Recipes: Christmas Canapes

Two Bird Roast (pictured above) 

Serves two

Ingredients
2 pheasant breasts
1 pack of Castle MacLellan Rannoch Smoked Duck Pâté with Bramley apple jelly
4 slices thinly sliced Parma ham
250ml port
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly

Method
Prepare pheasant breasts by making a slit in the underside

Stuff with the Castle MacLellan Rannoch Smoked Duck Pâté

Wrap tightly with Parma ham slices

Place on a greased baking tray, put into preheated oven 200C / Gas 6, for 20 mins

Remove from oven and leave to rest for 5 to 10 mins before slicing

Whilst resting make the redcurrant and port jus. Place the port and redcurrant into a saucepan bring to boil stirring until the redcurrant dissolves.

Reduce until slightly thickened

Slice the bird roast in half on an angle and drizzle the sauce

Serve with vegetables of your choice

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Honey Roast Fig Canapés

Serves 6


Ingredients
6 figs (just ripe)
1 pack of Castle MacLellan Chicken Liver Pâté with Scottish heather honey
honey

Method
Cut the figs lengthways place on a baking tray and drizzle with honey

Place in pre heated oven at 200C/Gas mark 6 for 10 mins or until figs just begin to wilt

Remove and place on tray to cool. This can be done the day before required, keep in refrigerator in an airtight container.

When required remove from fridge, and top with a quenelle of Castle MacLellan Chicken Liver Pâté

Arrange on plate and drizzle with extra honey if required

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Ballotines

Serves 2/3 - or serve as canapés


Ingredients
2 chicken breast fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 large fresh spinach leaves
60g of Castle MacLellan Chicken Liver Pâté with Scottish heather honey

Method
Assemble the ballotine by beating the breasts one at a time between pieces of cling film until they are twice the size

Lay a piece of cling film on your worktop and place the chicken breasts (skin side down) and make sure the two fillets slightly overlap at the join.

Season with salt and pepper

Lay half of the spinach leaves along the middle of the chicken, then spoon the Castle MacLellan Chicken Liver Pâté on top in a long sausage shape.

Lay the rest of the spinach leaves on top of the pâté. Take hold of the front edge of the cling film and carefully roll the chicken up into a sausage shape.

Twist the end of the film together, tying them with string for extra security. Wrap the chicken "sausage" tightly in tin foil.

Cook in a baking tray half filled with cold water for about 30 minutes at 190C/Gas Mark 5

Test by piercing the centre with a fine needle. When the tip of the needle is hot, the ballotine is cooked. Remove from the water and allow to cool.

Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours so that it becomes firm. Remove from the foil and cling film and cut on the diagonal into 1/2- 3/4 inch slices. Allow to stand at room temperature for 15/20 minutes before serving.

Alternative suggestion:
Ingredients
2 roasted red peppers from a jar - opened out and dried with kitchen paper
60g Castle MacLellan Rannoch Smoked Duck Pâté with Bramley

Method
Follow recipe as above but substitute the spinach for roasted red peppers and the Castle MacLellan Chicken Liver Pâté for Castle MacLellan Rannoch Smoked Duck Pâté.

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"Tattie" Scone Canapés

Makes approximately 30 small canapés


Ingredients
125g potatoes cut into cubes
100g plain flour
half teaspoon baking powder
25g melted butter
4 tablespoons milk
1 egg beaten
2 tablespoon of oil, for frying
Castle MacLellan pâté of choice

Method
Cook the potatoes in plenty of salted simmering water until tender. Drain well and mash.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the butter, milk and egg

Mash well and add plenty of seasoning and mix to a soft sticky dough

Heat some oil in a large heavy flat based frying pan

Fry small teaspoons of the mixture as you would Scotch pancakes for 3 mins on each side until golden brown. Leave until cold.

Fill a piping bag with a large star nozzle, and soften the pâté of your choice with a fork and place in the piping bag. Pipe pâté onto the scones – any Castle MacLellan pâté works well!

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Crab Risotto

Serves 6


Ingredients
10ml olive oil
20g salted butter
½ small onion (finely diced)
10ml medium dry white wine
300g risotto rice
700ml vegetable stock
1 pack of Castle MacLellan Luxury Orkney Crab Terrine with lemon juice and Galloway mustard
½ lemon (zested)
½ lemon (juiced)
6 fresh asparagus spears (blanched cut into 1cm pieces)
50g broad beans (blanched and peeled)
fresh rosemary sprig (chopped)
fresh thyme sprig (chopped)
fresh parmesan shavings
salt & pepper (to taste)

Method
Heat the oil and butter in saucepan and cook the onions until soft not brown.

Add the rice and stir, coating the rice with the oil and onions.

Add the white wine and stir. Start to add vegetable stock a little at a time until all the liquid is absorbed. The rice should be a creamy consistency, and have a nutty bite.

Stir through the Castle MacLellan Luxury Orkney Crab Terrine

Add the fresh chopped herbs, asparagus, broad beans and lemon zest, and stir through the rice gently

To serve, place into a bowl and top with parmesan shavings and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper

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Oven Roasted Mushroom and Vegetable Lasagne

Serves 3/4


Ingredients
2 packs of Castle MacLellan Oven Roasted Mushroom Pâté with garlic and thyme
4 fresh pasta sheets - from a 250g packet
6 spring onions - discard outer leaves, wash and finely chop.
1 medium courgette - approx 250g - washed and chopped into 2-3cm pieces
300g mushrooms - finely chopped
1 small clove garlic - finely crushed
1 tablespoon tomato puree
half vegetable stock cube - mixed with 230ml of hot water
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon fresh Italian herbs - finely chopped (basil, marjoram, oregano etc)
170ml of fresh milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g Parmesan cheese - grated
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method
Set oven to 170C/Gas Mark 4

In a medium bowl mix the two packs of Castle MacLellan Oven Roasted Mushroom Pâté with the fresh milk and leave aside

Put the oil into a medium sized saucepan on the heat and sauté the spring onions and garlic until softened. Add the chopped courgette and mushrooms. Add the plain flour, stirring well and cook for one minute, add the tomato puree and gradually add the vegetable stock stirring well.

Add the fresh chopped herbs and season well. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer 10/12 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly, thickened and the vegetables are cooked.

Place lasagne sheets in a large shallow dish. Pour over enough boiling water to cover the pasta. Cover with foil and leave for 2 minutes until pliable.

Take out, drain and lay each sheet out on a clean tea towel

Lay one sheet of pasta in the base of a square lasagne dish covering the whole of the base.

Layer 2 - Vegetable mixture

Layer 3 - Pasta sheet

Layer 4 - Mushroom pâté/milk mixture

Repeat the 4 layers and top with the grated Parmesan cheese

Cook in a preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown