Maple syrup is one of Canada’s most iconic sweet treats, loved for its unique flavour and natural origin. However,...
Canadian Appetizers: Elegance and Local Flavors for Festive Entertaining
Holiday celebrations are all about delicious things to eat. We generally plan several refined aperitifs for these memorable meals with family and loved ones. On this occasion, we offer you some Canadian or Canadian-inspired recipes. This year, take your guests' taste buds on a journey for Christmas or New Years!
With maple syrup
Maple syrup, this essential Canadian product, lends itself very well to aperitifs, as you will see in the following recipes.
Onion confit with maple syrup
This candied with a subtle maple syrup taste is very simple to make. It is perfect to accompany foie gras toast or duck breast bites. The following recipe will allow you to make a small jar of onion confit.
- 6 large yellow onions cut into strips
- A large knob of butter
- Maple syrup
- A little white wine
- Salt and pepper
Cut the onions finely. Melt the butter in a pan and add the onions. Add salt and cook until the strips become slightly transparent. Deglaze with a tablespoon of white wine. Add maple syrup depending on the desired level of sweetness and let the liquid reduce until the desired texture is obtained. Season with pepper and leave to cool.
Store in a jar and consume quickly.
Caramelized chicken wings with maple syrup
The chicken is delicious sweet and savory. With the Maple syrup, it is imbued with sweetness and a little nutty taste. The following recipe is ideally made with an air fryer for good caramelization.
- 12 chicken wings
- A few crushed garlic cloves
- 4 to 6 tablespoons of maple syrup
- Soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper seasoning
Separate the sleeves from the chicken wings. Place all ingredients except the meat in an airtight Ziploc bag and mix well. Then add the chicken sleeves and wings to the bag. Close and distribute the liquid well so that all the pieces are in contact with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and leave to marinate overnight.
Remove the bag from the refrigerator one hour before cooking. Preheat the air fryer. For easier cleaning, first cut out a sheet of baking paper to place in the bottom of the basket when cooking. Once the temperature is reached, arrange the chicken pieces, avoiding them touching each other. Cook for 15 minutes, monitoring the cooking and turning the pieces for even cooking. Before arranging for service, brush the chicken pieces with a light drizzle of maple syrup. Cover the sleeve bone and the less fleshy part of the wing with aluminum foil so that your guests don't get their fingers too dirty while eating them.
Bites of tourtière
Enjoy this essential piece of Quebec cuisine in a bite-sized version. Rich in taste, they are made with shortcrust pastry and a spicy stuffing. To make preparation easier, we advise you to buy the ready-made dough from a store. The following recipe makes 12 mini-tourtières.
- 250 gr of shortcrust pastry
- An egg
- A knob of butter
- 250 g minced pork
- A small onion cut into small pieces
- 1 stalk of celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme
- A pinch of cinnamon
- Two pinches of clove powder
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs or crushed rusks
- A sprig of fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper
To make the stuffing, start by cutting the celery, garlic and onion into small pieces. Melt a knob of butter in a large skillet over high heat. Cook the minced pork and crumble it with a spatula. Once there is no pink flesh visible, add the celery and onion. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic, salt and pepper, cinnamon and clove powder. Add half a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce if possible and put the broth on top. Let reduce by half, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, add the parsley and breadcrumbs. Let cool.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry and cut out twelve circles of 10 cm in diameter. Place a tablespoon of stuffing in the center of a disk. Take the two opposite sides of the circle and bring them up. You have to pinch them together to weld them. Bring the other two sides still open upwards and pinch in the same way so as to obtain a small closed basket. Make small incisions in the top of the dough so that steam can escape when baking. Repeat the operation with the other disks of dough.
Cover everything with plastic wrap without pressing and place in the refrigerator for an hour. Line a baking tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the mini pies on the sheet, spacing them 5 cm apart. Apply slightly diluted beaten egg to the top of the mini pies and bake for 20 minutes.
Mini pancake skewers
Pancakes are very good as an aperitif and are reminiscent of blinis, but with more sweetness. Surprise your guests by making small pancakes to pin with their topping using a toothpick. The following recipe will allow you to make around fifteen skewers.
- 120 grams of flour
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 heaping teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 generous pinch of salt
- 1 half pot of yogurt or 1 pot of petit-suisse
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons of oil or melted butter
- ¼ cup of milk
Mix flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the yogurt (or petit suisse) with the eggs. Then combine the dry ingredients with the whisk, mixing gently. If the appliance is too dry, add milk gradually. The consistency should be much thicker than pancake batter, while remaining relatively fluid.
Transfer some batter into a pouring container, like a squeeze bottle of ketchup. Heat the pan and add a drop of batter to check if it is hot enough.
Make small, even, well-spaced disks of dough in the pan. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Cook the rest of the dough in the same way.
To garnish your pancake skewers, you can stuff 2 sandwich pancakes with smoked salmon, whipped dill cream and a few lumpfish roe or caviar. You can also opt for caramelized bacon and maple syrup.
Need maple syrup for your recipes? Find it on our online site and also discover many authentic Canadian products.
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