Hors d’oeuvres

Using Geoff’s simple tips, these everyday appetisers can be jazzed up to add some real style to your next dinner party or barbeque.

Tomato & red onion bruschetta

Ingredients

• 6 salad tomatoes, pulp removed and finely diced (see tip below)
• 12 basil leaves, cut en chiffonnade (see tip below)
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup dressing
• 1 loaf heavy dough bread (like Pane Di Casa)
• sea salt
• pepper, freshly ground

Dressing

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 50ml red wine vinegar
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Slice the bread into discs about 1.5cm (0.6″) thick (Hint: a heavy dough bread is best to absorb the bruschetta mix without it becoming soggy). Grill the bread on both sides on a lightly greased hot grill.
2. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Following Geoff’s tip, dice the tomatoes, then dice the onion and add both to the dressing. Mix it all together.
4. Cut the basil en chiffonnade and, with your fingers, lightly fluff it up, gently teasing the rings out.

To serve:

• Spoon the bruschetta mix onto the grilled bread and top with the basil chiffonnade.
• Sprinkle good sea salt and freshly ground pepper on top.
• Makes 6 slices.

Geoff’s tips:

• Tomatoes: cut the tomatoes into wedges and remove the pulp, leaving only the flesh. Slice each wedge lengthways into thin strips then dice finely.
• Chiffonnade: a French technique. Cutting en chiffonnade means shredding green leaves on a chopping board to form a julienne – thin strips of vegetable cut to a uniform length.
• Basil: remove the stalks from the basil leaves. Roll each basil leaf from tip to stem to form a tube then cut crossways down the length of the tube. A small bunch of finely cut rings will result

Quenelle of cream cheese with caviar & chives 

Geoff used two spoons to form little egg-shaped portions of creamed cheese, called quenelles. (Quenelle is from the German Knodel, meaning dumpling.)

Ingredients

• 1 tub cream cheese
• 1 packet cracker biscuits
• 1 small bunch chives, finely sliced
• caviar

Method

1. Warm two identical teaspoons in a bowl of hot water then pat them dry.
2. Spoon a small amount of your preferred cream cheese on one teaspoon and, holding the other teaspoon in your other hand, lightly press the cheese between the spoons in a rolling motion, transferring it from one spoon to another to form an egg shape. Place each quenelle onto a cracker biscuit.
3. Trim and finely slice a small bunch of chives and, with the back of a spoon, press a small dent into the top of each quenelle.
4. Into each dent, spoon a small portion of caviar then garnish with a sprinkle of chives (Hint: Assemble the hors d’oeuvres on a chopping board so your serving plate doesn’t get messy.)

Kebabs with honey & capsicum

Ingredients

• 500g beef, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 large capsicum, finely diced
• 1 onion, cut into wedges (optional)
• 3 teaspoons honey
• extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Oil the skewers so the cooked food will come off easily, or if using wood skewers, soak them in water for an hour before preparing the kebabs (do not use wood skewers if barbequing the kebabs).
2. Slide the beef cubes onto the skewers and lightly brush with a thin coating of olive oil. (Optional extra: for variety, alternate the beef cubes with small wedges of onion.)
3. Put the kebabs straight onto a hot barbecue or pan grill. Turn the heat down so that they char on the outside and cook gently all the way through.
4. Use tongs or a cloth to turn the kebabs. When the kebabs are ready, pull the handles of the skewers away from the heat to allow them to cool. Coat with honey and roll in diced capsicum (see tip below).

Geoff’s tip

Capsicum is an old favourite when it comes to kebabs. But instead of cutting the capsicum into squares and sliding it onto the skewer, try this tricky technique:

1. Select a capsicum with the flattest sides possible. Cut the sides off then cut in half lengthways again. Then, with a sharp knife lying almost parallel to the fleshy surface of the capsicum, press down hard and slice off the excess flesh. Now slice the capsicum into strips lengthways and dice finely. For a little bit of variety, use different coloured capsicums: red, green, orange or yellow.
2. Lightly coat the cooked kebabs in a little bit of warmed honey, then roll them in the diced capsicum.