Simple tasty snacks are in demand just like sandwiches. They can be both cold and hot. They can be used both for serving at the festive table, and for a trip to the countryside or for a buffet party. You can cook them from a variety of products, including experimenting with a combination of components. This article presents recipes and photos of simple and tasty snacks that you can easily make at home.
Eggplant Option
Do you know that eggplant began to grow more than 1,500 years ago in India? Over time, this healthy and very tasty vegetable has become popular all over the world both for its usefulness and taste. Currently, there are many recipes with eggplant. You can use them for both the first and second courses. They also make simple and tasty snacks on the table, and the vegetables in them can be salty, pickled, stuffed or baked. If you want to surprise your guests with a delicious dish, prepare an eggplant appetizer according to the recipe below. In total you will need:
- 8 small eggplants;
- refined vegetable oil.
For the sauce:
- 200 ml of dry red wine;
- 8 tomatoes;
- 1 tbsp. l balsamic vinegar;
- 2 onions;
- 1 tbsp. l dry basil;
- 6 cloves of garlic;
- 1 tbsp. l dried oregano;
- 2 carrots;
- 2 leaves of laurel;
- to taste - sugar, salt and ground pepper;
- for frying - vegetable oil.
How to cook a simple and tasty eggplant appetizer?
Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté chopped onion until soft, it’s important not to overcook it. Add the grated carrots and chopped garlic. Sauté until vegetables are ready.
Tomatoes should be peeled and cut into small cubes. Add them to the other ingredients in the pan, pour red wine and lay the bay leaf. Put oregano, basil and simmer for at least 20 minutes. At the end of cooking, add pepper, sugar and salt to taste. As a result, you get a fragrant and quite tasty sauce. Beat it in a blender to get a pulp-like mass.
Now is the time to cut the eggplant. You can do this arbitrarily - in the form of rings or blocks. The main thing is not to make the latter very small. Fry the vegetable on both sides to a golden hue. Put the eggplant on the dish, watering the cooked sauce.
For a more original serving, you can wrap the eggplant slices in rolls, pre-watering them with sauce. As you can see, it turns out a simple and tasty festive snack.
Potato nuggets
Most people are used to using chicken, or fish in the extreme case, to make nuggets. But this simple and tasty snack can be vegetable. To make potato nuggets you will need:
- 2 potatoes, boiled and grated;
- ½ tsp ginger pasta with garlic;
- ½ tsp chili flakes;
- 3 tablespoons cheddar cheese, finely grated;
- ½ tsp mixed herbs;
- ¼ tsp chopped pepper;
- small salt to taste;
- ½ h seasonings of chaat masala;
- 2 tbsp. l coriander leaves finely chopped;
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs;
- To cover:
- ¼ cup cornmeal;
- ¼ l including chopped pepper;
- 1 cup breadcrumbs;
- salt - ¼ tsp;
- a quarter glass of water;
- deep frying oil.
Cooking Potato Nuggets
The recipe for a simple and tasty potato snack is as follows. First, in a large bowl, mix 2 grated potatoes, 3 tbsp. l cheddar cheese, half a teaspoon of tea garlic and ginger paste, chili flakes, mixed herbs, chat masala, a quarter tablespoon of tea pepper and salt and two tablespoons of coriander leaves. Mix well, making sure the spices blend well. Now add a quarter cup of breading and mix well. Breadcrumbs help absorb moisture and prevent oil burning.
Next, prepare the dough from corn flour, mixing it with pepper, salt and water. Make a soft, homogeneous mixture.
Roll the potato mass into balls and give them a cylindrical shape. Dip each of them in corn flour dough, covering them on all sides. Then roll the billets in breading. Now you have to deep-fry this appetizer until the nuggets are golden and crispy. Put them on a plate with linen paper towels to remove excess fat.
Alternatively, you can preheat the oven and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. Serve potato nuggets with tomato sauce.
Stuffed champignons
Simple and delicious snacks on the festive table should look beautiful. That is why stuffed mushroom caps are so popular. For one of the options for such an appetizer you will need:
- 8 large champignons (only hats);
- 1 pack of soft cream cheese;
- 2 slices of bacon, fried and chopped;
- 1 tbsp. l fresh chopped onions.
Fill each mushroom hat with cheese. Put bacon and onion on top. Preheat and microwave in the oven for about a minute or place in the oven for a few minutes. Serve immediately.
Stuffed peppers
Many people are accustomed to the fact that stuffed peppers are a hot dish. However, it could very well be a cold simple and tasty snack. The recipe and photos are presented below, and for cooking you will need:
- 4 small peppers, cut in half, remove the seeds;
- 1 pack of soft cream cheese with paprika flavor;
- half a glass of corn kernels;
- 1 bunch of green onions, chopped finely.
Fill each half of the pepper with cream cheese. Spread on top the fried corn grains and chopped green onions, slightly drowning them in cheese. You can cook this simple and tasty snack on the nature, as well as on any holiday table.
Skewer appetizer
Skewer snacks are also very popular. For one version you will need:
- 1 cucumber, sliced;
- 1 pack of mozzarella cheese;
- 6 thin slices of pepperoni;
- chopped black large black olives.
Cut mozzarella cheese into thin slices, arrange them into pieces of cucumber, alternating. Paste on a skewer in the following order: cucumber, cheese, cucumber, cheese, olive, pepperoni, olive. So you get a simple and tasty snack on the table, which at the same time serves as its decoration.
Sweet Potato Appetizer
Such an excellent product as sweet potatoes is often unfairly ignored by the hostesses. Today it is sold in most major stores, and is quite affordable. To prepare a simple and tasty snack from it you will need:
- 1 large sweet potato (about 340 grams);
- A small bunch of crushed fresh cilantro leaves;
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) of chopped pickled jalapenos;
- 3 onions, finely chopped;
- kosher salt;
- 4-6 small flour cakes (from raw dough);
- vegetable oil, if necessary.
How to cook sweet potatoes?
Preheat the oven to 220 ° C. Place sweet potatoes there (for example, in a cast-iron pan or a small baking dish) and bake until the knife or skewer inserted in its center comes in easily and smoothly. This usually takes about 40 minutes. Remove the vegetable from the oven and cool. Cooked sweet potatoes can be wrapped in a film and stored in the refrigerator for several days before continuing with cooking.
Peel and peel the sweet potatoes, mash the pulp with a fork in a small bowl. Add cilantro, pickled jalapenos and spring onions. Mix thoroughly and season to taste.
Spread about half a cup of the mixture evenly over half 1 cake, leaving a border of about one and a half cm. Cover with the other half and tighten the edges, pressing them as tight as possible. Repeat with the remaining mass and try to use as many cakes as possible (about 4-6, depending on the size of the sweet potato).
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan until it flickers. Carefully lay 2 folded flat cakes and fry, turning over, for several minutes on each side. The dough should be ready and rosy. Remove the finished product on a plate with a paper towel, repeat with the rest of the workpieces. Serve immediately.
Bruschetta with fried tomatoes
Gently frying fresh tomatoes, you get a thick and delicious sauce with a deep aroma. In combination with delicious bread, you will get a simple and tasty snack for your birthday or any other occasion. In total you will need:
- about 800 grams of juicy tomatoes;
- kosher salt;
- a quarter cup of olive oil;
- 15 large basil leaves, finely chopped;
- red wine vinegar to taste;
- sugar to taste;
- fresh toasted sliced bread;
- Cloves of garlic to grate bread.
How to cook a tomato snack?
Preheat the oven to 150 ° C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut each tomato in half and remove large seeds and cores. Spread the tomatoes on the prepared baking sheet in one layer, season with salt and grease with olive oil. Transfer to the oven and bake until the excess juices evaporate and the tomatoes become dry on the outside but still moist inside. It takes about 1 hour.
Transfer fried tomatoes to a work surface and chop finely. Transfer to a large bowl. Add a quarter cup of olive oil and basil and mix well. Season with salt and add wine vinegar, about one teaspoon at a time, until the tomatoes become very soft, almost mashed. Mix with a pinch of sugar to further enhance the natural sweetness of tomatoes.
Rub the top of the dried bread all over the surface with garlic. Then grease the toasts with olive oil and lightly season with salt. Put the tomato mass on top and serve. As you can see from this recipe and photo, simple and tasty tomato snacks are prepared simply and look very appetizing.
Avocado with radish and fresh herbs
The spring flavors in these sandwiches are complemented by the texture of a healthy creamy avocado. The use of lemon adds flavor, and freshly frozen basil gives a fragrant herbal shade. In total, for this simple tasty snack you will need:
- 1 chopped bread for toast or sandwiches;
- extra virgin olive oil;
- half peeled ripe avocado;
- a small handful of young peas;
- 6 thin slices of radish;
- freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste, from half a citrus;
- finely chopped basil leaves, for decoration;
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper.
Cooking Avocado Sandwiches
Lightly grease the bread with olive oil and dry in the toaster to the desired level. Place the avocado on top and mash it in mashed potatoes with a fork to cover the entire surface of the bread. Add the peas by carefully pressing it to the avocado. Top with radish slices. Squeeze lemon juice on the surface of the sandwich and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
This recipe for a simple and tasty snack on the table can be modified at your discretion. The amount of each ingredient will depend on the size of your piece of bread and personal preference. If you cannot find fresh peas, use canned or frozen. Drain and dry the first, bring the second to room temperature in cool running water.
Peanut Sauce Rolls
The secret to this simple and delicious birthday snack (or other celebration) is to balance the texture and flavor of the ingredients inside soft, supple rice paper. It uses tender young peas, as well as carrots cut into thin slices, crispy pickled tofu, herbs, chili and peanuts. Why is this combination so delicious? Slow cooking tofu gives it an extra crisp tone and helps absorb the marinade flavor. In total you will need:
- 400 grams of solid tofu, cut into 1.5 cm pieces;
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- 1 pack of Thai tamarind sauce
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated on a fine grater;
- 160 grams of young peas;
- glasses of mixed fresh herbs such as cilantro, mint and basil;
- chopped toasted peanuts;
- finely chopped chili peppers;
- 20 rice paper wrappers.
Cooking rice rolls
Place the tofu in a large colander and place in the sink. Pour some boiling water on it and leave for one minute. Move to a stand with a paper towel and dry. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add tofu and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crispy texture on all surfaces. It takes about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper strip to drain the oil.
Then transfer the tofu into a large bowl and add 5 tablespoons of tamarind sauce. Stir well. Transfer tofu, carrots, greens, peanuts, peppers and remaining sauce to serving plates. Serve with a rice paper wrapper and a bowl of warm water. To eat this simple and tasty snack, dip rice paper in warm water until it is wet on all surfaces, and then place it on a plate. Place a small amount of filling in the center. Fold the leading edge of the paper above the filling in the direction away from you, then move the right side toward the center. Continue to roll until a tight roll with one open end forms. Dip it in the remaining sauce with food. If desired, you can replace the ingredients at your own discretion, for example, do not add chili or jalapenos. You can also add grated cheese or any other ingredient (bamboo seedlings, corn, etc.).