Ham Amuse-Bouches

Having guests over doesn't always mean you have to spend your whole day in the kitchen, or even break the bank. This amuse-bouches recipe is the perfect example of a quick, easy, and inexpensive appetizer.
This recipe is as simple as it gets: really easy and it takes only few minutes to make (and half an hour to sit in the fridge before serving).

These bite-sized appetizers, made with rolled ham filled with garlic & herbs spread, are delicious and quite light too, so it will leave room to enjoy the coming meal ...

But, let me share few tips with you before starting:

• When buying your ham, make sure the slices are one to two millimiters thick, so it doesn't tear apart when you spread the cheese.
• Get your spread out of the fridge at least half an hour before starting, so it will be smooth and soft enough to spread.

To make this recipe, you will need:

• Some ham
• Some garlic & herbs spread*
• Some foil

To calculate your quantities, you can count on making eight bites per slice of ham. Based on this assumption, the last time I made this appetizer for five people, I bought six slices of ham and a  250-gram container of garlic & herbs spread.


Place your slice of ham on a plate or cutting board ...

... and spread the garlic & herbs spread with a butter knife on the ham.

Roll your slice of ham.

Cover it completely with foil and close it.

Place in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Just before serving, remove the foil ...

... and cut your slices of ham in eight bites (don't make too small bites, because it will become messy and won't make nice bite-sized cuts).

Serve (with toothpicks) and enjoy!

*Tip: You can find this spread already made at the supermarket, by Philadelphia®, Tartare® or Boursin®, or you can make it yourself by using a plain spread, adding chopped garlic and parsley (and any other herbs you are fond of) and mix them in a blender.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped by Charline Leblond

Salmon with Sesame and Ginger

Salmon, salmon, salmon. Its not only good for you, but also easy and quick to put together for dinner. I have previously tried out Orange and Ginger Salmon; but for a bit of an Asian flair here is Sesame and Ginger Salmon. Served with a bit of rice, it makes for a lovely light and easy dinner.

Yes, you can have dinner ready in 20 minutes.

For two servings, you will need:

• One tablespoon of sesame seeds
• One half-palm size of ginger* (or slightly less if you use ginger powder, minced ginger, etc)
• About two or three tablespoons of soy sauce
• One teaspoon of sugar
• One tablespoon of oil

Of course, it would help of you had some salmon filets. I have served my salmon with rice, but I shall leave you to pick whatever side you would like to use.

Depending how much rice you are making, you might want to start the rice first. Check the package for instructions on how to cook your rice.

While the rice is cooking, start with your ginger. I used about a half-palm sized piece.

To retain some nice texture of ginger in the final dish, slice it into toothpick-long sticks. Don't fret about how thin or how thick to make them; it won't matter much at the end. I made three horizontal slices into the piece above before slicing it. You will also need one tablespoon of sesame seeds.

Lets start with the sesame seeds, roast them in a pan at medium-high heat with a bit of oil. You don't need too much oil as the sesame will ooze some of its own. Let your oil heat up well before adding the seeds.

You want to roast the sesame until it becomes nicely browned.

Now add your ginger slices.

Let the ginger become well browned, continuously stirring on high heat.

Now reduce the heat to a bit below medium and add your soy sauce.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar and stir it in to the sauce, now we will let it simmer and reduce for a few minutes.

It is now time to cook the salmon, but if you are making rice on the side you might want to check the progress. There is no point in having your salmon ready if your rice is still cooking. Assuming the rice is ready, or whatever side you are using, you can add your salmon to the grill.

For the salmon, a bit of oil in a frying pan and just leave the salmon a few minutes on each side ... you can check the progress as it cooks up the side of the salmon filet.

By the time your salmon is done, the sauce will have reduced enough and is ready to serve.

Plate your rice, add a salmon filet, and spoon the ginger and sesame on top of the fish. If you like, you can spoon some of the infused soy sauce on the rice.

There! Less than 20 minutes and such an easy way to prepare a healthy dinner.

*Tip: Don't throw away your ginger, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your ginger.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki