One of our favourite ways to use our sourdough crackers is as canapés so we asked cookbook author Signe Johansen to come up with some canapé ideas that are perfect for festive entertaining. Signe has written several books on Scandinavian food and recipes including Scandilicious: Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking and Scandilicious Baking.
As a light starter we suggest 3 canapés per person and up to 8 or 9 for a drinks party.
Below are three topping suggestions for you to follow. What will make them really special is adding your own personal touch so we have suggested a few alternative canapé ideas so that you can create your own favourites.
From front to back:
Smoked salmon, sour cream, salmon caviar, edible flowers, leek ash
Place a teaspoon of sour cream in the middle of each cracker, wrap a 10cm long strip of smoked salmon around the sour cream add a small amount of red fish roe and then sprinkle with edible flowers and a dark seasoning of your choice. Leek ash is made by slowly cooking leek in the oven until it chars, cooling it, then crumbling it. It has a smoky, oniony flavour and was inspired by one of the best restaurants in the world, Noma.
Alternatives: Use cream cheese, crème fraiche or greek yoghurt instead of sour cream. Try gravlax or other cured fish in place of the smoked salmon. Instead of leek ash we also like any of cracked black pepper, nigella seeds, earl grey tea. For chefy toppings without the preparation, such as crumbled black dried lime, look at Sous Chef.
Cucumber curls, asparagus, cream cheese, herb puree
First use a vegetable peeler to create long thin strips of cucumber that include part of the green outer skin. Blanch asparagus tips and slice in half vertically. Place a teaspoon of cream cheese in the middle of each cracker and twist a strip of cucumber around the cream cheese. Add a spear of asparagus, garnish with dill and drizzle with green herbs pureed with oil.
Alternatives: Use your favourite green vegetable blanched and cut in thin strips in place of the asparagus tips or thin shavings of raw fennel or courgette. Pesto thinned with a little extra oil or salsa verde make a good alternative to the herb puree.
Beetroot, sour cream, potato, herring, micro herbs
Place a teaspoon of sour cream on each cracker and then top with thin slices of raw or lightly cured beetroot, pickled herring and potato before garnishing with micro herbs or chopped herbs.
Alternatives: instead of herring you could try rare roast beef, smoked venison or chicken or your favourite cured meat.
By Signe Johansen & the Peter’s Yard team
