Christmas candles salad is an incredibly beautiful appetizer that will definitely decorate your holiday table. You can make such a dish in different ways. We decided to present you several options that do not require large cash costs and time.
Christmas Candy Salad: Step-by-Step Recipe
You can cook this appetizer using various ingredients. The main thing is to form it correctly. Indeed, only if you show your imagination, you will get an unusual dish that all your invited guests will certainly appreciate.
So, the Christmas Candle salad requires the use of:
- medium potatoes - 3 pcs.;
- large eggs - 3 pcs.;
- onion medium - 1 pc.;
- Bulgarian red pepper - 1 pc.;
- fresh tomatoes - 2 pcs.;
- apple cider vinegar - about 60 ml;
- canned sardines (in oil) - 1 can;
- high-calorie mayonnaise - to taste;
- fresh dill (for decoration) - a large bunch;
- cream cheese (in the form of plates) - 3 pcs.;
- pomegranate seeds - handfuls (for decoration).
We process the ingredients
To make the Christmas Candle salad not only beautiful, but also very tasty, all its ingredients should be carefully processed. To do this, you need to boil medium potatoes in their skins and chicken eggs. In the future, both products must be cooled, cleaned and grated.
You should also free from the stalk red pepper and cut from it 3 beautiful slices that will serve as flames. The rest of the vegetable is recommended to finely chop. Fresh tomatoes also need to be chopped.
As for the onion, it should be peeled and cut into cubes. If desired, this product can be marinated in apple cider vinegar. This will make the salad more piquant and tasty.
Among other things, it is necessary to prepare canned sardines. They should be removed from the jar and knead with a fork directly with oil. If you want to get a less high-calorie dish, then all the liquid can be drained in advance.
By the way, some housewives make the Christmas Candle salad not from sardines, but using saury, pink salmon, sprats in oil, mackerel and so on.
Make candles
Christmas candles salad, the photo of which is presented in this article, should be formed in stages. First you need to make it the main decoration - candles. To do this, you need to take a plate of cream cheese, generously grease them with mayonnaise and sprinkle with a grated egg. Next, the product should be rolled up into a tube and stuck in its upper tongues of flame, that is, slices of red pepper.
We form a puff dish
After the cheese candles are ready, you should proceed to the formation of the whole salad. To do this, forked sardines should be evenly distributed over the surface of an oblong and not very flat plate, and then cover it with pickled onions and grated potatoes. Next, lay out the following layers: bell pepper, fresh tomatoes and grated eggs. In this case, all ingredients, including the latter, should be generously greased with high-calorie mayonnaise.
Decorating a holiday dish
After the Christmas Candle salad is formed, you should proceed to decorate it. To do this, previously made cheese candles need to be inserted into the dish sequentially. Next, the entire surface of the snack should be covered with fresh dill, which should be rinsed in advance and shaken vigorously. In conclusion, a delicious holiday salad is recommended to sprinkle with a small amount of pomegranate seeds.
Serving a snack for the gala dinner
As you can see, there’s nothing complicated in making a Candle Christmas salad. The recipe for this appetizer should be present in the cookbook of all the hostesses. After all, with the help of it you can easily and quickly set a real holiday table.
After the appetizer is cooked, it is advisable to keep it in the refrigerator for about 90 minutes. If you leave the salad for a longer time, then the cheese candles may wind up and become not very beautiful.
Serving such an aromatic dish to guests is advisable before a hot dinner with a slice of bread.
Original salad “Candle”: recipe with photo
As mentioned above, you can make such an appetizer in different ways. The classic version of its preparation was presented above. Now I want to tell you about how to make a portioned Christmas dish using the minimum amount of ingredients.
So, we need:
- frozen or fresh squid - 4 medium carcasses;
- crab sticks or meat - about 100 g;
- large eggs - 4 pcs.;
- medium-sized carrot - 2 pcs.;
- processed cheese - 2 briquettes;
- garlic - a couple of small cloves;
- sour cream mayonnaise - apply to taste;
- hard cheese - about 50 g;
- red pepper is a small piece.
We prepare seafood
To prepare such an unusual snack, we need 4 carcasses of squid. If they were purchased frozen, then they must be thawed. Further, the product must be thoroughly washed and cleaned. After this, it is necessary to boil water in a deep pan, slightly salt it, and then lower the squid carcasses for exactly three minutes. After this time, seafood needs to be removed and cooled.
We process the rest of the ingredients
While the squid is cooling, you should proceed to boil large eggs and fresh carrots. After heat treatment, these ingredients must be cleaned and grated. It is also required to do with melted and hard cheese. Although it is better to grind them on a fine grater.
Among other things, you should peel the red pepper separately and cut it into slices similar to flames.
As for crab meat or chopsticks, they must be thawed if they were frozen, and then chopped very finely.
Mix the ingredients
Before proceeding to the formation of snacks, the salad should be properly kneaded. To do this, put the following components in one dish: processed cheese, chicken eggs, boiled carrots, crab sticks or meat and crushed garlic cloves. Next, all the ingredients must be flavored with mayonnaise and mix thoroughly. As a result, you should get a very fragrant and tasty salad.
Making a beautiful Christmas dish
Having prepared a salad with crab sticks, you should proceed to the direct formation of the dish. To do this, the already cooled carcasses of squid need to be divided in half so that you get two deep rings. They must be filled with previously prepared mass and placed on a flat dish. After all the carcasses have become rounded, they should be sprinkled with finely grated hard cheese. In the future, one slice of red pepper is required to be inserted into the upper part of each “candle”. He will imitate the flames.
How to present to the gala dinner?
Having prepared a snack, it should be placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Serving such an original Christmas dish is possible both on a common plate and in portioned saucers. If you decide to use the latter option, then the edges of the dishes can be decorated with sprigs of fresh dill, forming a kind of wreath from it. It is also recommended to sprinkle with several grains of ripe pomegranate. Good appetite!