Retro nibbles and party punches for festive merriment with friends
Easy hedgehog canapé skewers
■ Makes 36 skewers
■ Prep 35 mins
■ No cook
1 grapefruit or ½ large cucumber,
for the hedgehog (optional)
12 mozzarella pearls
1 tsp pesto
2-3 tbsp olive oil
12 small cherry tomatoes
12 basil leaves
2 pineapple rings, each one cut
into 6 chunks
50g medium cheddar, cut into
12 small cubes
50g red leicester, cut into 12 small
cubes
12 cooked and shelled prawns
½ lemon, juiced
½ cucumber, cut into 2 even chunks
and shaved into ribbons
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
36 bamboo (or reusable) short
skewers or long toothpicks
■ To make a hedgehog to push the skewers into, use a grapefruit with the base trimmed flat, or use a cucumber to make a longer holder.
■ For mozzarella & tomato skewers, tip the mozzarella into a bowl, mix the pesto with the olive oil and pour it over the cheese. Wrap a basil leaf around each mozzarella pearl and thread onto the skewers, alternating with the cherry tomatoes.
■ For cheese & pineapple skewers, sandwich a piece of pineapple between a piece of cheddar and a piece of red leicester on a skewer. To be very neat, trim the pineapple to match the cheese (eat the offcuts).
■ To make prawn skewers, put the prawns in a bowl and squeeze over the lemon. Season with pepper, but not salt. Tip the cucumber into a bowl, add the sesame oil and seeds and toss together. Fold a cucumber ribbon and push it onto a skewer, followed by a prawn and another cucumber ribbon.
■ Push all the skewers into your hedgehog, keeping each type separate.
PER SERVING 34 kcals, fat 3g, saturates 1g, carbs 1g, sugars 1g, fibre 0.2g, protein 2g, salt 0.1g
Christmas punch
■ The day before serving, freeze 1 bunch of red grapes until solid. Put the frozen grapes and a large handful of ice into a large bowl. Add 750ml chilled prosecco, 1 litre cloudy apple juice, 250ml sloe gin and 50ml herbal liqueur (optional). Add 1 finely sliced ball of stem ginger, 1 fine
