Entertaining options (+recipes)

This month sees the start of festive celebrations. Five o'clock eats and drinks are a fun way of catching up with friends and colleagues but don't make the mistake of serving a few slices of salami and ciabatta and a cheeseboard.
Last year, at one soiree we hosted, two friends were vegetarian, another was a coeliac (gluten intolerant) and another was allergic to cow's milk.
So this week I've concentrated on providing taste tempters that are vegetarian, plus they are free of gluten and dairy products.
Aim to serve at least four different snacks an hour. Avocados are a great standby.
They can be halved and served as is - provide a small knife for guests to scoop out a little flesh to spread on rice crackers; or dice the flesh and combine with lime juice, chopped coriander and chilli as a topping for crostini; or mash the flesh and combine with crushed garlic, lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper to make a dip. Gluten-free crostini can be prepared from slices of wheat-free bread cut into small rounds with a biscuit cutter. Brush with a little olive oil and garlic and bake in the oven until crisp.
Globe artichokes are also fun to serve. Pull off and discard some of the tough, lower leaves. Remove the stems and slice the base so the artichokes will sit upright. Trim about 1cm off the top off the artichokes to remove any sharp ends.
Simmer in a large saucepan of water for about 20 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to help prevent discolouration. To serve, using the pointed ends of the leaves, pull them away from the frond, one by one. Dip the fleshy ends into garlic-flavoured salsa verde and scrape off the meaty flesh at the base of the petals with your teeth.
RECIPES
CORIANDER & MINT FRITTERS
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
297g firm tofu, drained
1/2 cup each: coriander leaves, mint leaves, chopped
1 spring onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons rice flour
Rice bran oil for frying
Lemon wedges to serve
Stir the cumin seeds in a small pan over low heat until fragrant.
Mash the tofu in a bowl. Add the herbs, spring onion, garlic, eggs and rice flour. Form into fritters.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the fritters in batches for about two to three minutes each side, until golden. Drain on paper towels. Great served with mint dip. Makes about 16.

MINT DIP

1 cup firmly packed mint leaves
3 spring onions, chopped
1-2 green chillies, seeded
1 clove garlic, crushed
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon liquid clover honey
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Place all ingredients in a blender and mix to a fine paste. Serve. Makes about 1/2 cup.
ALCOHOL-FREE BLOODY MARYS WITH WASABI
2 cups tomato juice
1-3 tablespoons Asian-style chilli sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
8-10 asparagus spears, blanched
Combine all the ingredients - except the asparagus - in a jug. Refrigerate until well-chilled. Serve in small shot glasses with an asparagus spear for use as a swizzle stick. Makes 8-10.

VEGETARIAN FRESH SPRING ROLLS
Peanut dipping sauce:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2-1 teaspoon diced chilli
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup water or coconut milk
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Spring rolls:
12 round rice paper wrappers
1/4 telegraph cucumber, seeded and cut into batons
1 small red capsicum, seeded and julienned
1 carrot, cut into thin batons
1 cup mung bean sprouts
2 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup each: mint leaves, coriander leaves
To make the sauce, place the oil and onion in a microwave-proof bowl and cook on high power for one minute. Add the remaining sauce ingredients. Stir well and microwave for two minutes. Thin with a little water if required.
To make the rolls, place one sheet of rice paper in a dish of warm water until just softened. Place on a board.
Place some cucumber, red pepper, carrot, sprouts and a little lettuce in the middle of the edge of the wrapper closest to you. Add a few mint and coriander leaves. Fold in the sides and roll up to enclose the filling.
Place on a platter and cover with a damp paper towel. Repeat until all the rolls are prepared.
Best prepared and served within 30 minutes.
Serve with the peanut dipping sauce or equal parts lemon juice and sweet chilli sauce. Makes 12.
WALNUT & RED PEPPER DIP
Use roasted red peppers from a jar, or grill or roast fresh peppers, then peel and seed them.
1 teaspoon each: ground cumin, smoked paprika
4 tablespoons olive oil
100g walnuts
250g roasted red peppers, drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Heat the cumin, paprika and olive oil in a small pan over low heat until fragrant.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender, mixing until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Excellent served with cucumber batons for dipping. Makes 1 3/4 cups.
www.janbilton.co.nz