Canapés

Inventing canapés is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. I feel free to attempt new recipes and I also adore working with miniature forms! Usually I serve about 5 kinds of canapés in a party, I choose 3 of them among the ones that already are a success in my repertoire and I create the other 2. That way I’m always presenting new stuff and incorporating the ones people like the most to my menus. In the old times canapés were very boring and people didn’t care much about them, but today chefs need to be creative and show who they are and how they cook from the canapés to the dessert. To be honest I see my small creations more as amuses-bouche than canapés. Amuses-bouche are served in restaurants before the meals for all the customers and are free of charge. The word is French and means: “to amuse the mouth”. The idea is that it should excite the taste buds and enchant the eyes, preparing the dinners for the wonderful meal that will come to follow. The celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, already affirmed that amuse-bouche is the best way of a chef express its big ideas in small bites. But even if you’re not a chef and don’t have so many big ideas you can express yourself and create your amuses-bouche. You can think about the flavors you like, dishes you ate or recipes you saw and adapt, change the form, minimize and voilá!
The one at the photo was created a year ago and since then it has a captive place in my Asian menu. It is made with raw tuna, cut into strips, with Asian sauce made of: sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, onion, rice vinegar, black pepper, chopped and mixed in a food processor and decorated with chives and sesame seeds.