As the weather warms, it’s natural to turn our thoughts to lighter dishes, barbeques and glasses of good wine. Whether we’re ready to entertain in the home or not, having a couple of easy, spring-ready recipes up the sleeve – and a bottle of something in the cupboard to pair them with - is handy.
David Allison knows a thing or two about snacks and canapés. For the past 22 years, Allison has been running Stix Catering, a company with more than 200 staff, some of which are the best cooks in Sydney. He’s also worked with Rockpool Consulting and Neil Perry to cook inflight meals for Qantas’s first and business classes, and is now the brains behind Marrickville cafe, Stix. To say he’s provided sustenance for a few parties in his time would be a sizeable understatement.
With spring dawning we asked Allison to shed some light on his go-to seasonal snack: the canapé. The result is a tasty look at bygone eras of home entertaining, combining spring flavours like charred bread, sweet melon and salty ham into an old-school Aussie bite.
“At the moment at Stix we’re making beautiful sourdough bread, and one of the things I love is chargrilling it with olive oil and a bit of garlic,” he says. “So I thought it would be nice coming into spring. It’s a really nice, homestyle one easily accessible for people.”
First: the wine
You don’t need to overthink the pairing when it comes to snacks and canapés – especially when there’s a range of flavours at play. Try and find a wine that has versatility and approachability for different palates. Aussie staples such as shiraz and cabernet sauvignon – like those from South Australia’s Riddoch Coonawarra, which celebrates approachable modern takes on Coonawarra’s iconic varietals – are always a good bet. Riddoch’s cabernet sauvignon is an ideal all-round companion, with its spicy plum, chocolate and toasty vanilla aromas followed by a palate of blueberry and eucalypt-accented spice.
The canapé
Allison’s recipe calls for roughly torn chunks of charred sourdough, topped with whipped ricotta, ribbons of melon and thin slices of good ham. You’re going to want to start with the bread. “What you want to do is peel your sourdough,” says Allison. That means taking the crust off, leaving just the bare loaf underneath. “Cut it into slices about 2cm thick. Brush with the olive oil, maybe rub it with a garlic clove.”
The barbeque
Then comes the charring. Though you might be tempted to err on the side of caution, Allison says you really want to see the outside of the bread start to blacken. “You want to see black char marks – you want to taste that burnt bread flavour. In doing that it’ll get nice and brown and crisp around the edges that aren’t getting charred.” Tear your barbequed bread into pieces – two or three bites in size is about ideal – and give it another quick turn on the grill.
The ricotta
For the ricotta topping, whip it into a nice, light consistency akin to heavy whipped cream. You can use a food processor or a whisk to achieve the whipped texture, but it could also help to add in a little milk to loosen up the cheese. Don’t forget to season with plenty of salt and pepper. Doing the ricotta ahead of time is a good idea, too –then generously dollop it onto your bread before adding the melon and ham.
The melon
The melon should end up as nice thin ribbons that don’t dominate the combination. “Peel the melon and de-seed it and cut into quarters. Then each quarter, trim out the centres so you’ve got ‘leaves’ of melon,” says Allison. “Then try and cut longways along the leaf – a really nice, thin piece.”
The ham
Lastly, top with ham. Parma ham is a great choice, but you could use prosciutto di San Daniele, Jamón ibérico or even something Australian like wallaby prosciutto. “Tear the prosciutto in half so it’s in ribbons, similar to the melon, and then just pile it on the bread,” says Allison. “It all gets stuck and glued with the ricotta. If you want, add a bit of parsley, mint and olive oil on top to give it more colour and spring zestiness.”
Here's how to make David Allison’s seasonal snack at home. “If you have all your ingredients together, it’s easy and will only take 20 minutes to prepare 40 or more little snack pieces that are light and tasty,” says Allison. “Squeeze the lemon juice, drizzle oil, tear mint over and season before serving. It’s super fresh and great on a sunny day with a beautiful glass of Riddoch Coonawarra wine.”
Spring-ready canapés
Serves: 40
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
500g fresh ricotta
1/2 honeydew melon, thinly sliced
1 sourdough loaf, white or country style
100mls Australian olive oil
2 x 100g packets of Parma ham, thinly sliced
1 lemon
Small bunch of mint
Salt and pepper
Method:
Whip ricotta in a bowl or food processer to a light consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Peel and de-seed honeydew melon. Cut into quarters and trim out centre so you’re left with what look like leaves. Cut melon pieces into long ribbons.
Remove crust from sourdough, cut into thick slices and brush with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Chargrill the sourdough slices on the barbeque to achieve a blackened effect and crispy outside. Tear the charred bread into portions.
To assemble, smear dollops of ricotta onto the sourdough, then fold a slice of melon on top of each, followed by a slice of ham.
Option to finish with torn mint leaves, squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Riddoch Coonawarra. Buy Riddoch Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon today.
