Appetisers

Adding an appetiser course would be a great improvement to our British “meat and two veg” meal format.

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In my last post, I suggested that the food we eat before our main meal could provide an opportunity to incorporate more vegetables into our diet.  Here I take a closer look at the cultural variations in this appetiser “course”, the role of restaurants in its development, and finally provide some ideas that I hope will be relevant to today’s lifestyle.

            Cultural History

The name for the food served before a meal naturally varies from language to language, and to some extent, each tells us something of their historical purpose and development.  The word Appetiser comes from the Latin degustatio, the tasting of food, and was the course which kicked off the lengthy Roman feasts.

In Greece, the food served with drinks before a meal is called Meze or Mezedes in plural. Mezedes originate from the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, and from countries further south, such as Lebanon and Syria.  The name comes from the Persian language, where mazzeh or mazidan meant “taste” and “flavour.”  Mezedes are intrinsically linked with the culture of conviviality and hospitality, for which Greece is particularly famed.  No drink would ever be served without food to accompany it, but these drinks are every bit as important as the food. Meze is the most important part of the meal in Greek culture and can go on for hours; you can probably name at least as many meze dishes as you can Greek main courses.  Although the dishes are not intended to sate the appetite, it is not uncommon to get no further than this course.  The food is meant to be shared; individual plates were never traditionally brought to the table. 

The link between drink and food is also behind the Spanish tapas, taking its name from to cover, because the food was initially a cover or lid placed on top of a glass to keep flies out!  The Spanish eat far later than we do in Britain, but meet up first in bars. The cover came free, was usually of a bread base (which allowed it to be placed over the glass) with a tasty morsel atop. Designed to be eaten without crockery or cutlery, small paper napkins being the only accessory. Traditionally you drop these paper napkins on the floor, which helps people spot the most popular bars at a glance! I guess tapas were supposed to help line your stomach whilst drinking, although most seem a bit insubstantial for that.

Restaurants have had a major role in the development of Appetisers. The term hors-d’oeuvre was first used in 18th century France and literally translates as “outside the work” because it was used for any dishes served away from the table.  It is inseparable from the idea of a meal as a series of courses, and this first complimentary dish was chosen by the chef rather than ordered. Later the term hors d’oeuvres was used for any starter, of which those served before coming to the table became a sub-category of known as an amuse-bouche or amuse gueule (mouth amuser).  These were single bite morsels, which were intended to whet the appetite for what was to come. As chefs’ need to impress grew, so too did the number of hors d’oeuvres in a formal meal, often appearing both before being seated at the table and then another, perhaps more complex and requiring cutlery, once seated.

Italy followed a similar pattern to France with antipasti being used for dishes that preceded the first course – primi.  Antipasti have become so popular in their own right that they are now usually chosen from the menu when dining out and, although invented in restaurants, are increasingly now included in meals served at home.

In the UK, we abandoned the traditional format of formal dining, and the French terms, some years ago.  Few restaurants can now afford the luxury of a separate lounge where you would enjoy a drink and an appetiser whilst you studied the menu.  Nowadays, pre-dinner drinks are more often served at the dining table, and often ordered from a separate bar rather than the kitchen, with minimal co-ordination between the two.  Having been brought the first course of my meal before the pre-dinner drinks and “bar snacks” on several occasions, including at one three Michelin starred restaurant, I am now careful not to order food until I already have the drinks in front of me.

One the plus side, most restaurants now offer at least one seasonal cocktail or aperitif.  Even better are the high-end cocktail bars, where you watch your cocktail being made as if it was a mini-theatre performance.  I love to see the jugs of fresh herbs and other accoutrements that will add the final flourish.  So, one option is to go to one of these bars before your meal, remembering that you will probably need to book in advance.  The downside is that you are unlikely to get more than a dish of nuts to eat with the cocktail.  Also, many of the cocktails are pretty punchy, and if you haven’t yet eaten, you might find they go straight to your head.  Another fairly recent development is the choice of non-alcoholic “mocktails”.  Some are genuinely interesting, others decidedly less so. 

Outside of formal dining, appetisers do not feature much in our culture, but there are a few examples.  Pre-dinner drinks, a “sundowner” or “wine o’clock”, are quite firmly established as is a post-work drink in a pub.  The food that accompanies these drinks is frequently nothing more adventurous than a packet of crisps, but it’s a starting point on which we can build.

At this time of year, when we have light evenings, hopefully warm enough for sitting outside, appetisers really come into their own.  But even in the winter, especially ahead of a long lazy Sunday lunch, they are an important part of the enjoyment and should not be overlooked. 

            Appetisers for everyday eating

There are many aspects we can learn from in the cultural roots of appetisers – the conviviality, drinking within the context of eating, and further, the matching of food to drink, plus the sharing not only of food, but also sometimes of its preparation.  I think we can dispense with the desire to impress, which really has no place in genuine hospitality.

Historically, there seems to have been two conflicting thoughts towards the role of appetisers with regards to the appetite – quite literally the name means something to stimulate the appetite however, there can also be an element of taking the edge off an initial hunger, and sensibly slowing down the absorption of alcohol.  This latter role is probably more pertinent to an evening meal at home after a day’s work.  Certainly, it takes the pressure off producing dinner if there is something tasty to enjoy in the meantime. The British always seem to eat bread in a restaurant as if it were a starter, waiters often remove any that remains uneaten as soon as the first course is served, much to the confusion of foreigners who want to use it throughout the meal to mop up sauces!  Food served on top of bread is a sure-fire winner with us Brits!

I am also trying to meet two other aims in recommending that appetisers become a more established part of a British eating.  The first, an increase in our vegetable consumption, I have mentioned before but to expand on this, you will soon find that a separate course opens up possibilities for a range of vegetables that are less suited to a side dish in our “meat and two veg” culture.  Antipasti di vedure are very popular in many parts of Italy, especially the south, it’s not all cured meats such as you might find in Tuscany and the north.  Of course, you won’t tempt your family to join you for appetisers if you concentrate solely on introducing them to new vegetables, so a plate of finely sliced salami might also be needed to begin with, but once the course is accepted as something that contains delicious food you can concentrate more on vegetables.

Sitting down together is my other key goal.  We spend one of the lowest amounts of time eating a meal in the world, and it does seem to go hand-in-hand with obesity, which might feel counter-intuitive when we are talking about adding a course to our meals, but you may find in time that it reduces the dependence on potatoes, or even a dessert, to satisfy hunger. You’ll note that I have said sitting down together, although few households now have a dining table, but when the weather is not nice enough to sit outside (and let’s face it, that’s most of the time) the kitchen should provide a table or counter at which people can gather, share the happenings of the day, and get involved in food preparation.  More family meals were one of the benefits that people reported from lockdown, and hopefully the value of this has not been forgotten.

            Ideas for Vegetable Appetisers

The appetiser suggestions below fall into half a dozen broad categories.  Some are so simple that they don’t require any cooking, indeed some can be bought ready prepared.  For everyday eating you will probably serve only one thing, but if you want to extend this course, try to include things from different categories to provide a variation in textures.

            Bread Based

I’ll start here having said how bread fits within our culture and with the need to take the initial edge off of hunger.  There are many excellent bakers around so think about keeping some in the freezer, for example a baguette frozen in slices is quickly toasted ready to be topped with vegetables such as tomato and basil, mushrooms or roasted peppers.

            Dips

Instead of topping the bread you might instead want to dip it.  Just olive oil is fine, but following it with a dish of toasted nuts and seeds (Dukkah) is even better.  If you have leftover cooked vegetables, they can quickly be transformed into a dip or spread by blending them with feta cheese – try this with shelled broad beans or cooked beetroot.  Yogurt also makes a great base for dips if you strain it through a muslin lined nylon sieve to remove much of the whey. This produces a Greek style yogurt, perfect for Tzatziki after just an hour or two’s straining; but the longer you leave it the more whey will drip out and the firmer the yogurt until after two or three days it is firm enough to shape it into balls and roll them in chopped herbs or the aforementioned Dukkah.

            Crudités

Instead of dipping bread you could use raw vegetables although crudités are now so mainstream that you probably associate them more with your lunch box.  Change the usual carrot and cucumber sticks for radishes or bulb fennel.

            Fried Foods

Vegetables always seem more exciting fried than when they are steamed and it’s a good way of converting people to a vegetable that they thought they didn’t like.  In my last blog post I gave a recipe for courgette crisps; but frying courgettes in batter, with their flowers if you have them, is probably my favourite vegetable appetizer of all.

Frying does not need be as unhealthy as it sounds and there are methods other than deep-frying. For example, Padron peppers need only a brief time in a hot frying pan. Vegetable fritters can be shallow fried. Kale crisps can be made by tossing the torn leaves in a little oil (as if you were dressing a salad, each leaf should be lightly coated) and then spreading them on a baking sheet to cook in the oven which you might already have on for the main course.  Six minutes in a moderate oven (160˚C) should be enough, don’t worry if they are not yet crisp, this will happen as they cool. Season with salt.

            Stuffed Vegetables

This ranges from the very simple such as putting creamed cheese into celery boats or dried fruit, to assemblies that need to be cooked such as dolmades (stuffed vine leaves).

            Marinated or pickled vegetables

Olives are the easiest, and most obvious, food to serve with drinks at a moment’s notice.  My larder is never without a jar, and I also keep other vegetables, especially artichoke hearts, preserved in oil.

I have been quite disparaging about the trend for serving pickled vegetables because they are often not well executed, too vinegary, and a complete killer of wine or other accompanying drink.  Then I remembered a recipe that I used to make in the early 1980’s, when Nouvelle Cuisine was the thing and flavoured vinegars, particularly raspberry, cropped up all the time.  The recipe I am thinking of was for mushrooms in blackberry vinegar.  Blackberries are excellent and plentiful this year so now would be a perfect time to make it.  I first used this method with oyster mushrooms, which aren’t that hard to buy, but it would also work well on cultivated button mushrooms which would have the advantage of being able to eat them whole using a cocktail stick.  I promise that this recipe isn’t overly vinegary.

Saluté!

Mushrooms in Blackberry Vinegar

For the Blackberry Vinegar:

1 lb blackberries

1 bottle of white wine vinegar

1 lb mushrooms (oyster mushrooms work particularly well but otherwise try cultivated button mushrooms)

1 mild sweet onion

salt and pepper

5 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp blackberry vinegar

chopped parsley

To make the blackberry vinegar simply crush clean blackberries in a large bowl and pour on the vinegar. Cover with a tea towel and leave for a couple of days before straining and bottling.

Slice the mushrooms (small button mushrooms may be kept whole) and chop the onions; mix the two together in a dish. Sprinkle with salt and grind over some pepper.

Heat the oil and vinegar almost to boiling point and then pour over the mushrooms. Leave for several hours until the mushrooms have softened. Garnish with chopped parsley.

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