Christmas recipes: small and mighty canapés

Longueville House Cider-braised ham hock croquettes

Makes 20

Add an extra zing to ham hock croquettes with Longueville House Cider. William and Aisling O’Callaghan of Loungeville Country House have been distilling cider for over 30 years. The business started when William’s late father planted 25 acres of cider apples on the grounds of the hotel in Mallow, Co Cork, in 1985. They started crushing and pressing these apples in an oak press machine in the cider house and it is now distilled annually with the help of Dan Duggan, Longueville’s chief cider brewer. Using only heritage, heirloom cider apples, it’s all natural with no additives or preservatives, resulting in a crisp, refreshing and clean taste.

For the ham hocks:

For the croquettes:

1 Prepare your ham hock by sweating the vegetables in a large casserole dish until they are soft, approximately three to four minutes. Add the apple, thyme and ham hocks. Cover with the cider and bring to the boil.

2 Reduce the heat and simmer for three and a half hours, or until the meat is very soft and begins to fall off the bone.

3 Gently remove the hocks from the liquid and set aside until cool enough to handle.

4 Try to remove as much of the vegetables as possible and discard.

5 Place the liquid back on to a high heat and boil until it reduces to a syrupy thickness.

6 When the hocks are cool enough to handle, it is time to get your hands dirty. Begin to pull the meat from the bone and place in a large bowl. Remove all the skin and any large lumps of fat (it is always good to have a little fat, this keeps the mix lovely and moist).

7 Shred the meat and gently fold in the parsley, horseradish, apple, garlic and a couple of tablespoons of the cider cooking liquid. This will act as glue for the croquettes.

8 Begin to shape the mix into small bite-size balls. Place on a flat tray, or plate, and set aside to cool slightly. Transfer to the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

9 When your balls are cool, remove them from the fridge. First, roll them in the flour, then dip them in the beaten egg, and lastly roll them through the breadcrumbs until evenly covered.

10 Place a large pot over a medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the croquettes until crisp and golden. Serve while hot and enjoy with a glass of cold farmhouse cider.

Braised beef cheek & Waterford Blaa burger

From Dundrum in Tipperary, Killenure Dexter beef is known for its sweet and slightly nutty taste. This recipe develops a beautiful sticky glaze and to add anything else (such as ketchup) would be a crime. The beef cheek is placed on the perfect floury bap that is the Waterford Blaa, awarded the Protected Geographic Indication (PGI) status by the European Commission. The French may have their Champagne but we have the Waterford Blaa.

1 Add the diced beef to a large bowl and toss with flour and seasoning. Heat a heavy casserole pot and add two tablespoons of oil. Fry the beef in batches, browning and setting aside on a plate.

2 Add two tablespoons of oil and all of the vegetables to the pot. Gently cook until soft.

3 Add the meat back in, along with the tomato purée. Add enough cola to cover the meat but keep some in reserve in case the stew becomes dry.

4 Bring the stew to a simmer and reduce the heat to cook for one and a half to two hours, or until tender. If it gets too sticky, add a little water to loosen it up. The goal is to have a lovely dark glaze clinging to the pieces of beef.

5 Stir in some vinegar, to taste. This will lighten the flavour.

6 Place a skillet pan on a high heat and drizzle rapeseed oil over the baps. When the skillet is hot, toast the baps for a couple seconds or until crispy and golden.

7 Spoon the cheek meat, and any of the glazes that are sticking to it, on to the baps. Cut the baps into bite-size pieces and use a cocktail stick to keep together.

8 As an optional extra, you can add some gherkins, or a thinly-sliced pickle.

Ballymakenny purple potato crisps & Irish smoked garlic aioli

Anyone can make homemade potato crisps but when you opt for Ballymakenny purple potatoes, they become a real talking point. Maria Flynn from Co Louth came up with the idea to produce the fantastically colourful purple violetta potatoes after talking to a chef who provides speciality vegetables to hotels and restaurants. There is much more to come from Maria as this season she began growing red emmaile and harlequinthis.

For the potato crisps:

For the smoked garlic aioli:

1 Preheat your oven to 200°C.

2 With a sharp knife, peel and slice the potatoes as thinly as you can. (If you want them to be as thin as crisps from a packet, you can use a mandolin).

3 As you slice, place the potato discs in a bowl of water. This will stop them from discolouring. Once you have finished slicing the potatoes, drain off the water, and sit the slices on some kitchen towel. Pat dry – the drier the potato, the crispier it will get.

4 Put your potato discs in a bowl and toss with the oil, salt and pepper. Place a baking sheet on an oven tray and arrange the discs in a single layer. Bake in the oven until crisp and golden. This should take 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how thick the slices are – don’t worry if it takes longer.

5 Once they come out of the oven, season lightly with salt and pepper and place on a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool gently, as this will make them even crispier.

6 For the aioli, peel the garlic and crush. Add to a large bowl along with the egg yolk, lemon juice and mustard. Whisk together.

7 Once mixed, begin to slowly add the oil, while whisking. Add the oil drop by drop and keep whisking until a smooth mayonnaise-like thickness is achieved. If it is not thick enough, add a little more. Place the aioli in a ramekin and on to a plate with the crisps arranged around it.

Cashel Blue cheese, Ballinwillin House black pudding and apple tartlets

Ballinwillin House has been owned by Patrick Mulcahy and his wife, Miriam, since 1985 and is set on 80 acres in the heart of the Golden Vale in Mitchelstown, Co Cork. The produce for the bed and breakfast that they run and also the gourmet meals for the house come from the family’s farm, where there are over 450 deer, cattle, wild boar and pigs. The Mulcahys used to supply their organic produce to supermarkets but in 2007 decided to start selling directly online.

40g muscovado sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2 Heat the pan and add the oil. Once the oil is warm, add the butter. When the butter begins to foam and is a bright yellow colour, add the shallots. Do not let the butter burn.

3 Turn down the heat and allow the shallots to slowly caramelise. This should take about 15 minutes on a low heat. If the pan begins to get dry, add a small knob of butter.

4 Once the shallots are soft and golden, add the apple, and stir in the thyme, port, vinegar and sugar. Allow to simmer for a few minutes until the liquid reduces to a thick sauce consistency.

5 Crumble the black pudding and add it into the mix. Stir it gently to gather flavour and remove it from the heat.

6 Beat the egg and milk and brush on to the pastry. Spoon the mix on to each square, leaving a gap around the edges for the pastry to rise.

7 Crumble over the blue cheese. Place on a tray, lined with parchment, and bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and serve.

From cocktails to canapés and from dinners to desserts, find more Christmas recipes from Irish Country Living's food magazine online every weekend in December.