Recipes that can be turned into canapés or used as dips, depending on the occasion.
Roquefort cheese dip
- 100g of Roquefort
- 200g of fromage frais
- 1 tsp of lemon juice
As a dip
Crumble the Roquefort into a serving bowl. Add the fromage frias and mix well until the Roquefort is thoroughly combined. Serve with crudités and savoury biscuits.
As a canapé
Spread the mix onto crackers and top with a grape, a slice of apple, pear, celery or red pepper. You could also spread the mix down a stick of celery, depending on the type of buffet you are making.
Guacamole
- 1 crushed clove of garlic
- 1 small onion grated
- 2 avocados
- 3 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and sliced
- 1 tsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp of ground cumin
- 2 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander
As a dip
Skin the tomatoes by placing them in a bowl of boiling water for 1 minute until the skin splits. Remove from the boiling water and peel away with your fingers. Cut the tomatoes in half, deseed them and chop them finely. Place in a bowl with the onion, garlic and olive oil. Peel and slice the avocados and mash into the mix until you have a chunky guacamole. Add the cumin and coriander and it is ready to serve. Avocados are best if they are prepared when you are ready to eat them, but the rest of this dip can be made the night before and the avocados mixed in on the day of the buffet.
As a canapé
Marinade sliced chicken breasts, beef or pork in freshly squeezed lime juice, garlic and chilli for twenty four hours. Grill or fry the meat until cooked and leave to cool. Take some small tortillas and spread the guacamole over half of each tortilla. Place a piece or two of the meat in the bottom left hand quarter of the tortilla and top with some finely sliced iceberg lettuce. Fold the tortilla in half and in half again so you have a triangle shape. Secure with cocktail sticks. These also taste great with marinated grilled peppers which you can buy in jars from the supermarket or make yourself.
Cream cheese & anchovy dip
- 200g of cream cheese
- Dash of Tabasco
- 150g of fromage frais
- 1 small can of anchovies
- 1 tsp of oil from the anchovies.
- 1 handful of fresh chives
As A Dip
Drain the anchovies and chop them finely. Place the cream cheese in a bowl and soften with a fork. Add the oil from the anchovies and the fromage frais, and mix well. Combine the rest of the ingredients and top with finely sliced fresh chives.
As A Canapé
Spread the mix over savoury biscuits and top with fake caviar eggs or some crispy streaky bacon.
Watercress & cream cheese dip
-
- 200g of watercress
- 200g of cream cheese
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
As A Dip
Place all the ingredients in a food blender or in a bowl if you are using a hand blender. Blend until smooth.
As A Canapé
Spread over savoury biscuits, ciabatta or other bread, and top with smoked salmon slivers and pickled capers.
Olive tapenade
-
- 400g of black olives, stoned
- 3 anchovy fillets
- 100g capers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper
As A Dip
Place the olives in a blender with the anchovy fillets and the capers. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and blend. Add the second tablespoon and blend again. Stir in the lemon juice and black pepper to taste.
As A Canapé
Spread the tapenade over ciabatta, savoury biscuits or French bread and top with a half a baby tomato and a leaf of fresh sweet basil.
If you are inspired by Tempting festive dips and canapes to delight your guests, you’ll find more ideas for dips and canapes on our Food and Drink channel. Or, if you have recipes of your own to share, leave them in the comments section below or send to [email protected].
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