The perfect canapé for any party or gathering should be small enough to eat in one bite, and pack a big whack of flavour in that single mouthful. If you can get a range of textures in there too it's even better, and this get-ahead canapé recipe does all that. The crunchy croustade cases are shop-bought (time saver!), the zingy pea filling is quick to prepare and can be done ahead (practical!), and the garnish of shredded ham (again, shop-bought for ease) is not just pretty, it's an integral, tasty part of the dish. Best served with some lovely cocktails or a nice bottle of fizz.
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Yields:
24
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
4 mins
Total Time:
24 mins
Cal/Serv:
32
Ingredients
300g
frozen peas or petits pois
60g
cream cheese
1Tbsp.
finely chopped fresh chives, plus extra to garnish
24
croustade cases
50g
shredded ham hock
Directions
Step 1Cook the frozen peas or petits pois in a small pan of boiling water for 4min, until just tender. Drain and cool in ice-cold water. Drain well, tip into the small bowl of a food processor and add the cream cheese and some seasoning. Pulse briefly to a chunky texture.
Step 2Add the finely chopped fresh chives and pulse again to combine. Check seasoning. Scrape into a piping or small food bag and chill until needed.
Step 3To serve, pipe pea mixture into 24 croustade cases and top with the shredded ham hock and some more finely chopped chives. Serve immediately.
GET AHEAD
Make pea mixture up to a day ahead. Transfer to a piping or small food bag and chill. Complete recipe to serve.
What are croustade cases?
Wafer thin pastry shells, the perfect size for canapés, these are a great time saver for entertaining. We love Rahms mini croustade cases, which are sold in some supermarkets and also online. You'll usually find them with breadsticks and other savoury snacks. If you can't find them, or don't want to use them, you could use mini slices of baguette or miniature blini instead.
Could I tweak this to make it vegetarian?
If serving to vegetarians, simply leave out the ham hock and replace with a little vegetarian-friendly goat’s cheese.
Per canapé:
Calories: 32
Protein: 2g
Total fat: 2g
Saturates: 1g
Carbs: 2g
Total sugars: 0.4g
Fibre: 1g
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An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
