Three beautiful (and deceptively easy) appetizers for you next holiday party
Thanksgiving dinner and a slew of holiday parties are around the corner, and I, for one, will have very little time to spend in the kitchen.
I have a baby due on December 14th, but she could come at any time. (Yikes!) However knowing myself, I'll still want to contribute something to the dinner table. So I got to thinking about some delicious, impressive-looking dishes are that actually totally easy to make. Here, I share them with you! I hope they inspire you to make that holiday table shine.
Raw beet “tartare” with pistachios and mint
Crunchy, tart, creamy and slightly sweet, this gorgeous appetizer requires no cooking and takes (at most) 15 minutes to prepare. It’s the perfect holiday dish if you’re looking to impress with minimal effort. (You’d better believe it has made an appearance at many a recent potlucks around here.)
I love beets, but preparing them (for me, at least) can be a huge pain. While they take on a delicious sweetness when roasted or steamed, they can be just as tasty when raw.
I originally saw a recipe for this beet tartare in a Bon Appetit magazine, where they called for roasting the beets and crisping up some buckwheat. I loved the idea, but I was looking for something that would be as simple as possible to use up all the beets from a recent Imperfect Produce shipment. When I tried it with raw beets — making it truly a tartare — I was delighted with the results. Adding the yogurt meant my daughter was happy to eat this dish up, as it’s crunchy, slightly tart and sweet.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 15 minutes COOK TIME: 0 Minutes TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 pound red beets
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
½ cup greek yogurt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼ cup pistachios, toasted and crushed
INSTRUCTIONS
- To cut the beets into perfect little cubes, start by trimming off a thin slice from the side of each beet to create a flat surface. Rest the beet on the flat side and slice into ¼ inch-wide planks. Arrange stacks of planks so they lie flat and then trim rounded edges. Slice planks lengthwise into ¼ inch strips. Lastly, align the ends of the strips and cut crosswise to create a ¼ inch dice.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the the oil, shallot, mint and vinegar with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Add the beets and toss to combine.
- Thin the yogurt with lemon juice and mix in 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- Spoon the yogurt onto a plate, top with the beets and garnish with the pistachios.
Baharat Roasted Carrots with Feta, Pine Nuts and Herbs
The title of this recipes lays it all out. This is a 7-ingredient, 4-step dish that only takes as long as the roasting time to prepare and looks gorgeous on a plate.
Roasting carrots with a little olive oil and spice is pretty much the only way I make them these days for dinner. It’s quick, healthy, easy and delicious with minimal effort. If the carrots are organic (which mine always are), I don’t even have to peel them. I just give ‘em a little scrub with water.
So, making them pretty for a holiday appetizer was a no brainer. These are roasted in baharat, a Middle Eastern spice blend that has savory and warm spices, such as cumin, cinnamon and clove.After roasting, add some cheese and a bunch of chopped herbs and you’ve got yourself something gorgeous that tastes amazing, too.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 5 minutes COOK TIME: 15 Minutes TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 bunches heirloom carrots, scrubbed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons baharat
Kosher salt
¼ cup goat milk feta, crumbled
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
- Turn the oven to 425°F.
- On a sheet pan, toss the carrots with the olive oil, baharat and salt. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the carrots are just soft and slightly caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with feta, pine nuts, parsley and cilantro. Serve and impress.
Roasted Delicata Squash with Blood Orange and Rosemary
This dish relies on all the beautiful fall things to come together. Sweet roasted squash paired with a tart, rosemary-infused blood orange reduction is simple, elegant and delicious.
I believe that Delicata squash roasted with a touch of good olive oil and salt is perfect all on its own. I just made it a little more interesting (and endlessness more beautiful) with some roasted blood orange slices and a little orange juice reduction.
This dish should be prepared pretty close to serving time, but you could easily transport it by keeping the reduction aside until it’s time to serve. Simple heat it up for a second with a splash of water to make it pourable.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 5 minutes COOK TIME: 15 Minutes TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 large delicata squash, sliced in half lengthwise and seeds removed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
2 large blood oranges
3 sprigs rosemary
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
2 sprigs mint, leaves chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Turn the oven to 425°F.
- Cut the squash into even, ½-inch slices. Cut one of the oranges into thin rings. On a sheet pan, toss the squash with olive oil and salt. Scatter the orange slices and 2 sprigs of the rosemary on top. Transfer to the oven and bake until the squash is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Then flip the squash, return to the oven and cook for another 5 minutes until just starting to caramelize.
- Meanwhile, juice the other organe. In a small sauce pot, add the orange juice, remaining rosemary sprig, vinegar and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until sauce has reduced by a quarter. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Transfer the roasted squash and orange slices to a plate. Drizzle with the orange juice reduction and sprinkle with the chopped mint.