Party Snacks

Biltong spread

A special South African twist on the old standard of a dip or spread, this recipe is sure to become a family favourite making use of the South African stable snack, biltong. Use your discretion when choosing your biltong, this works best with very dry biltong or snap-sticks but be careful of using biltong that is too hard and could end up damaging your blender. On the other hand, very wet fatty biltong will not tend to process into a powdery ingredient and could end up looking more like a ground meat.

 

You need:

100g sliced beef, ostrich or game biltong (reserve some for garnishing)

1 x 250g smooth low fat cottage cheese

1/2cup (125 ml) mascarpone or cream cheese

 

Place the sliced biltong in a blender or food processor and chop until very fine.

Add the cottage cheese, mascarpone or cream cheese to the biltong and blend until smooth.

Garnish with a few extra biltong flakes and serve with bread sticks.

Serves 6

 

 

Decorative garlic sticks

Bread sticks are a handy finger food idea for gatherings where people are not going to be sitting to eat but rather standing with a drink in hand. These are easy to make and are an ideal way to make use of slightly stale bread rolls left over after the previous day’s braai.

 

You need:

6 bread rolls (each roll makes 4 sticks)

85g butter

Poppy or sesame seeds

57g garlic spread or 1 crushed clove of garlic

 

Cut each roll lengthwise twice to make sticks. Melt the garlic spread and butter and spread the cut sides of the bread. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.

Place on baking try under the grill of a hot oven (over 220 degrees C) for 8 minutes. Serve hot.

 

Jalapeño poppers

A popular starter and bar-snack at many of Durban’s nightspots, this should be a popular addition to any festive snack table. Incorporating some Mexican madness of chillies, this recipe balances the spicy hot with a kiss of cream cheese, the level of burn will depend on the chillies you use making it adaptable for the palates of all your friends. The hotter jalapeños will suit those with a taste for heat while the milder versions of the similar sized and shaped chilli called a capsicum will suit the more sensitive’s tastes.

 

You need:

12 Jalapeño chillies or the milder capsicum

200ml plain cream cheese

50g flour

1 egg, beaten

100g breadcrumbs

 

Slice a horizontal slit into each chilli, keeping the stem attached. Carefully scrape the seeds out.

Fill the cavities with cream cheese and squeeze closed to seal. Rub a bit of the cream cheese around their outside.

Roll in flour, then in beaten egg to coat. Finally, coat with crumbs.

Deep fry in batches until golden for about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 12

 

 

Bacon popcorn

Popcorn has long been a part of many people’s Christmas preparations as children have used the popped snack to string on thread as a Christmas decoration. December holidays are also a great time for a movie get together and popcorn and movies go together like Christmas and gifts.

This recipe makes a quantity of the ideal finger food for the snack table which guests can eat as finger food, or you can serve mini bowls or even plastic packets of the snack to hand out to people watching their favourite holiday film.

 

You need:

1/ 2 cup bacon grease

3/ 4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

1/ 2 teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste

3 tablespoons bacon bits (optional)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)

 

Measure the bacon grease into a pot and place over high heat. Add one or two popcorn kernels as testers. When the test kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn and cover with lid. As the popcorn starts to pop, shake the pan back and forth constantly to keep the unpopped kernels on the bottom where they can pop. When the popping slows down, remove the pan from the heat and let it finish popping.

Pour the popcorn into a large bowl or paper bag. Season with half of the seasoned salt and stir. Taste before adding more salt if desired. Toss with bacon bits and shredded Cheddar cheese for an extra special treat. Store leftovers in lunch bags or sandwich bags.