Hors d'oeuvres for Halloween Black menu

I searched some new ideas for my hors d'oeuvres and saw these amazing Foie Gras Lollipops. Immeadiately decision was made; these shall be in our Halloween table with champagne. In original recipe, the pops were red, but because of the balck theme, I used black food coloring.

The other appetizer wasn't that easy. Eventually I chose feta stuffed figs. Figs are usually quite dark, and I thought that I could roast them with Prosciutto very dark. Well, it didn't go as I planned, but taste was good.

Foie Gras Lollipops
For 8 person (16 pcs)
150 g semi-cooked foie gras
6 slices of dried (ginger)bread
200 g caster sugar
some water
black food colour

Dry in the oven the slices of dried bread. Once dried, cut into pieces and crushing in a blender to obtain a coarse breadcrumbs. Spread it on a plate. Reserve.
Cut the foie gras into large cubes. Shape the cubics into balls, rolling them between your palms. Stick a lollipop stick into each one. Refrigerate.
In a saucepan, pour the sugar and enough water to moisten all the sugar. Boil to form a light caramel. Add some food colour. Mix well to obtain a homogeneous sugar color. Dip the lollipops into a caramel. It is necessary that the bottom of the stick is also immersed in the caramel. Drain the excess caramel and gently lay it on the bread crumbs.
Cool so that the caramel hardens. It will achieve these lollipops shortly before serving, because the goal is to have a caramel crunchy to the bite.

Original recipe: Sucette de foie gras façon pomme d'amour

Prosciutto Wrapped Roasted Figs
4 persons
4 fig
4 tsp feta cheese
4 Prosciutto slice
Black sesame seed

Preheat the oven 225°C.
Quarter figs, cutting three-quarters of the way down. Stuff the figs with feta cheese. Roast in an oven 12 minutes, until softened and golden brown. Sprinkle some black sesame seed on top of figs.

For the drinks the perfect choise is champagne. This time it was excellent Champagne Ayala Cuvée Perle d’Ayala Millésimé Brut 2006.

Squid Ink Tortellini

I have eaten squid ink risotto few times in my life and I like the taste a lot. But I have never tried squid ink pasta before. And since the dinner included beluga lentils in main dish, which look bit like rice, I chose pasta with the squid ink. For the filling I wanted autumn season ingredients, and what could be better than beetroots. My this years autumn favourite vegetable.

For the sauce I made brown butter. Simple, elegant flavor and yet robust. The tortellini should be the start of the dish, and that's why the is no complex sauce to this.

Squid Ink pasta
Pasta dough
325 ml all-purpose flour or preferably Tipo ‘00’ flour
2 eggs
1 tbsp squid ink
1tsp salt
Cold water if needed
Filling
1 large beetroot
1 tbsp feta or ricotta cheese
salt & black pepper to taste

Start with the filling. Roast the beetroot in an oven 200 C 1 hour or until tender. Let it cool.
Grate finely and add cheese into the beets. Season. Set aside.

Place the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add salt and crack the eggs and squid ink into it. Beat the eggs and ink with a fork until smooth. Mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. Add water if needed. Knead the dough until silky and firm.
Wrap the dough into the plastic wrap and let it rest in a fridge, at least half an hour.
Roll, using pasta maker, for thin sheets and cut circles using a large cookie cutter. Scoop filling onto the center of the pasta and pinch the edges to seal. Pinch finally the corners together.
Boil in a salted water until al dente, approx. 1,5-2 minutes.

Serve with brown butter and deep-fried beets

For the wine our friends bring Pfaff Pinot Blanc 2013, and that went nicely with the dish.