Not from a monetary perspective - disposable income seemingly a thing of the past - more about trying harder to set the celebratory scene and moving beyond chip and dip. I am not saying they won’t be on offer at my place - we love a good chip (looking at you Proper) - but they too have soared in price.
Take a bowl of olives up a notch by crumbing and frying them. Add nduja to the mix and let the good times flow. I realise that decent olives, and even more so nduja, are not budget items but a little goes a long way and the final product screams effort made.
Nduja (pronounced en-doo-ya) is a spreadable pork sausage, described by sabato.co.nz (where I source my favourite Callipo brand) as pork minced with Calabrian chilli peppers, salt and olive oil to form a richly coloured spreadable salami-like paste with a fiery kick.
Its rich flavour has become an essential part of my umami kit and is added to, well, almost anything - a spoonful to pasta, rice dishes, vegetables, sauces... smeared on bread, bruschetta or pizza bases...
But back to the drinks party. I have swiped this nduja crumbed fried olives recipe from Piccolo, the cool little neighbourhood wine bar and bottle store at St Clair Beach, where libations are accompanied by a menu of Italian snacks.
Dunedin is lapping up the aperitivo culture that proprietor Katrina Toovey has introduced in this Esplanade-adjacent establishment run by daughter Lusia.
Kindly sharing their recipe, Lusia suggested another - warmed brie with roasted grapes and red wine reduction, a recent menu addition that has been popular and is easy to make at home.
Once you’ve knocked your guests’ socks off with this oozy cheesiness, pop into Piccolo and say thank you, relax over a glass of vermouth and select a bottle of interesting wine to take home for your next do.
Just as warming brie and roasting grapes take the serving of cheese up a notch so does threading ingredients on to sticks to create gildas.
So simple. So effective. Your guests will think you have gone to considerable effort, while you enjoy the festivities and the compliments.
Warmed brie with roasted grapes and red wine reduction
This Piccolo wine bar crowd pleaser is sure to do the same at your place. Everyone loves gooey, warm cheese and it looks so festive.
Roasting the grapes makes them sweet and sticky.
Don’t skip the red wine reduction and make plenty, keeping it in the fridge to drizzle over anything from meats to salads to up the ante.
SERVES: 6-10
Red wine reduction
150ml red wine
50ml balsamic vinegar
150g sugar
1 sprig rosemary
Roasted grapes
1 cup red grapes
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp picked thyme leaves
1 round of brie
Method
1. Add the red wine reduction ingredients to a saucepan and boil down to a syrup consistency 20-30 minutes
2. Place grapes on a small roasting dish. Toss with olive oil, thyme, a couple of pinches of salt and a grind of black pepper. Roast in a 180°C oven for 25 minutes until they soften.
Remove to a bowl and stir through 2 tsp red wine reduction.
3. Place the brie on the roasting dish and bake for 7-10 minutes until warmed through.
4. Remove to a serving dish, place grapes on top and drizzle with red wine reduction and fresh thyme leaves. Serve with bread or crostini.
Gildas
Apparently, the original Basque pintxo is named after a character Rita Hayworth played in the 1946 movie Gilda. The salty and spicy flavours reflect her fiery personality.
Pickled guindilla peppers originally accompanied the olives and anchovy. I have used jarred roasted red peppers to add some Christmas red.
Feel free to skewer whatever you like and call it a gilda. Just keep them bite size and if you are using anchovies, make them good quality.
At Sydney’s Gildas - one of my other favourite wine bars - Lennox Hastie skewers cooked components into a grillda and seared kangaroo, salted desert lime and charred onions make up a Matilda. So cool.
Gildas.com.au.
MAKES: 6
1 roasted red pepper
6 green olives
6 anchovies
Method
1. Slice the red pepper into 6 1cm-wide strips.
2. Push one end of the pepper strip on to the tip of a toothpick or short skewer. Fold an anchovy in half and push on top of the pepper.
Thread the pepper back over the top, thread on an olive and fold the pepper back over top to finish.
Repeat for the next five or however many required.
Crumbed nduja olives
Fried titbits always go down well, cooking when the drinks are flowing not so much.
These olives hold well if fried in advance or they can be crumbed and in the fridge, ready to fry quickly to serve warm.
See notes on nduja above - your taste buds will be rewarded for seeking it out.
If you prefer you could blend sundried tomatoes or roasted red peppers into a paste, which would make them vegetarian.
MAKES: 20
20 large pitted green olives
1 egg
25g nduja
¼ cup flour
½ cup breadcrumbs or panko crumbs
Light olive oil for deep frying
Method
1. Drain olives from their brine.
2. Beat the egg and nduja together with a fork until well combined.
3. Create a breading station with three shallow bowls one with egg mix, one with flour, one with breadcrumbs.
4. Coat the olives in flour, shaking off excess as you move into the egg mix, followed by the breadcrumbs, ensuring olives are well coated. Transfer crumbed olives to a plate.
5. Heat enough oil in a pot to deep fry the olives, turning until golden brown.
6. Drain and serve warm or at room temperature.
