Annabel Langbein’s apres ski fare

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Inviting people over for an aperitif of drinks and nibbles is the perfect no-fuss way to entertain at this time of year. The great thing about drinks is that there are never any expectations about food. Now the evenings are starting to lengthen out again, people are ready to emerge from their winter hibernation and the invitation to call in for a drink, whether apres-ski or post a sports event - or just to catch up and blow out the cobwebs - is sure to be warmly received.

Whatever you choose to serve, make sure you don’t need plates and cutlery - everything needs to be able to be eaten in your hands. Little prep time and no major clean-up is the formula. Be sure to specify the time frame, with a maximum of two hours, 5pm-6.30pm or 7pm is perfect.

Make a packet of cold smoked salmon go a long way by serving it up as a layered spread on a platter or board. A pottle of cream cheese mixed with the juice of half a lemon, a small handful of chopped chives or parsley and a little salt and pepper forms the base, spread thickly over a serving board or platter. Sprinkle this with finely chopped cold smoked salmon, fine slices of red onion, capers and dill or chives. Serve crackers or bread on the side. Hard-boiled eggs never go out of date as finger food. Rather than the fiddle of stuffed eggs, take a cue from the 1960s with a simple egg and caviar salad. Mash or grate hard-boiled eggs (allow ½-1 egg per person) into a bowl, season with salt and fine white pepper to taste, and add some finely chopped parsley, dill or chives. Loosen with a little mayonnaise or milk so the mixture holds together. Spread out thickly on a platter. Get a jar of lumpfish caviar (50g for around $8) to scatter over the top. I like to get a jar each of red and black caviar and form strips over the eggs in alternate colours. For a vegetarian option, mash the egg with a little curry powder and garnish with crispy shallots and fresh coriander. Accompany with bread or crackers to scoop up the mixture.

I often make pastry twists flavoured with tapenade or parmesan. Spread or sprinkle your topping over one sheet of flaky pastry , top with another pastry sheet and press down firmly. Cut into finger-width strips and twist each strip several times on to a baking tray. Brush with a little beaten egg and bake at 200C until golden and crispy, 15-20 minutes.

These retro-style vol-au-vents are a timelessly popular party snack made simple by using creme fraiche instead of white sauce. Cook the pastry cases and prepare the filling in advance, then put them together at the last minute and warm them through. Make large vol-au-vents for an easy, delicious lunch.

Ready in 35 minutes

Makes 16

2 sheets flaky puff pastry

1 lightly beaten egg, to glaze

SMOKED FISH CREAM

150g smoked fish, flaked

½ cup creme fraiche or sour cream

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 200C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Use a 6cm cookie cutter to cut 16 circles from each sheet of pastry. Place half the circles on the baking paper and brush with egg glaze.

Using a 4cm cookie cutter or a sharp knife, cut a smaller circle in the centre of the remaining 16 circles and lift out the centres to make doughnut shapes. Stack 1 doughnut shape on top of each whole circle on the baking paper and brush with egg glaze.

Bake until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown (about 10 minutes). Allow to cool. The vol-au-vent cases can be made several days in advance and stored in an airtight container until needed.

To make the smoked fish cream, stir together smoked fish, creme fraiche, lemon juice, parsley and nutmeg. It can be made up to a day in advance and chilled until needed.

Up to 30 minutes before serving, spoon smoked fish cream into vol-au-vent pastry cases. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 180C and bake until warmed through (about 6-8 minutes).

Bake the tortilla cups ahead of time and store in an airtight container. Reheat to refresh is required. The filling mixture is also delicious cooked in little pies. Use savoury shortcrust or olive oil pastry.

Ready in 40 minutes

Makes 4 dozen mini cups

12 medium-sized (20cm diameter) flour tortillas

2 Tbsp oil

400g chicken mince

1 onion, finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced (optional)

2 cloves crushed garlic

2 Tbsp tomato paste

½-1 tsp chilli powder, to taste

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp each salt and ground black pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

½ cup white wine or water

½ cup stoned olives, chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Coriander leaves, to garnish

Preheat oven to 170C. Use an 8cm-diameter cookie cutter to cut circles from the tortillas. Press into small muffin pans and lightly spray with oil. Bake until crisp, 8-10 minutes.

Heat oil in a heavy pan and brown chicken. Remove and reserve. Add onion, celery if using, garlic and tomato paste to pan and saute over medium heat until onion is soft. Return meat to pan and add all the seasonings, sugar and wine or water and simmer over low heat, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. Mixture should be quite dry. Remove from heat and mix in olives and eggs.

Place a heaped teaspoon of mixture into each tortilla cup and garnish with coriander. Serve warm.

Wherever you go in Burgundy you’re likely to be served these moreish pastry morsels as an appetiser with a glass of wine. This is such an easy recipe, and it makes a lot, so often I will put the raw cheese-covered balls on trays and freeze them before free-flowing into a freezer bag. When I’m ready to cook them, I put them on trays lined with baking paper and leave to thaw before baking.

It’s best to use scales for this recipe but if you don’t have them, you will need to judge the texture of the mixture before adding the last egg - it may not all be needed.

Ready in 40 minutes

Makes about 40

250g water

250g milk

1½ tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

225g butter, diced

275g flour

5-6 size 6 (medium) eggs

About 3 cups grated cheese, e.g. gruyere, comte or parmesan

Place water, milk, salt, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and heat until butter is melted. As mixture comes to a simmer, take off the heat and dump in all the flour and vigorously stir until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture comes together. Return to heat stirring until it comes away from the sides of the pot in a smooth very thick paste. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, until there is a fine film in the base of the pot, or until when you stick a tablespoon into the dough it stays upright.

Take off the heat and cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a beater and beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stop after the fifth egg and check mixture - it needs to be soft enough to just drop from the spoon but not spread out and lose its shape when you spoon on to the trays. The dough should have a glossy sheen and, when you run your finger through it to create a trough, the sides should stay upright and not collapse.

Line trays with baking paper and preheat oven to 180C fan bake.

You can either drop small spoonfuls of the mixture on to prepared trays or use a piping bag or plastic bag with a hole at cut the end about 2cm across.

Drop out small (large walnut-sized) balls one at a time into a bowl of grated cheese and toss to coat, forming little balls lightly coated in cheese.

If not cooking at once pop on a tray and freeze and then free-flow when frozen (they keep really well like this, put on a tray to thaw when needed and then bake as below).

To bake, place on prepared trays allowing plenty of room between, as they will more than double in size.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes (touch lightly with your fingers - the puffs need to feel set and firm on the outside).

The mixture can also be kept in the fridge in its piping bag for up to three days and piped out, coated in cheese and baked as needed.

by Yvonne Lorkin

(Smoked fish morsels)

Giesen The August Barrel Fermented Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ($40)

I can’t walk past any piece of pastry without scanning the area to see if it’s acceptable to pop one into my mouth. If said morsel of pastry also happens to be filled with creamy, smoked fishy fabulousness, then I’m also scanning the area for the nearest bottle of barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc. Pronounced “aww-goost”, this wine is a reverential nod to German restauranteur, hotelier, sommelier and all-round early 20th-century hospo legend August Giesen, “Opa” to brothers Alex, Marcel, and Theo. It’s the company’s flagship sauvignon blanc, yet it’s so far away from traditional styles it needs its own passport. Crafted from fruit grown in their Matthews Lane and Dillons Point vineyards and fermented wild in oak barrels, it’s loaded with lemongrass, miles of marzipan, luscious lime, and a dusting of wow-inducing white pepper. And we’re in August, so it’s perfect. Finewinedelivery.co.nz

(Spicy chicken tortilla cups)

Forrest The Doctors’ Marlborough Riesling 2022 ($20-$22)

The golden rule is that you hit spice with sweetness. And no sooner will your first sweet sip slip down your pipe than you’ll understand why this racy riesling consistently brings home gold medals and 5-star ratings. Boasting lip-smacking green apple goodness and layers of lime sorbet and lemonade, it roars in the flavour department, yet whispers seductively in the low-alcohol stakes. A splash of honeysuckle balances out its crunchy fresh acidity and its demure 9 per cent alcohol simply adds vibrancy and energy to its zesty finish and florality. No surprises to see why it’s one of New Zealand’s top-selling rieslings. Available in supermarkets.

(Gougere)

Blackenbrook Nelson Chardonnay 2020 ($26)

Can’t you just imagine yourself arriving (via Citroen) to your French countryside villa in the afternoon to the smell of these cheesy pastries and the clink of a glass of white Burgundy being handed to you to wash them down? But who needs France when you can replicate the thrill with a single sip of this Nelsonian niceness? Bursting with creamy cashew and roast almond layers overlapping lemon and grilled peach and tied up with a ribbon of grapefruit. Fresh, butter-licked, and in its perfect drinking-window now. I could go on but, really, what are you waiting for? blackenbrook.co.nz

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