Time flies. Fall has arrived and winter is on its way… as are the festive holidays! No reason why we can’t start feeling creative in the kitchen with our four quick and easy to prepare Christmas appetizers. They only takes 30 minutes to prepare and are packed with plenty of intriguing flavors to stimulate the appetite for a Christmas treat.
Christmas appetizers: thyme bruschetta with lemon and scampi
Only half an hour and have no idea what to prepare? Well scampi bruschetta is your answer! For four people you need 5 oz of homemade bread, 4 oz spring onions, 8 shelled langoustine tails, a ripe tomato, a bunch of thyme, acacia honey, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt as needed. We start immediately by heating the slices of bread for 5 minutes at 170 degrees on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Let's put the clean the spring onions keeping the green part aside and then slice them into rounds: brown them in a little oil for about a minute, lower the flame, add a teaspoon of thyme leaves, grated lemon rind and a teaspoon of honey. The cooking should continue for a maximum of three minutes. After having sliced it into four slices, the tomato must be rubbed on the slices of bread taken out of the oven which, afterwards, should be salted and perfumed with grated lemon rind and the leftover thyme. We heat a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil to blanch only the shelled langoustine tails on one side. Then distribute the spring onions on the slices of bread, finish with the scampi and serve.
Anchovies stuffed with sage elegans and pine nuts
For four people: 5 oz pine nuts, 24 anchovies, 20 sage elegans leaves, 2 eggs, white wine, breadcrumbs, extra virgin olive oil, flour and just enough salt. After cleaning the anchovies, rinse them with white wine. Chop, not too finely the sage with pine nuts, salt and add 4 tablespoons of oil: this will make up our filling. Stuff the anchovies, pass them in flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs, press the breadcrumbs and then fry them in plenty of oil for about a minute per side. After draining them on absorbent kitchen paper, serve them hot.
Salad with zucchini and fish balls
Speed is the secret of this preparation which, for four people, requires 5 oz of sea bream fillets, 5 oz of zucchini, 3 oz of Greek yoghurt, 2 lb of mixed salad, butter, pancarrè, flour, lime, aromatic herbs, milk, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper as needed. Cut the zucchini cut into thin strips and grill them for about 2 minutes per side, then roll them up. Whisk the skinned gilthead bream fillets with ¾ oz of pancarrè soaked with a spoonful of milk and a pinch of salt. Then make small meatballs to then flour and cook in ½ oz of butter for 3 minutes. We mix the yogurt with the rind and juice of half a lime, one tablespoon of oil and one of water, salt, and pepper. We place the meatballs in glasses alternating them with the salad and zucchini, garnishing everything with yogurt sauce and herbs making one of the most delicious Christmas appetizers.
Cucumbers Duse style
Among the Christmas hors d'oeuvres this one surely has one of the most theatrical of names dedicated to Eleonora Duse. For four people, we need 1 lb cucumbers, 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 salted anchovies, onion, mustard, fresh horseradish, and just enough white wine vinegar. To start, we have to peel the cucumbers in alternate strips and cut them into small logs of about 4 centimeters each. With a knife, we dig out the inside leaving a layer of pulp on the bottom that will serve as a base. After having thrown them in boiling water slightly acidulated with vinegar (a spoon is enough), we cook them for about 3 minutes from boiling point. We clean the anchovies, wash them with salt and then cut them very finely with a knife together with a quarter of onion or a spring onion. Sieve the eggs, mix them with the finely chopped mixture and together with a teaspoon of mustard, we have our filling. With this filling we stuff the cucumbers and then serve them garnished with grated horseradish and herb leaves.
