Midweek cheeky one?

Or, drinks and nibbles after work...

Or, at the weekend...

Thinking "I could have friends over for drinks after work" and doing the deed is usually far from reality for most of us.

If we live close to our friends then it's more likely, but usually its drinks on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

We all have busy lives but we should also take care to make time for our friends.  Whether we are lucky enough to be able invite people around in the evening (and during the week at that) or if it’s during the course of a weekend, we don't really want to spend hours in the kitchen preparing food, and, more importantly, we want to spend as much time as possible with our guests once they've arrived.

The three tapas style snacks below all take under 25 minutes to prepare and cook and, more importantly, gives a personal touch rather than simply unloading packets from a supermarket, at the very least you can make them a little more specific to your own and your guests' tastes.

Chorizo

 

Always a good standby and always very quick to prepare.  Slicing it up into generous bite size pieces with some additional olive oil and putting a little extra chilli and/or garlic onto a baking tray, adding halved mid-sized mushrooms to soak up a little of that oil and putting these into a moderate oven (say 170-180c) for 15-20 minutes is a really good and simple way to impress. 

Once you've taken these out of the oven and whilst still hot, drizzle with a tablespoon of honey and combine.  The sweet, hot, spicy combination is addictive.

House roasted Almonds (or cashews, or walnuts or a mixture of all three)

With a little oil, add 250 grams of blanched nuts to a baking tray.  Again, in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes. 

Separately, in a bowl, add two heaped teaspoons of smoked sweet paprika, two generous teaspoons of dried thyme or chopped dried rosemary and an equal amount of sea salt. 

Taking the nuts out of the oven add these to the spice mixture whilst still hot and combine thoroughly.

House olive mix

In a shallow pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil and a large crushed clove of garlic whilst the oil is still heating through.  Add a half teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of cumin seeds.  As the garlic is just starting to golden, take off the heat and add the zest and juice of a large lemon (or of two limes).

Separately in a large bowl, thinly slice half a large red onion and separate the crescents.  Add your choice of olives (250 grams) and add the spice mixture.  Mix and allow to cool.

Additions could in include finely sliced chillies and/or sweet peppers.  Just for a little crunch.