Ingredients

Serves 4-6

Asparagus Rollups
 
12 fresh asparagus spears
1 small tub light spreadable cream cheese
100gr crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
12 bread slices, trimmed
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
Paprika

Cheese & Kabana Hedgehog
 
1 pineapple, cut in half lengthwise
1 stick of kabana, cut into 1 cm lengths
2 jars of cocktail pickled onions (make sure you get the ones that are coloured red, green and natural)
1 block tasty cheese, cut into 1.5cm square cubes
Toothpicks (as long and strong as possible)


Vol-Au-Vents
Case Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry
1 egg yolk
OR
1 packet bought cases (in the supermarket as "oyster cases"
Filling Ingredients
60gr butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup cream
1 tbsp good quality whole egg mayonnaise
2 tsp chopped parsley
Salt & pepper to taste


 

Method

Asparagus Rollups
Snap off tough ends of asparagus arrange in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from steamer, and cool on paper towels.   You could also char-grill the asparagus if you prefer.

Stir together cream cheese, blue cheese, mayo and chives.

Roll each bread slice with a rolling pin to flatten. Spread 1 side of each slice with cream cheese mixture.  Place 1 asparagus spears on 1 end of each bread slice; roll up, and place, seam side down, on a greased baking tray. Brush with butter; sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 200° for 12 minutes or until golden.

Serve immediately.

Notes: Freeze unbaked rollups up to 1 month in an airtight container. Thaw in refrigerator, and bake as directed.

This is an updated version of the 70´s classic.  From memory my mother used to make them with tinned asparagus and I don´t remember the cheese.  These are a delicious alternative.  You could also dip each end into sesame seeds before baking for added flavour.

Cheese & Kabana Hedgehog
Place one half of the pineapple on a serving dish and set aside.

On each cocktail stock, thread cheese cubes, kabana and cocktail onions.  Continue until all ingredients are used.  Insert sticks into pineapple until it is covered. 

Serve.

 

Vol-Au-Vents
Using a round biscuit cutter, cut out 12 circles of pastry, leaving enough space around each circle to fit a large circle around it.  Use cut out circles for something else.

Place the sheet WITH cut-outs on top of another piece of pastry.  Using a larger cutter, cut out larger rounds around the circles, carefully making sure the circles are centralised.

Lift each vol-au-vent case onto an oven tray and place in the fridge overnight.  This is important as it helps them keep their shape when baking.

Glaze the rims of the cases with beaten egg yolk, making sure it does not run down the sides as this will make the rise uneven.

Using biscuit cutters as supports, suspend a cooling rack over the top of the cases when baking.  This will make sure they do not rise unevenly.  Bake in a very hot oven (270 or 250 fan forced) for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to 180 and bake for a further 5 minutes.  Remove rack and bake for another 5 minutes or until cases are golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.  Store in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze (unfilled)

To serve, fill with desired fillings and bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes.

Suggested fillings:
½ cup cooked, finely chopped chicken and ½ cup drained sweet corn kernels
½ cup each cooked prawns and scallops; ¼ cup finely chopped red capsicum
½ cup cooked, finely chopped chicken and ½ cup finely chopped tinned champignons or freshly steamed and chopped asparagus
½ cup each finely chopped ham and hard boiled eggs


Notes: This is such a 70´s classic.  Made in a larger size, the vol-au-vents would have been served as a "luncheon" dish.  Made in this size, they are the perfect snack with drinks.  The fillings are really only limited by your imagination.  I think the bought ones are perfectly good and really, who has time to make their own?