Smoked haddock ‘brandade’ with cheese & onion scones

Smoked Haddock Canapes

‘Tis the season to be jolly! It’s time to chill some festive fizz and rustle up some special canapés to serve to family and friends.

This smoked haddock dip takes inspiration from the French classic ‘brandade’ – a salt cod & whipped potato dip. Here we’ve reimagined it with some local spuds, british smoked haddock and Suffolk cold-pressed rapeseed oil.

If you have time to make some cheese & onion scones these are a great accompaniment, but the dip is fantastic on it’s own served warm with some chicory leaves and olive oil crostinis for dunking.

Smoked haddock ‘brandade’

 

Prep time: 5 mins.

Cooking time: 35 mins.

This makes sufficient dip for up to 10 guests.

 

Ingredients:

  • 250g potatoes (approx 2 small/medium potatoes)
  • 250g smoked haddock
  • 500ml milk
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • ½ tsp flakey sea salt
  • 50ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil 

Method:

  • Peel the potatoes and dice into even chunks roughly 3cm by 3cm. Submerge in cold salted water and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft through. Drain immediately and allow the steam to billow off well to avoid a water-logged brandade. Keep to one side.
  • Meanwhile, place the smoked haddock in a small saucepan (cut it in half if needs be) and pour over 500 ml whole milk. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns and simmer very gently for 8-10 minutes. This will soften the fish and allow the milk to infuse with the wonderful smokey flavours. After 8-10 minutes remove from the heat and allow the fish and milk to rest in the saucepan until cool enough to handle.
  • Remove the haddock from the poaching milk. Flake the fish away from the skin and pop this into a small jug blender or food processor. Add the cooked potato, 100 ml of the haddock’s poaching milk, and ½ teaspoon of flakey sea salt. Blend slowly to start, but as you increase the speed and your bradade starts to look smooth slowly pour in the rapeseed oil which will emulsify nicely with the other blended ingredients. Continue blending on a high power for a further 20 seconds.
  • If you’re serving your brandade as a dip tip it into your chosen serving dish and enjoy it immediately whilst still warm; alternatively tip it into a tupperware and allow it to cool in the fridge where it will firm up and become ‘spreadable’ if you plan to serve it on scones or crostinis.

Mini cheese & chive scones

Prep time: 15 mins.

Cooking time: 8-10 mins.

This makes approximately 30 mini scones or 8 full size scones.

Ingredients:

  • 210g flour (we like a blend of light spelt flour and white flour)
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp flakey sea salt
  • 1 tsp english mustard powder
  • 60g cold butter
  • 80g strong cheddar
  • 20g parmesan
  • 2 spring onions
  • 60ml whole milk
  • 60ml water
  • 1 egg

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 200C.
  • In a large mixing bowl sieve together flour, baking powder, sea salt and mustard powder.
  • Dice your butter, grate the cheddar and parmesan and finely slice the spring onions.
  • Add the butter to the mixing bowl and rub it in with your fingertips until your mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
  • Add the grated cheeses and the spring onions and mix to combine.
  • Finally, add in the milk and water and loosely gather everything together with one hand, just until the dough comes away from the edge of the bowl to form a loose bundle; don’t handle it any more than is necessary.
  • Tip your dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it with your palm until about 3 cm high – this is great for full size scones. If you are making mini scones then lightly roll the dough with a rolling pin until 2 cm high. Try not to compress the dough too much.
  • Use a cutting ring to cut your scones, then transfer onto a lined baking tray.
  • Brush the top of each scone with a little beaten egg then pop into the hot oven and bake for 8-10 minutes if mini, or 12-14 if full size.
  • Allow to cool slightly on a rack before splitting open and slathering with your smoked haddock ‘brandade’.

 

Spiced parmesan & poppy seed shortbread

 

Christmas Canape Spiced-Parmesan-and-Poppy-seed-shortbread

Nutty, biscuity, crumbly, salty and cheesy – these are the most crowd-pleasing canapé we have ever served. From vegetarians to meat eaters, and from toddlers to grandparents (okay maybe skip the cayenne pepper for the kids!) these are a winner with every guest.

The dough freezes like a dream so why not double the recipe and keep a batch of dough to hand, ready to roll out and bake at a future get-together? These shortbreads will happily keep fresh and crisp for up to one week in a sealed container.

Prep time: 10 mins.

Cooking time: 14-16 mins.

This makes approximately 30 mini shortbread biscuits.

 

Ingredients:

  • 150g light spelt flour
  • 100g cold butter
  • 50g parmesan
  • 25g strong cheddar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp poppy seeds
  • ¼ tsp flakey sea salt

 

Method: 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl.
  • Dice your butter, and grate the parmesan and cheddar.
  • Add the butter to the mixing bowl and rub it in with your fingertips until your mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
  • Add the grated cheeses, the egg yolk, all the spices, the poppy seeds and the sea salt and mix to combine. Try to handle the dough as little as possible; gather it together into a ball swiftly.
  • Tip your dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it with your palm until about 3 cm high, then use a rolling pin to roll it out further, until it’s approximately 7mm thick.
  • Use a cutting ring to cut your shortbread biscuits into rounds, then transfer onto a lined baking tray.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 14-16 minutes until golden brown.
  • Allow to cool slightly before transferring onto a cooling rack where they can cool fully. They will crisp up wonderfully when they reach room temperature. They will last for up to 1 week in a biscuit tin.
  • Biscuity, rich and salty… these are the perfect accompaniment to a very well chilled glass of Champagne.

Lyonnaise Bites

Lyonnaise Bite Christmas Canapes

These canapés are a little more involved then the smoked haddock ‘brandade’ or the spiced parmesan & poppy seed shortbread in the sense that they have a few different elements going on, but everything can be prepared ahead of time and simply assembled when your guests arrive.

Lyonnaise is a warm salad with bacon and egg. We’ve deconstructed this French classic and dreamt it up in miniature to pair with a glass of fizz around the holidays! Champagne would be a fantastic choice here but if you’re looking for something festive and different why not try a sparkling red? We recommend a Cab Franc from Loire.

Prep time: 20-25 mins.

Cooking time: 8 mins.

This recipe will make approximately 16-20 canapés.

Ingredients:

  • 2 heads chicory
  • 4 free-range eggs
  • 100g smoked lardons
  • 1 slice sourdough (or 6 heaped  tbsp sourdough breadcrumbs)
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
  • ¼ tsp flakey sea salt
  • small bunch chives
  • black pepper

Method:

  • Place the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Simmer for 5-6 minutes. Peel the eggs under gently running water, then pat dry with kitchen paper and keep to one side.
  • Pop the lardons into a small, dry saucepan and place on a low heat to allow the fat to render out slowly. Fry the lardons for 8 minutes or until golden and crispy.
  • While the bacon is cooking, chop or tear the sourdough as finely as possible until it becomes breadcrumbs.
  • Lift the cooked bacon from the frying pan with a slotted spoon and keep to one side. Tip your breadcrumbs into the pan of bacon fat and gently fry until golden brown and crispy. If there isn’t quite enough fat to achieve this then add a tablespoon of olive oil. Tip the crumbs from the pan to prevent burning and keep to one side.
  • Cut the base off each chicory bulb and separate out the leaves.
  • Use a box grater to grate the boiled eggs, and combine this with the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and sea salt. Mix well.
  • The last task before assembling is to finely chop the chives.
  • Spoon a mouthful of the egg mixture into each chicory leaf, top with one or two lardons, a sprinkle of sourdough bacon crumb, some chopped chives and a generous twist of black pepper.
  • Serve immediately with a chilled glass of fizz!