When there isn’t time in the day to cook an elaborate dish, you’ll be thankful for these easy to make, instantly gratifying morsels. Once you’ve finished creating your snack, which should literally take you five to ten minutes, you can reward yourself for all your “hard work” by going and relaxing with a glass of your favourite wine.
Smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber sandwich
Goes perfectly with: Pinot Grigio
Light, delicious and super easy to prepare.
Ingredients
- Smoked salmon
- 24 cucumber slices, 2mm thick and peeled
- A tub of cream cheese
- 1 avocado, cut into blocks
- Black pepper
- Sweet chilli sauce (optional).
Method
- Place twelve cucumber slices on a large plate. Refrigerate the other twelve.
- Add a hearty dollop of cream cheese on each of the twelve cucumber slices.
- Slice the salmon so that each piece measures the diameter of the cucumber.
- Neatly place a salmon piece on top of the cream cheese, and then a block of avocado on top of that.
- Optional: Dress the avocado with some sweet chilli sauce.
- Close each of the sandwiches with the remaining twelve cucumber slices.
Note: you can place a toothpick in each cucumber sandwich to keep it in tact. They make for the perfect finger snack for when you have guests over.
Honey-glazed pork belly strips
Complement this appetiser with a glass of: Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot.
Ingredients
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- 4-6 pork belly strips
- 2-3 tsp honey
- Pinch of ground cinnamon or cumin.
Method
Find the complete recipe here.
Image via http://www.twooceanswines.com/za
Frozen berries with white chocolate sauce
Treat yourself with chocolate-covered berries and a glass of Shiraz Rosé, because life is too short to worry about calories.
Ingredients
- A slab of white chocolate, broken into pieces
- 100ml fresh cream
- 200-300g frozen mixed berries.
Method
- Switch your stove on to a medium-low heat.
- Add the bits of chocolate and stir continuously until it starts melting.
- Pour in the cream and mix together until combined.
- Fetch a wine glass and empty the frozen berries into the glass.
- Generously drizzle the white chocolate sauce over the berries.
Image via http://www.twooceanswines.com/za
Dainty tuna and fresh basil triangle sandwiches
High tea sandwiches, except we’ll be drinking wine instead of tea.
Ingredients
- 1 tin shredded tuna, drained
- 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
- Cream cheese
- Handful of fresh basil
- Lemon pepper
- 4 slices white bread, without crusts.
Method
- In a bowl mix the tuna, mayonnaise and lemon pepper together.
- Smear two slices of bread with cream cheese.
- Spread the tuna.
- Arrange basil leaves on top.
- Close the sandwich with the remaining two slices of bread.
- Cut into triangles.
Frozen grapes and watermelon kebab
Why not swirl this delightful fruity stick in a glass of Sauvignon Blanc?
Ingredients
- A few of your favourite red grapes (we prefer Flame Seedless because they’re crisp)
- Some green grapes such as Sugraone, or whichever you can find in your supermarket
- A few blocks of watermelon, seeds removed
Method
- Place the grapes in a container and freeze overnight. Place the watermelon in the fridge.
- Remove the grapes from the freezer the following day and thread the grapes and watermelon on to a small skewer, alternating between each fruit.
- Let it relax and enjoy itself in a glass of white wine (before you pick it apart grape by grape)
Recipe via Two Oceans Wine
Image via http://www.twooceanswines.com/za
Preparing delicious snacks needn’t be time consuming. Hopefully these simple recipes will allow you to spend more time on the important things in life – like enjoying that glass of merlot.
The post Simple snacking: Pairing light and easy snacks with your favourite wine appeared first on Living Lifestyle.