Hors d’oeuvres are an ever popular staple at any party— they can be eaten on the move, allowing guests to easily mingle. But the same stale dishes always seem to be passed around at every party. Scallops wrapped in bacon, shrimp cocktail, and the ever popular fruit and cheese tray are all a bit overdone at this point.
As we start fresh with a New Year, we thought why not share a fresh, new recipe as well?
One trend in Hors d’oeuvres is the desire for more vegetarian fare. Our Parmesan tuille with arugula, mascarpone and roasted pear could be considered a play on the classic fruit and cheese pairing. This new hors d’oeuvre we have been experimenting with has been satisfying guests with great reception in the past few months, ever since we introduced it at an event at the Boston Design Center.
When it comes to assembling our Hors d’ oeuvres menu, we like to keep it fresh, local, simple and visually appealing, with at least 4-5 components all adding complementary tastes and different textures.
Parmesan Tuille, arugula, roasted pear & mascarpone cheese
2 ounces Parmesan Cheese, fine shred or grated
2 ounces Mascarpone Cheese, whipped at slightly below room temperature. We like Vermont Butter and Cheese for locally produced
1 each Pear, nearly ripe & from local source. Split, core, medium dice
¼ oz. Arugula
Procedure:
The making of the tuilles is best done on a silpat mat. These can be found at better kitchen stores that are geared for cooks and chefs. Stores such as Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table.
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Place 1/2 teaspoon of the grated parmesan onto the silpat sheet, forming rounded shapes. Spread so that it is an even layer and barely covering the area. This is a time when “less is more” for the grated parmesan. You can probably get 24 to 30 cheese discs to a sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 275 degree oven until the tuilles are getting golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Do not refrigerate or make a day ahead. This is to be done the day you plan on serving them, as they will lose the desired texture.
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Whip the mascarpone with a beater attachment for one minute at a medium speed. This will lighten up the texture and allow you to easily pipe it onto the tuilles.
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An hour or so before guests arrive, pipe out a rosette of the whipped mascarpone onto tuilles that have been topped with 2 leaves of arugula. Be aware to pipe some of the mascarpone onto the tuille to have it “stick.”
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Top the whipped rosette with the fresh chopped pear pieces. I will share with you that we have also done a fresh fig variation, we have roasted under ripe pears, poached apple and I’ll bet by this time next year have come up with another half dozen variations, so please have fun and experiment with this tasty little appetizer.