Snacks in a flash

PHOTOS: Michael le Grange | PRODUCTION: Abigail Donnelly

Party food doesn’t have to take most of the day to prepare – these simple, quick bites will have your guests talking about your party for a while.

Crispy wafers of parma ham topped with a baby Italian salad

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

2T olive oil, to drizzle

1 x 70g pack Parma ham

4 ripe tomatoes, sliced

Fresh basil leaves, to serve

2 balls of good quality mozzarella

Sliced green olives, pitted and sliced caper berries to serve

Place a pan over a medium to high heat with a little drizzle of olive oil. When hot, add a couple of slices of Parma ham at a time and pan fry until crisp and slightly golden on each side. Repeat until all slices of Parma ham are crisp.

Halve the crispy wafers of ham and top with sliced tomato, basil leaves, mozzarella and serve with green olives and caper berries for the perfect canapé

Frozen lime and lemon halves filled with icy lemon sorbet

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: 2 hours

3 limes, halved and hollowed

3 lemons, halved and hollowed

1 x 1L lemon sorbet

Place the hollowed lime and lemon halves in the freezer to chill. Once frozen, add a generous scoop of lemon sorbet to each half. Serve in little ramekins or individual moulds filled with crushed ice.

Bowls of caramelised calamari twists with a squeeze of lemon

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 7-10 minutes

6 calamari steaks, scored in a criss-cross pattern

2T olive oil

3T palm sugar

2T soy sauce

2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped

1 x 5cm piece fresh ginger, grated

1T fi sh sauce

Coriander, finely chopped

Squeeze of lemon juice, to serve

Cut the scored calamari steaks into long slices. Place a pan onto a high heat, add the olive oil and flash fry the strips until just coloured. Remove them from the heat. Place another pan over medium to high heat and add the palm sugar and soy sauce to melt.

Once melted, add the fried calamari strips, chilli, ginger and fish sauce and mix together until the calamari is coated. Fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then add the coriander and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately.