Omit the cracker or sliced bread for your next canapé. Using fruits and vegetables as appetizer bases appeal to both low-carb and low-fat diet followers.
Canapés are small appetizers, and recipes for them typically have a filling served on top of a cracker or slice of bread. They are fancy as well as being full of flavor since they are made for both the eye and the stomach. While you’ll find a ton of recipes for appetizers calling for a processed cracker or toasted slice of thin baguette, using both limits what certain dieters of different diets can eat and enjoy.
Using fresh or dried fruits and vegetables creates choices for those wanting to create unique foods that are both appetizing to look at and healthier to eat. If you are looking for ideas for your next party, or are simply serving up some quick, healthful snacks for the family, incorporate these ideas with your favorite dip and topping recipes.
Fresh Vegetables with No Cooking
Using fresh vegetables that don’t have to pre-cooked is a time saver for last-minute canapés. Both Belgium endive and cut celery make excellent choices since each endive leaf or celery stick makes a perfect one-or-two bite food. Hothouse or English cucumbers don’t have to be peeled before using, and when they are sliced and patted dry or drained make crisp bases for bean dips. Scoop the pulp from cherry tomatoes, and using a pastry bag and plain tip, pipe in herb-flavored cream cheese fillings or smoked or canned salmon dips.
Cooked and Canned Vegetables
Some vegetables need preparation before being served, but some can be found in canned forms to save time in prep, like artichokes. Mini artichoke hearts can be topped with a well-seasoned vegetable filling or a salad like chicken or chickpea, or even bleu cheese dips. Whole mushroom tops make great holders for fillings that can be baked or broiled, and sliced baby eggplant lightly breaded and fried is nice served with a romesco sauce made with smoked paprika or a fresh tomato sauce flavored with oregano and basil.
Baby red potatoes can also be used to house fillings, much like a scooped cherry tomato. Boil the baby potatoes in lightly salted water until tender, drain, and cool. Cut in half and scoop out the centers leaving enough of a wall to make a sturdy housing for the filling. Use the center of the potato as an ingredient in the filling or reserve for another use. Depending on the filling, the baby potatoes can be served chilled, or broiled to brown the topping right before serving.
Dried Fruits
Fruits that are dried are firm enough to handle being passed around on a platter, and since there is no risk of the fruits leaching water into the filling, they can be prepared ahead of time. Dried fruits like fig and dates give a slightly sweet note to savory appetizers and canapés. Both are good choices for cheese fillings and pureed vegetable dips. Tender whole apricots go with piquant blue cheeses and fillings spiced with curry and pepper.
Colorful and Healthy Choices for Appetizers and Canapés
Instead of using boxed crackers, use any of these fruits or vegetables as a base for your next appetizer or canapé filling. The platter will not only be more colorful, but your guests will also have more of a healthy choice since it will increase the likelihood of fulfilling the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables by way of snacking.
About the author: Timothy M. Wilson works as an essay writer for essaywritingservice.nyc. He is interested in self-development and spiritual awakening. So he likes keeping up with modern tendencies of personal development. It helps him plan ahead and have time to do everything.
