Weekend Foodie: Simple and stylish nibbles to impress guests this Christmas
If you’re having a drinks party in the run-up to Christmas, sushi is the business when it comes to stylish nibbles. A platter of these tasty Japanese morsels is guaranteed to turn heads as you sashay into the room and place it on the table.
My daughter would happily kill for a plate of sushi, any time of the day, any day of the week. The appeal of this dish for many lies in lightness and balance, typifying the ‘Zen’ philosophy on a plate. The sweet-sour flavouring of special sushi rice, and the healthiness of fresh, oriental vegetables and raw fish are key to authentic Japanese sushi making. However, my sushi rolls feature readily available ingredients, inspired by my daughter’s go-to recipe of Nori seaweed sheets, sushi rice, rice wine, defrosted large cooked king prawns and cucumber sticks. Serve with soy sauce for dipping and optional accompaniments like Korean Kimchi and hot wasabi sauce.
Drinks parties mean you can offer bite-sized desserts too. I’m not usually one for recommending fruit out of season, but there will be lots of strawberries in the shops at Christmas and they make great fruits for spearing on cocktail sticks for casual dunking in a chocolate sauce. A perfect combo with the sushi, these shout style, grace and sass. Introduce some festive seasonality too, with fluffy marshmallows for dipping. If you have an open fire, you can even toast them first!
- 250g sushi rice
- 2 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 4 sheets Nori seaweed
- 16 king prawns, defrosted if frozen
- ¼ cucumber, cut into thin sticks
- Rinse the sushi rice and place in a pan. Pour over the water.
- Bring to bubbling, then simmer gently until the water is absorbed and rice is tender. Watch the water levels so the pan doesn’t dry out and burn on the bottom. Stir occasionally. Alternatively, use a rice cooker, following the instructions for sushi rice.
- When the rice is cooked, stir in vinegar and sugar. Leave to cool completely.
- To make the sushi, cut the nori sheets in half lengthways. Each sheet makes two rolls per person.
- Take one half sheet and place some rice at the top narrow end. Pat it out evenly to cover about one third of the sheet.
- Halve prawns lengthways. Arrange prawn halves and cucumber sticks lengthways across the width of the sheet, on top of the rice.
- Carefully roll the nori sheet up tightly, to enclose rice and fillings.
- Dampen edge of sheet to secure. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make eight rolls.
- Rolls can be wrapped in film and chilled till ready to use. To serve, slice each roll into bite sized portions and arrange on a platter.
- Serve with a pot of soy sauce for dipping and kimchi, pickled ginger and wasabi sauce, as preferred.
For the sauce:
- 75g best quality dark chocolate
- 300mls water
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp coffee essence
For dipping:
- 200g fresh ripe strawberries, hulled
- Pink and white marshmallows
- For the chocolate sauce, melt chocolate in a pan with half the water, cocoa powder and sugar. Stir smooth as it melts.
- Add remaining water then bring to bubbling.
- Bubble till sauce is reduced, shiny and glossy. Remove from heat and reserve.
- Meanwhile, thread the strawberries and marshmallows onto cocktail skewers for dipping.
- Arrange on a platter with the sauce in a dish.
A classy drinks party is going to feature cocktails, isn’t it?! There is always someone on the guest list who fancies themselves as a bit of a mixologist - if you have a person like that in your friend circle, get them involved! I don’t think there’s anything that says style and finesse in the cocktail department like the iconic Martini. If you are going with James Bond for this, use vodka not gin, mixed with vermouth - ‘shaken, not stirred’ as the famous spy insisted! I’ve found a vodka which will do justice to this legendary drink, and be perfect for a cooling V&T, spicy Bloody Mary or a Carrie Bradshaw favourite Cosmopolitan with festive cranberry juice as well. West Cork’s Clonakilty made Minke Vodka is distilled in the town of Clonakilty. It encompasses all that is local, taking its name from the Minke whales which frequent the Atlantic off the West Cork coastline, and made with milk whey from the family farm. It looks fantastic in the bottle and exudes cool smoothness and elegance in the glass. Find it now at Supervalu stores, on special offer till 24/12/25, at just €22.00 a bottle. Makes a great gift for a vodka connoisseur as well.
Nori seaweed X 10 sheets (25g): €3.25
Sushi rice 1kg: €3.70
Rice wine vinegar 250mls: €2.75
King prawns peeled 180g: €4.00 special offer
Cucumber x 1pce: 89c
Soy Sauce 150mls: 95c
Total: €15.54
Strawberries 400g: €4.49
Marshmallows 140g: 79c
Chocolate bar 100g 85% cocoa solids: €1.49 (special offer)
Cocoa powder x 250g: €5.29
Total: €12.06
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