With Christmas looming and with the pressure of hosting and entertaining family and friends building up, you’re bound to be thinking of different snacks and treats that can be served on the big day (and the days leading up to it).
This season’s trend in festive food sees bulky snack platters enter the spotlight. A platter made up of delectable treats and snacks that are filling and that guests just can’t say no to, are what you should be considering this year. If you’re interested in whipping up a snack platter that screams of festive cheer, with a South African twist of course, we have a few ideas for you. Forget traditional Christmas cooking and let’s talk snack platters for a bit!
Christmas Food Ideas
Hummus Wreath Snack Platter
As far as snack platter ideas go, many of them seem to be the same humdrum idea that we use for every occasion. This year, perhaps you should make something more Christmas-y…something that makes you want to don your Christmas hat and sing a few carols with your nearests and dearests. One particular idea that has caught our eye is making a hummus plate wreath, which looks ultra festive and tastes absolutely yummy too. How do you make it? Check out the recipe below.
What You Need:
- 2 containers of plain hummus (you can buy this in the store or make your own)
- 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese (reduced fat version for a healthy option)
- Handful of finely chopped fresh spring onions
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh coriander
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh rocket
- Handful of black olives
- 1/2 cup of biltong
- 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
- Handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 large red pepper cut into very thin, short strips
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons extra-finely crumbled feta cheese
- Whole grain pita chips (or Doritos if you can’t find any)
- Wedges of pita bread
- A few sticks of celery cut into short pieces
- 1 large flat serving platter
What to Do:
- In a bowl, combine the hummus, 1/2 a cup of crumbled feta and the chopped spring onion.
- Place a bowl in the center of the serving platter and jam pack it with the chips and wedges of pita bread.
- Spread the hummus in dollops in a circle around the the bowl on the platter. This will form the base of the wreath.
- In a separate bowl, combine the parsley, coriander, rocket, oil, and salt. Then, spoon the mixture in a circle on top of the hummus layer. Make sure that there is a bit of hummus peeping out from under the greens layer, for effect.
- Pop the halved cherry tomatoes with the cut-side down, black olives, red pepper slices, and celery sticks, at random all around the layer of greens. These should look like Christmas wreath ornaments.
- Scatter the bits of biltong all over the wreath.
- Lightly sprinkle the entire wreath with very finely crumbled feta cheese, which of course, looks like a little bit of festive snow.
Serve this platter immediately. If you are making it ahead of time, only add the chips and pita wedges when you are ready to serve. In the meantime you can keep it stored in the fridge covered in cling wrap or foil for 1 to 2 days.
Green, Red and White Christmas Food Platters
Of course, if you have guests for more than just one day, you might want another food platter idea to make. In keeping in the spirit of Christmas, why not make a platter that presents Christmas colours.
One interesting option would be to serve a variety of sausages with cream, guacamole, and red sweet chilli sauce.
What You Need:
- Chipolatas
- Boerewors
- Chorizo
- Cabanossi
- Pork sausages
- 1 container of thick cream
- 1 bottle of red sweet chilli sauce
- Guacamole (store bought or homemade)
- 3 small dipping bowls
- 1 large serving platter
- 1 cup of mixed fresh herbs (coriander, parsley, and rocket)
- 1 handful of mini tomatoes.
What To Do:
- On the serving platter, position the 3 dipping sauce bowls evenly apart.
- Cook the sausages in an air fryer or frying pan until they are just done.
- Then, spread the sausages, all mixed up, around the dipping sauce bowls to completely cover the serving platter.
- Fill the dipping bowls with the sweet chilli sauce, thick whipped cream, and guacamole.
- Sprinkle the fresh herbs around the outer border of the serving platter to decorate it and simply scatter the handful of mini tomatoes on top.
And voila! You have a delicious festive-looking Christmas snack platter that’s begging to be devoured!
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With all the festive cheer, hustle and bustle, you’re bound to get caught up and distracted, but when the dust settles and everyone goes back to normal life once more, the finer intricacies of your emigration will be waiting to be taken care of. At FinGlobal, we are standing by to assist you with the next step in the process. Whether you need help with processing your financial and tax emigration or simply need advice on how to claim your retirement funds before the 2021 cut off, we are here to assist. Simply get in touch with us so that we can discuss your unique situation and tailor-make a solution that perfectly suits your needs. You can give us a call on +27 28 312 2764 or send an email to info@finglobal.com.