Top New Year Canapé Ideas

If you are having a few guests round to celebrate New Year or even hosting a full on party, making a few special canapés yourself always adds something special to the buffet table.  Okay, the bigger the party, the more you are going to buy in but there are plenty of great recipe ideas that can cater for different numbers and don’t require a degree in fine dining to produce!

Modern sausage rolls

Sausage rolls have been the staple of the buffet table for generations and are still a favourite for many guests.  The Sausage and Fennel Seed Slices bring a modern variation of the classic party food.  All you need are 400 grams of sausage, either skinless or skin removed and 375 grams of ready rolled puff pastry.  Put the sausages into a bowl, squash them around and form them into two balls.  Pop them into cling film and roll them into a cylinder around 30cm long.  Keep them in the fridge. 

Next, lay out the pastry and cut unto four strips that are 40cm long and 10cm wide.  Place the sausage meat in the middle and then sprinkle with some fennel seeds.  Drape the pastry over the meat then brush it with egg then take three thin strips of pastry, plait them and lay them on the top, again brushing with egg.  Bake at 200 degrees for around 40 minutes until golden.

Potato and smoked salmon

Putting together potato and smoked salmon may not sound like the most successful combination but you may be surprised.  The Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese are a great alternative to the usual blini used to serve the luxury salmon.  Take 1kg of baking potatoes and cook them around about 1 hour 20 minutes until cooked.  Put the potato into that personalised bowl that the kids got you for your birthday, discarding the skins and mix in around 75grams of butter, 100 grams of plain flour and one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

Line a baking tray with parchment and brush it with butter.  Roll out the potato dough and put it on the tray, it might break up a bit but don’t worry, just push it back together!  Brush it with butter and bake for around 45 minutes.

Once the potato cakes are cooled, you are ready to add the salmon.  Whisk up 280 grams of full fat cream cheese with the juice of a lemon and 100 ml of double cream.  Spread this on the potato cake and cut them into squares.  Top with strips of salmon, a little dill and the zest of the lemon then serve.

Corn cups

You can use pre-made corn cups or make your own from circles of tortilla heated in the microwave then pushed into muffin tins.  Brush them with oil and bake for 8-10 minutes then leave to cool.  Next, chop up 100 grams of prawns and marinade in lime juice for 5 minutes.  Add them to a bowl with mango, red onion, chili and coriander and mix together.  Add these to the corn cups to bring a little Mexican to your New Year celebration.