With the festive season just around the corner it’s time to start planning ahead to those all important dinner parties… and we’ve got all the ingredients you’ll need to whip up impressive and effortless canapés… So let’s get everyone in the party mood by setting a date for family and friends to join you for fun, laughter and fabulous food.

Eddie Kilty, Head Chef from the Inn on the Lake has provided three easy canapés recipes, which will go down a treat and really WOW your guests… chicken liver parfait with smoked bacon, salmon gravlax with horseradish and savoury choux buns… yum, yum!

So give yourself a few hours in the kitchen and follow Eddie’s step by step instructions to these three, easy and delicious canapés… Put some fun Christmas music on and let’s get cracking!

Chicken liver parfait with smoked bacon

Serves: 20 portions

Ingredients
● 80g of chicken liver
● 20g of foie gras
● 8 bacon rashers, unsmoked, streaky, finely chopped
● 150g of shallots, finely chopped
● 8 garlic cloves, chopped
● 50ml of port
● 50ml of sherry
● 50ml of brandy
● 1/2 tsp of pink salt
● salt & pepper
● 500g of butter, cold and cubed
● 2 tbsp. of crème fraîche
● 100g of smoked bacon, thinly sliced

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 110°C/gas mark 1/2.
2. In a dry, non-stick frying pan, sear the foie gras for 2 minutes until the colour is light and repeat for the chicken livers. Reserve to one side.
3. In the same pan, sweat the bacon, shallots and garlic for 5 minutes until soft.
4. Leaving the shallots, bacon and garlic in the pan, deglaze with half the port, half the sherry and half the brandy, lifting the meat juices and flavours from the bottom of the pan.
5. While still hot, transfer the contents of the pan into a blender. Add the pink salt and seasoning to taste.
6. Place the other half of the liquids into the pan to deglaze for a second time. Leave the pan over the heat until it has reduced by half.
7. Add the reduced liquid to the blender and turn it on. Add the cubed butter, a few cubes at a time, as the mixture is blended. Blend for 3-5 minutes until the butter is fully incorporated (the mixture should become smooth and glossy). Pass the mixture through a fine sieve.
8. Fold in the crème fraîche and pour into a terrine mould.
9. Place the terrine mould in a roasting tin and fill with water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the mould. Bake in the over for 1 hour.
10. After taking the terrine out of the over, allow it to cool until tepid. Then place it in the refrigerator to chill for approx. 1 hour.
11. Fry the bacon until crisp, crush the bacon with your hands and reserve. Once the parfait is cool, scoop into a piping bag and pipe into 20 shot glasses. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the parfait and serve.

Salmon gravlax with horseradish

Serves: 10-15 portions

Ingredients – Salmon gravlax
● 20g salt
● 20g of sugar
● 2 tsp of lemon zest
● 500g of organic Scottish salmon fillet, pinboned and skinned
● 700ml of olive oil

Ingredients – Horseradish and mustard sauce
● 10g of maille wholegrain mustard
● 80g of dark muscavado sugar
● 30g of maille Dijon mustard
● 8g of salt
● 90g of horseradish sauce
● 400g of Greek yoghurt

Recipe:

1. Sprinkle half the salt, sugar and chopped lemon zest onto a flat tray and place the salmon fillet on top with the skin-side up.
2. Sprinkle the remaining salt, sugar and lemon zest over the salmon fillet, evenly and marinate for 1 hour.
3. Once the salmon has cured, wash the mixture off with cold water and pat dry.
4. Pour the olive oil into a saucepan and warm up to 45-50°C. Cook the salmon in the oil for 10-12 minutes.
5. Once cooked, remove the salmon from the pan and place onto a tray to cool and drain. Flake the salmon and set aside.
6. To make the horseradish and mustard sauce, mix the mustards, sugar, salt and horseradish sauce together until the sugar has dissolved. Mix the Greek yoghurt, then cover the mixture with cling film and leave in the fridge until ready to use.
7. Preheat the over to 160°C/gas mark 3.
8. Slice the rye bread and put onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Season the bread with a little olive oil and salt and bake in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until crisp.
9. Sweep the mustard sauce on the croutes and add the flaked salmon on top, then serve.

 Savoury choux buns

Serves: 10 portions

Ingredients – Choux buns
● 110ml of milk
● 1 pinch of salt
● 55g of flour
● 40g of unsalted butter
● 2 eggs

Ingredients – Cream cheese and herb filling
● 200g of cream cheese, softened
● 1 tbsp. of chopped chervil
● 1 tsp of chopped chives
● salt

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.
2. Place the milk and salt in a pan and bring gently to the boil, and set aside until needed.
3. In a separate heavy based saucepan, melt the butter on a medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until the mixture forms a smooth paste without any lumps and leaves the sides and base of the pan cleanly. Cook for a further 5 minutes to cook out the starches in the flour.
4. Reduce to a low heat, stir in the warm milk, a little at a time, and cook on the stove for 2-3 minutes until the mixture starts to form a paste and take on a sheen. Switch from a wooden spoon to a whisk half way through this process.
5. Place the paste in a food mixer and blend until cooled to room temperature. Beat the eggs into the paste one at a time until fully incorporated.
6. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized plain nozzle. Pipe evenly sized 3cm balls of the choux pastry onto non-stick baking sheets, leaving a space double that size between each one.
7. Place into the over for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch, then leave on a rack to cool.
8. For the filling, soften the cream cheese in a bowl with a plastic spatula. Season with a little salt and mix in the fresh herbs.
9. Transfer the cheese and herb filling into a piping bag fitted with a star-fluted nozzle.
10. Using a small sharp knife, cut the top off each cooked choux bun. Pipe a good amount of the filling into each choux bun, place the tops back on and serve.