Halloween dinner tastes better in the dark!
Switch off the big light and set a softer mood with a few candles. On the night of 31st October the table is seen in half-light, and the starter you put in the middle isn't just there to be eaten: it's the first thing your guests will notice as they walk in, before they've even taken off their witch's hat.
Everyone's in fancy dress, even on the plate
The crackers are black, made with rye and charcoal. The beetroot cream is a red that, in dim light, looks like something else entirely. The blackberries are steeped sweet and sour, and as for the watermelon radish: on the outside it's an ordinary-looking vegetable, on the inside it lights up pink. Everyone on this plate is playing a part.
And our Whisky&Soy salmon? It dresses up in a marinade and glaze all of its own, which give it an umami flavour your palate won't place straight away, but will be hooked on from the very first bite!
The web looks better wonky
The mayonnaise spider's web is piped straight onto the dark plate, and this is where an unsteady hand is an advantage: the more ragged and broken it comes out, the more it looks like it's been hanging in the cellar for years.
For the decorations, from tablecloths to centrepieces, you can express yourself with all sorts of styles. As for a starter that'll leave your guests frightfully impressed, leave that to us!
Ingredients (makes 13 crostini)
For the sweet and sour blackberries:
- about 8 blackberries
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
- 1 pinch of salt
For the beetroot cream:
- 80 g cooked beetroot
- 1 tsp wasabi
- 1 tsp crème fraîche
- a dash of lemon juice
- salt and pepper
For the decorative mayonnaise:
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp wasabi
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- a splash of water, just enough to get the right consistency
To assemble:
- 200 g Smokin' Brothers Whisky&Soy Smoked Salmon
- crackers, ideally black ones, made with rye and charcoal
- 8 slices of watermelon radish
- a piping bag
Method
1. Put the blackberries in a small bowl with the rice vinegar, the agave syrup and the pinch of salt, and leave them to soak for a while.
2. Blend the cooked beetroot with the wasabi, lemon juice, crème fraîche, salt and pepper until the cream is nice and smooth.
3. Slice the watermelon radish very finely and put the slices in iced water. Set them aside, then cut them in half.
4. On to the mayonnaise: mix the mayonnaise, wasabi, lemon juice and a splash of water, just enough to get the right consistency.
5. Spoon the mayonnaise into the piping bag and draw a spider's web on a dark-coloured plate, ideally a bit ragged and broken, to make the whole thing all the more unsettling.
6. Assemble the crackers: on each rye and charcoal crostino put half a slice of watermelon radish, a tablespoon of beetroot cream and a slice of Whisky&Soy smoked salmon. Finish with a blackberry cut in half.
7. Arrange the crostini on the plate with the web and set them in the middle of the table: Halloween dinner starts here.
Legend has it that on the night of 31st October the veil between the world of the living and the world of the spirits grows thin, and that someone takes the chance to pay a visit. Leave a crostino on the plate, even at the end of the night: you never know who might drop by!
Ready to give it a go? If you dare, the rest of our range is waiting for you here.