Christmas is synonymous with joy, family and good food, but it can also become a whirlwind of preparations that leave us exhausted just when we want to enjoy ourselves the most. Can you imagine welcoming your loved ones with a relaxed smile, knowing that you have everything ready?
The good news: there are many Christmas appetizers that you can prepare in advance. We bring you 5 ideas for Christmas appetizers to make the day before, easy, colourful and that you can surprise your guests without stressing out and spending all day in the kitchen.
Marinated smoked potato chips
Small garnish legs - - - - - - - 6
Smoked salmon - - - - - - 40 g
Smoked tuna - - - - - - - 40 g
Organic extra virgin olive oil - - - - - - - 30 ml
Fresh herbs (basil, chives, dill...) - - - - - - - - 30 g
Natural yoghurt - - - - - - 1
Lemon - - - - - - 1
Trout roe - - - - - - - 20 g
Salt and pepper
- Wash the potatoes and boil them in plenty of lightly salted water. If they are small, 15 minutes will be enough, check with a knife that they are ready and leave them to drain and cool.
- While the potatoes are cooking and the smoked products are ready, wash, dry and finely chop the fresh herbs. Then slice the smoked salmon and tuna into smaller pieces.
- Add the fresh herbs and smoked meats to a bowl. Add about 20 ml of organic extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, a squeeze of lemon and lemon zest, mix until all the ingredients are well blended, cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Peel the potatoes and cut in half. Then scoop out a little of each half, leaving a hole. In a small bowl, mix the plain yoghurt with black pepper, a pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon juice.
- Place a small amount of the yoghurt mixture on the bottom of each potato. Then top each potato with a portion of the smoked mixture and some trout roe. To finish, add a drizzle of the organic extra virgin olive oil you used for the marinade and a dash of freshly ground black pepper. And that's it!
Avocado cream with king prawns
Avocados - - - - - - 2
Prawns - - - - - - - 8
Leek - - - - 1
Potato, chopped - - - - - - 1
Liquid cream - - - - 100 ml
tablespoon sesame seeds - - - - 1 tablespoon
Sprig of parsley - - - - - - 1
Extra virgin olive oil Familiar - - - - - - 50 ml
Organic extra virgin olive oil
Ground pink pepper
Salt
- Peel the prawns, place the heads and shells in a pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Sauté for 4 minutes and cover with 3 glasses of water.
- Then add the green part of the leek and half the parsley. Cook for 15 minutes and strain the broth.
- Clean the leek and chop it. Place it in a saucepan with the potato. Cover with the broth you prepared earlier, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
- Sear 4 prawns in a frying pan for half a minute on each side.
- Add the prawns, avocados, vegetables with their broth, cream, a dash of lemon juice and organic extra virgin olive oil to the blender. Blend and finally pass through a sieve. Set aside in the fridge.
- When you are ready to eat it, take the cream out of the fridge a little earlier, fill the glasses and sprinkle with the pink pepper.
- Add the prawns on a skewer or directly on the glass with some sesame seeds and a drizzle of organic extra virgin olive oil.
Mini toast with Camembert cheese and baked grapes
Black seedless grapes - - - - - - 20
Loaf bread - - - - - - 4 slices
Camembert cheese - - - - - - 120 g
Picual extra virgin olive oil - - - - - - - - -
Fresh thyme - - - - 8
Black pepper
Elaboration
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Meanwhile, wash the grapes and place them on the baking tray, along with four sprigs of thyme and a drizzle of Picual extra virgin olive oil. Bake the grapes in the oven for 10 minutes until they look like they are about to open.
- Set aside warm. Spread the bread with extra virgin olive oil and add the camembert cheese on top of each sliced slice. Bake until the cheese begins to melt, about 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add the grapes on top of the cheese and a pinch of black pepper. Serve before they cool.
Tomato, ham and avocado tartar
Pear tomatoes - - - - - - 2
Ham cubes - - - - - - 100 g
Small red onion - - - - 1
Royal extra virgin olive oil - - - - - - - - Royal extra virgin olive oil
Tablespoon American mustard - - - - - - 1
Perrin's Sauce - - - - - - 1 tbsp.
Ripe avocados - - - - - - 2
Dried tomatoes in oil - - - - - - 4
Lemon - - - - - - ¼
Cilantro and fresh chives
Pepper and salt
- Peel the tomatoes and chop them into small cubes. Put them in a colander and let them drain a little to remove excess water.
- In a bowl, add the drained tomatoes, diced ham and chopped red onion. Season with a spoonful of American mustard and a spoonful of Perrin's sauce, along with the chopped fresh chives. Season to taste and drizzle with a dash of Royal extra virgin olive oil. Mix well.
- Peel and dice the avocados. Place them in a bowl and squeeze the juice of 1/4 lime over the avocados to prevent them from oxidising. Add the red onion, the sun-dried tomatoes in oil and some coriander leaves, all finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper and add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Stir well.
- Using a pastry ring, assemble the tartar with the prepared layers, first the avocado bowl and then the ham cubes. Decorate with a sprig of parsley.
Polvorones with extra virgin olive oil
And as an extra, the classic polvorones, an essential Christmas snack, could not be missing. The special feature of this recipe is that we are going to replace the lard with extra virgin olive oil.
With this variation, not only will the polvorones not lose their flavour, but the nuances of the olive oil will be added. In this case, we use the Arbequina variety which, among other things, has hints of almonds.
Pastry flour - - - - - - 500 g
Ground almonds - - - - 120 g
Extra virgin olive oil Arbequina - - - - - 180 ml
Icing sugar - - - - 180 g
Ground cinnamon - - - - - - ½ tbsp.
- Start by toasting the flour. Spread it on a baking tray and roast it for 15-20 minutes at 180º (without air). Leave it until it takes on a toasted colour, you can stir it from time to time so that it doesn't burn. Remove the tray and leave to cool.
- Roast the almonds at the same temperature for 10 minutes, take them out when they are lightly coloured. Leave to cool completely and grind.
- Sift the icing sugar with the ground cinnamon into a bowl. Then add the ground almonds, the toasted flour and a pinch of salt.
- Gradually add the Arbequina extra virgin olive oil. This is one of the most important parts of the recipe, as the crumbs will form. The key is to do it little by little and add as much oil as you want.
- Mix until you get a homogeneous and manageable dough. It is best to work with your hands, as it is a soft dough, when it coheses and there are no remains on your fingers, it is ready. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest for at least half an hour.
- After letting the dough rest, roll the dough into a ball and roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface to a thickness of 1 cm. Use a round biscuit cutter or a glass to shape the dough and place them on baking paper. Gather the offcuts together to make more biscuits.
- Bake the polvorones for 15 minutes at 200º. When the edges are toasted, it is time to take them out of the oven, as if they are too toasted they can become bitter. Transfer them to a wire rack on the paper, as they are very fragile when hot and can break. Leave to cool completely and wrap in the traditional wrapping paper.