply spread on toast.

Honey Roasted Figs

February 24, 2023February 22, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

about 16 ripe, fresh figs
1 large burrata cheese
100g prosciutto
45ml honey
thyme leaves, chopped

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Cut off the stem at the top of each fig, stand it upright and cut a cross in the top of each one, but don’t cut through to the base.
Slice the Burrata into slices with a serrated knife ….. as best you can ..
Put about half a slice of cheese into the cross you have cut – you can piece it together as it will melt.
Now lay the prosciutto flat and half each slice in its length.
Thread the ham through and around the fig and place in an ovenproof dish.
Drizzle the honey over once all the figs are done and scatter over the thyme.
Roast the figs for 8-10 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Serve immediately as a canapé or an indulgent treat.

Potato-Cheese Flatbread

December 11, 2022December 11, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Yields two flatbreads

3 potatoes, cooked (about 250 – 350ml cooked potato)
60ml butter
250ml cheese, grated (I use parmesan and cheddar)
5ml salt
5ml garlic salt
15ml chives, chopped
250ml yoghurt
375ml self-raising flour
butter

Mash the cooked potato while it is still warm and mix in the butter, cheese, salt, garlic salt and chives. Set aside to cool.
Add the yoghurt and flour to a bowl and combine.
Knead until you have a smooth ball of dough – add a small amount of flour if the dough is too sticky.
Divide the dough in two balls.
Roll out into a circle of 1cm thickness.
Add half the potato mixture, flatten into a smaller circle and gather the edges of the dough around the filling. Pinch together the dough to seal the potato filling.
Flip the filled dough and gently roll it out to a disk shape that will fit your pan.
Pan-fry on both sides on medium heat, until golden, brushing with melted butter.
Serve the bread warm.

Mini Cordon Bleu Fingers

November 20, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

10 sheets rice paper
10 slices ham
200g mozzarella cheese, cut into 1cm logs that are about 6cm long
250ml panko bread crumbs
2 eggs
vegetable oil for frying

Lay the rice sheets in water for one minute to soften.
Place a rice paper sheet on a work surface and top with a slice of ham.
Place the cheese on the ham and fold the rice paper over. Roll up into a cylinder.
Whisk the egg together in a shallow dish and add the bread crumbs to another shallow dish.
Dip the rice paper rolls into the egg and cover with the bread crumbs.
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add 1cm oil.
Fry the rolls until golden and crisp.
Serve with a dipping sauce.

Whipped Goat’s Cheese Bruschetta

October 31, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1 sourdough loaf, cut into 1cm slices
60ml olive oil
600g cherry tomatoes, halved
half a red onion, finely chopped
200g goat’s cheese/chevin
100g sour cream
juice of 1 lemon (about 30ml)
a handful of basil leaves, chopped

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and brush them with the olive oil.
Toast the bread in the oven for 10 min. Set aside.
Add the halved tomatoes and red onion to a mixing bowl, drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Add the goat cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and basil leaves to a bowl and whisk together with an electric whisk.
Spread the cheese mixture on the bruschetta, top with the tomato and serve immediately.

Chicken Roll-Ups

October 18, 2022October 17, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

These roll-ups are the kind of food we graze on in summer. Pack a huge platter full of them, mix an exotic cocktail and sit back and relax.

4 tortilla wraps
250g cream cheese
190ml pickled sweet peppers, chopped
500ml grated cheddar cheese
625ml finely shredded chicken meat (leftovers are perfect!)
a small bunch of chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Add the cream cheese, pickled peppers, cheddar, chicken and chives to a mixing bowl and mix together.
Divide the mixture between the four wraps and evenly spread it right to the ends so that it is completely and evenly covered.
Roll the wrap as tight and evenly as you can and slice into discs.
Arrange on a platter to serve.

2-Ways with Camembert

October 16, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Baked Camembert:
1 roll puff pastry
1 Camembert cheese
egg wash: an egg yolk + 30ml water whisked together
125ml fruit jam of your choice (I used strawberry)
45ml water

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet and sit the camembert on top. Cut a circle around the cheese with a border of about 1 cm.
Lay the rest of the pastry on a work surface and cut into 1cm wide strips, about 15cm long.
Now lay the strips over the cheese so that it forms a latticed pattern. (See video). The pastry should cover the cheese without any gaps.
Trim off the excess pastry and brush the covered cheese with the egg wash.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Add the jam and water to a small saucepan over a low heat.
Stir the jam and allow to melt so that it easily runs off a spoon.
Pour/drizzle the sauce over the baked cheese and serve with crackers or a crusty bread.

Brûleé Camembert:
1 camembert cheese
30ml – 45ml brown sugar
fresh grapes, halved
125ml fruit jam of your choice
45ml water

Cut away the top rind of the cheese so that it lifts off like a lid. Remove this rind and discard.
Sprinkle the brown sugar over the cheese and brûleé with a blow torch until it bubbles.
Place the camembert on a serving plate and pile the grapes on top.
Melt the jam and water together and drizzle over the grapes and cheese.
Serve with crackers or a crusty bread.

Cream-Cheese-Board

October 3, 2022October 2, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This cheeseboard is a brilliant way of entertaining friends and family with the absolute minimum effort! The cream cheese is used as a base and smeared onto a wooden serving board and then topped with crunchy, punchy bits and bobs. One 250g tub of cream cheese should provide you with enough to feed 4 people as a snack with cocktails or even as a nibble before a meal.

250g tub of cream cheese (I used a chive flavoured cheese)
red onion, finely chopped
chives, chopped (garlic chives are especially good)
fried onion bits (mine was store bought but feel free to make them yourself)
pomegranate seeds
lemon zest
honey for drizzling over
edible flower to make everything look pretty

Smear the cream cheese onto a wooden serving board.
Sprinkle over the onion, chives, fried onion, pomegranate seeds and lemon zest.
Drizzle a small amount of honey over and finish off with a few pretty edible flowers.
Serve with crackers and cocktails.

Soy Sauce Eggs

September 28, 2022September 23, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

These marinated eggs are delicious as a healthy snack or added to any asian dish and theeeee perfect companion for a slurpy bowl of noodles!! Serve them as breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between..

190ml warm water
190ml soy sauce
25ml vinegar
80ml honey
6 eggs

Add the water, soy sauce, vinegar and honey to a jug and whisk together to blend the ingredients. Set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.
Lower the eggs into the boiling water with a spoon and cook for 7 minutes, or to your liking.
Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice and keep on the side.
Transfer the eggs to the ice bowl after the 7 minutes. Once the eggs have cooled enough to handle it is really easy to peel them when kept under the cold water.
Place the peeled eggs in a container and pour the marinate over.
Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours. The eggs must be submerged in the marinade – place a weight on top to keep them covered in the liquid.
Remove from the soy mixture, slice and sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs to serve.

The eggs in these photographs were marinated for 24 hours – very dark colour and strong umami taste!!