I’ve often found that vegan appetisers can be quite bland and boring, but not these guys. Hummus, pear and cranberry sauce may sound like an odd combination, but trust me when I say they complement each other perfectly.
These delicious little bites are great finger-food if you’re having a party. You can serve them up as appetisers before a sit-down meal, or add them to the table on a buffet. Either way they’re sure to go down well with guests (and even the lifelong carnivores!).
The type of bread and the shapes you make your appetisers into are up to you, and they can be easily adapted depending on what you have at hand and your personal preference. I usually use a high-protein bread as the base of these, and use a cookie cutter to cut out circular shapes to achieve a more delicate, bite-sized piece, but this is completely optional. Generally however, denser breads like rye bread will work better than light, airy ones, as they will hold the toppings better and give you a more stable construction. If you do choose lighter bread, you can overcome this issue by toasting the bread first.
However you choose to make yours, these pear and cranberry appetisers are certain to impress your guests, and should make a worthy addition to any holiday spread.
Ingredients (makes 24*)
2 large ripe pears
10g fresh coriander or other leafy herb
1 loaf of bread of your choice (see comments above)
400g Hummus (store-bought or home-made: see below)
250g cranberry sauce (store-bought or home-made: see below
*the exact number of breads this recipe creates will vary slightly depending on the type of bread and size you choose. This number is a rough estimation based on personal experience.
If making your own cranberry sauce from scratch (optional)
175g fresh cranberries
Juice of 3 oranges (roughly 125ml)
100g white granulated sugar
If making your own hummus from scratch (optional)
1 400g tin chickpeas
1 tbsp tahiniJuice of
1 lemon1 tbsp cumin
1 small clove of garlic (optional)
3 tbsp olive oilWater (for desired consistency)
Salt & pepper for seasoning
Method:
(If you are not making the cranberry sauce and hummus yourself, skip to step 5)
To make the cranberry sauce, start by juicing the oranges and transferring the juice to a small saucepan. Heat the orange juice on a low to medium heat until warm.
Next, add the sugar and stir for several minutes until it dissolves.
Once the sugar has dissolved, pour in the cranberries and cook for a further 20 minutes, until all the berries have split and released their juices. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool (to speed this up, you may want to place the saucepan in a sink filled with cold water, being careful to ensure the water does not overflow into the pan). As the sauce cools, it should thicken significantly.
Whilst the sauce is cooling, prepare the hummus by mixing all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Cut the bread into the desired shapes and sizes. The exact shapes may depend on the type of bread you are using. Tip: You may wish to consider using a round cookie-cutter to cut out circles in order to achieve an attractive and more uniform appearance.
Once you have cut the bread, spread an even layer of hummus on top of each piece, followed by a spoonful of the cranberry sauce.
Next, slice the pears into thin strips, removing and discarding the core and ends. The exact size of the pear slices will depend on the size of the breads, but aim to have them no larger than the width of the bread, so that they can comfortably fit on top.
Place 1-2 slices of pear on each slice of bread, being topping each bread with a coriander leaf (or other herb).
Serve and enjoy!
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