Christmas Canapes Built From the Pantry

By Jodie Smith, Product & Hamper Manager at The Gourmet Pantry.

Christmas canapes are one-bite savouries handed around before lunch, and the fastest good ones start with a pre-baked pastry case and a jar from the pantry. Buy the shells, spoon in a filling, add one fresh thing on top. No pastry to roll, no oven, and three trays done in about ten minutes.

Everything below is built from things that keep in a cupboard, which is the whole point on a day when the fridge is already full. The pastry cases are the part most people underestimate. They are also the one product on our shelves that does nothing at all until you have an idea for it, so here are several.

Pick the shell first, then work backwards

Confiletas shells arrive baked, crisp and ready to fill, and every size in the tart and pastry shells range is $9.95 a pack. The pack counts differ, which is where the per-piece maths starts to matter for a party.

The 1mm between the two minis is not the decision. The shape is. A mini savoury case is shallow and flat-bottomed, so it wants a filling that holds its own shape and can be piled a little above the rim. A vol au vent has a wall and a well, so it takes anything wet enough to slump, which is most seafood and most dressed things. Buy one pack of each the first time and you will know which one your fillings suit.

Five fillings that come out of a jar

None of these need a recipe, and all of them are better with one fresh element on top for colour and a bit of bite.

Truffle and artichoke, whipped. Beat one part truffle and artichoke pesto into two parts cream cheese until it is smooth enough to pipe, then fill the mini savoury cases and finish each one with a chive. It is black truffle from Piedmont, artichoke from Puglia and aged Parmigiano Reggiano, so it does not need help. At $12.95 a jar it will fill two packs of shells with some left for toast.

Tuna, lemon and caper. Flake a tin of Walker's albacore tuna with a spoon of mayonnaise, the zest of half a lemon and a few chopped capers. This is export-grade Australian albacore packed in Australian olive oil, developed with Neil Perry, and it holds together in big flakes rather than turning to paste. Into the mini vol au vents, one caper on top.

Whipped feta and capsicum. Blitz feta with a splash of olive oil until it is loose, spoon it into the savoury cases and add a little roasted red capsicum tapenade on top. Two colours, two textures, $6.95 for the jar.

Smoked salmon and dill. The one worth doing properly, because it is the canape people photograph. Our smoked salmon tartlets with lemon and dill use the same mini cases and take about fifteen minutes.

Leftovers, on Boxing Day. The large vol au vents are the best thing to do with what is left of Christmas lunch. Anything chopped, bound with a spoonful of creme fraiche and warmed through for five minutes turns into a second party without any shopping.

How many to count on, and when to fill them

Before a sit-down lunch, we work on four to six pieces a head across two or three types. That is one pack of minis for every two or three guests. If canapes are the whole event and there is no meal after them, count ten to twelve pieces a head over two hours and add a third type, because people tire of two.

Timing is the part that goes wrong. A filled shell starts softening from the moment the filling goes in, and how fast depends entirely on what is in it. Fat-based fillings, whipped cheese, pesto and anything creamy, hold their crispness comfortably for an hour. Wet fillings, dressed seafood, tomato, anything acidic, give you closer to twenty minutes before the base turns.

So make the fillings the day before and keep them covered in the fridge, keep the shells sealed in their box at room temperature, and fill in batches as the tray goes out. If the shells have been open a while, three minutes at 160°C and a full cool on a rack brings them back. Never fill a warm shell, because the steam does the same damage the filling would.

Christmas canape questions

How many canapes per person for a Christmas party?

Four to six pieces a head if a meal follows, spread across two or three types. Ten to twelve if the canapes are the meal and people are standing for a couple of hours. A pack of twelve mini shells covers two to three guests before lunch, so for a table of ten you want three or four packs and two fillings.

Can you fill pastry cases in advance?

Make the fillings up to a day ahead, but fill the shells as late as you can. Creamy and fat-based fillings hold up for about an hour. Dressed seafood, tomato and anything acidic will soften the base in around twenty minutes. Keep unfilled shells sealed at room temperature rather than in the fridge, where they draw moisture and go limp.

What are easy canapes to make for Christmas?

The easy ones have no pastry step and no oven. Buy pre-baked shells, use a good jar as the base of the filling, and add one fresh thing for colour. Whipped cream cheese with truffle and artichoke pesto, tinned albacore with lemon and capers, or feta with capsicum tapenade all take under ten minutes for a tray of twelve.

If you are hosting this year, a pack or two from the tart and pastry shells range plus whatever jars you already like is the shortest route to a tray worth handing around. Orders placed before 12pm on a weekday leave our Corio warehouse the same day, and shipping is free Australia-wide over $100. If you are feeding someone else's Christmas rather than your own, the Christmas hampers are hand-packed here by the same team. For the wider seasonal picture, including what to buy when, start with our guide to Christmas food in Australia.