8 quick finger foods and canapés

By: Louanne Fogg

If you are having guests over within the hot days to come, here are 8 quick finger foods (or canapés) to prepare, ideal to serve with drinks or as pre-dinner food niblets.

Peach and Prosciutto Skewers

2 firm but ripe medium peaches, each cored and cut into 10 wedges
20 medium fresh basil leaves
20 large mint leaves
20 slices prosciutto
wooden skewers

For each skewer, spear a basil leaf followed by a peach wedge, mint leaf, and a slice of prosciutto.

Stuffed Celery Stalks

100 cream cheese, light
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1 spoon Dijon mustard
8 large ribs celery, (the light green variety, not the Maltese type celery)

Use a hand blender to process the cream cheese with the mayonnaise and mustard. Cut the celery into bite size pieces. Pipe the filling into the celery pieces and cut them/ Refrigerate before serving.

Mushroom and Gbejna Tomatoes

200g finely chopped mushrooms
1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons yoghurt
2 white mature ġbejna
10 tomatoes, cut in half and scooped out

Heat the oil in a pan; add the garlic and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the liquid. Place mushroom mixture in a medium bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the tomatoes.

Peppered Gbejna Toasts

Photo: Nadine.com

6 slices thin white bread
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup grated peppered gbejna
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place bread slices on a baking sheet. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes. Rub the garlic clove on the bread. Mix the peppered gbejna, mayonnaise, rosemary, parsley until well combined. Spread each toast with 1 tablespoon of the mixture. Cut each slice into triangles. Bake until mixture is golden, around 5 minutes.

Devils on horseback with Dolcelatte

24 pitted prunes, split pen
1/3 cup crumbled Dolcelatte
12 strips of bacon cut into two toothpicks

Soak 24 toothpicks in water for 15 minutes. Cover an ovenproof dish with baking paper. Place a small amount of cheese in center of each prune, in cavity left by removed pit. Wrap each prune with bacon, securing with toothpick. Bake for 10 minutes at 180 C.

Stuffed Baby Potatoes

24 baby red-skin potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
chives
2 tablespoons mustard
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
Cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 220C and line a baking sheet with parchment. Cut potatoes in half then slice a thin sliver off the bottom of each so they stay upright. Toss potatoes with oil, salt and pepper. Arrange cut side down on sheet and bake until cooked for around30 minutes. Allow to cool. Use a melon baller to scoop out centre of each potato. Finely chop potato centers and place in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Spoon or pipe 1 teaspoon of filling into each potato shell. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Caprese Sticks

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
6 fresh basil leaves
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
around 14 fresh small mozzarella balls, cut into three
32 wooden skewers

Thread 1 tomato half, 1 piece of cheese, and another tomato half onto each skewer. Place skewers in a shallow serving dish. Whisk the oil and balsamic vinegar. Drizzle the mixture over the prepared skewers; sprinkle with basil and salt and pepper to taste.

Stuffed Dates with Ricotta

100g ricotta, crumbled
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
16 dried dates, each cut in half, stones removed

Combine the ricotta, garlic, parsley and season if desired. Spoon a teaspoon of cheese mixture into each split date or use a piping bag. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving.