Stress-free starters

Chilli & honey baked ricotta & grapes with prosciutto

Create a little make-your-own crostini station where guests are invited to spread the baked ricotta onto warm toast and top with the bursting grapes and prosciutto.

SERVES 6-8 PREP 25 mins COOK 10 mins EASY

3 x 250g tubs ricotta
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
1 lemon, zested
500g red grapes, in small bunches
1 rustic baguette, thinly sliced
at an angle
100g prosciutto (8 slices),
roughly torn

1Turn the ricotta out of its tubs and put in a baking dish. Drizzle over the honey and 1 tbsp olive oil, then scatter over the chilli flakes, thyme and lemon zest. Arrange the grapes around the cheese. Keep the dish covered and chilled until you’re ready to bake. Will keep chilled for a day.Season generously with sea salt flakes before baking.

2Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer over a large baking tray. Brush each one with a little of the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the baking dish of cheese on the top shelf and the baguette slices on the shelf below. Bake for 15 mins, then turn each slice of bread over and return to the oven for a further 10 mins, or until the ricotta is slightly golden at the edges and the bread is crisp.

4 Put the baking dish in the middle of a heatproof board, and serve with the crisp baguette slices around it, along with the slices of prosciutto, letting everyone build their own crostinis.

PER SERVING (8) 344 kcals • fat 16g • saturates 8g • carbs 35g • sugars 17g • fibre 1g • protein 15g • salt 1.4g

Smoked salmon grazing wreath

This is a clever Christmas-themed update on last year’s ‘butter board’ trend (that’s butter spread on a board with various toppings, ready to slather on bread).

SERVES 6-8 PREP 25 mins NO COOK EASY

300g garlic & herb soft cheese

1/2 cucumber

1/2 small bulb of fennel
50g rocket
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
250g smoked salmon

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
50g pomegranate seeds
2 lemons, cut into wedges
blinis, melba toast or mini bagels,
to serve

1Take a large round serving board (ours was 45cm in diameter) and use a small butter or palette knife to neatly apply dabs of the soft cheese around the edge of the board to create two rings, in a sunburst shape, leaving a space in the middle.

2Us