Cooking Tips & Advice, Recipes

Ottolenghi Finger Food Recipes

Ottolenghi finger food for home

Ottolenghi finger food has become a staple in our dining experiences, whether it be at a party or a casual get-together.

The popularity of any bite-sized snack can be attributed to its convenience, variety, social aspect and portion control.

Read on to delve into the world of finger food and explore how it has been elevated to an art form by the one and only, Ottolenghi.

Get ready to discover a whole new world of delicious and innovative bite-sized delights.

Top 10 Ottolenghi Finger Food Recipes

1. Crab on toast with lime, cumin, and pickled samphire

This recipe is for a dish of crab toast with samphire pickle and lime. The samphire is pickled with lime juice, lime peel, garlic and cumin, and the crab is combined with soured cream, lime zest, cumin, and salt.

The toast is rubbed with garlic and drizzled with oil, then topped with the pickled samphire, crab, salt, and more cumin. The dish is served with lime wedges on the side.

It’s easy to eat, flavorful and perfect for a social gathering or party.

To upgrade the dish to the perfect Ottolenghi finger food, you can find places to shop that sell bread like baguettes, to make multiple smaller portions.

2. Devilled eggs with tangerine rayu

This recipe is for a dish of rayu devilled eggs. It’s a decadent upgrade to the classic Australian devilled eggs you’d be used to with curry powder.

The rayu is made by sautéing spring onions, ginger, garlic, and salt, then adding chilli oil, sesame seeds, and other spices.

The hard-boiled egg yolks are mashed with the rayu solids, mayonnaise, and salt to make a filling.

The filling is then piped into the egg whites and topped with rayu, vinegar, chives, sesame seeds, and salt.

As a finger food, this dish is easy to eat, flavourful, and perfect for a social gathering or party.

3. Polenta crisps with avocado and yoghurt

The finished product of this recipe is polenta crisps served with a dipping sauce. It’s going to be a hit at your next Ottolenghi dinner party.

The polenta is cooked and spread out thinly, then cut into rough pieces and coated in semolina.

These pieces are fried until golden brown and served hot with a dipping sauce made by blending ingredients in a food processor.

This dish is ideal for a finger food option as it’s easy to eat on-the-go. Though, it’s unlikely anyone will want to leave this one unattended.

4. Crispy cheese and mustard cauliflower bites

These Cauliflower Bites are crispy and cheesy snacks made from battered and fried cauliflower florets.

To make the bites, beat eggs, egg yolks and mustard in a bowl until smooth.

In another bowl, mix panko, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to form the coating.

Dip each cauliflower floret in the egg mixture then into the panko mixture to coat well. Heat sunflower oil in a pan and fry the coated florets in batches until golden brown and crispy, around 5 minutes per batch.

Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in the oven.

Serve hot, topped with salt and grated parmesan cheese, with extra mustard for dipping. Perfect as a finger food or appetizer!

5. Smoked haddock and oyster quiches

This recipe is for a delicious and flavourful oyster quiche, made with a crispy tart shell and a rich and creamy filling. It’s moreish, so you can always adjust this recipe to make more portions at smaller sizes.

To start, a bowl of diced sweet potatoes is mixed with oil, salt, and pepper before being roasted until browned and slightly crispy. This sweet potato mash is then mixed with maple syrup for a touch of sweetness.

Next, the filling for the quiche is prepared by sautéing leeks in a pan with salt and pepper and poaching haddock in a mixture of milk, peppercorns, and bay leaves.

The haddock is then broken into pieces and mixed with the leeks, while the tart shells are made from a flaky pastry dough that is rolled out and cut into circles before being blind-baked in the oven.

Once the tart shells are ready, the sweet potato mash is spooned into the bottom of each shell, followed by the oyster halves and haddock and leek mixture.

A mixture of eggs, cream, mustard, lemon zest, tarragon, salt, and pepper is then poured over the top to create the creamy filling, before being baked in the oven until set.

This oyster quiche is perfect for serving as a savoury finger food, ideal for a brunch, a light lunch, or a stylish Ottolenghi dinner party recipe.

The combination of sweet and salty flavours, combined with the crispy tart shells and creamy filling, make for a truly delectable experience for any foodie.

6. Everything Cheesers

This recipe makes cheese biscuits perfect for finger food, which can be enjoyed on their own or with chutney.

The biscuits are made by combining cheese, butter, spices, flour, and pine nuts into the dough, rolling into logs, refrigerating, coating with a mixture of spices, and baking.

The finished product can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The logs can also be frozen for up to a month before slicing and baking. Making finger food ahead of time gives you more time to entertain and enjoy the company of your friends!

7. Smoked aubergine & yoghurt vol-au-vents

These tangy and delicious vol-au-vents are the perfect finger food to tide you over until the main meal.

The creamy yoghurt and smoky aubergine filling make a delightful contrast in both flavour and temperature.

The key to this one is to make sure to prepare the yoghurt the day before (and you can even make the pastry cases a day in advance as well).

Char the aubergine either over an open flame or under a hot grill, and fill the pre-baked pastry cases with the warm mixture.

Top with pomegranate, black sesame seeds, and a drizzle of olive oil for tasty and convenient finger food that’s sure to impress.

8. Potato spirals with tomato salsa and creme fraiche

This recipe results in a crispy, tasty finger food made from a mixture of mashed potatoes, cheese, and polenta – yum!

The potatoes are cooked in the oven until soft and then mashed with the other ingredients to create a play-dough-like consistency.

The mixture is then rolled out into a thin rectangle and baked until the bottom is golden brown.

Once cooled, the baked mixture is tightly rolled and cut into bite-sized pieces, perfect for snacking or serving as an appetiser.

The potato spirals are delicious on their own or can be paired with a flavorful salsa and creamy creme fraiche.

Serve at your next gathering or as a fun twist on traditional potato dishes.

These potato spirals make a great addition to any event as they are easy to grab and eat, with no utensils required!

9. Sweet tahini rolls

These kubez el tahineh are a type of roll originating from Lebanon and Armenia.

They are simple to make, yet attractive in appearance and a popular choice among all, especially the little ones.

They can be eaten as is or spread with a mixture of tahini and grape or date molasses, similar to peanut butter and jam.

The rolls are made with a dough of yeast, flour, milk, butter, and egg, and filled with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

After the dough has risen and been rolled out, it is spread with tahini and sprinkled with the sugar mixture before being rolled up and sliced into pieces.

The pieces are then flattened into circles, rested, and baked until golden.

Serve the rolls once they have cooled, then watch them disappear from the serving plate!

10. Mackerel paté with curried onions and lemon

Mackerel paté with curried onions and lemon is a finger food dish made by combining mackerel, creme fraiche, horseradish, spring onions, lemon zest and juice with a mixture of curried onions and butter.

To make the curried onion butter, cook sliced onions with oil, butter, curry powder and salt until soft.

Chill the mixture until semi-solid. In a separate bowl, mix mackerel with creme fraiche, horseradish, pepper, lemon zest and juice and salt.

For the topping, mix chilli, chopped lemon flesh, olive oil, and salt.

To serve, spread a thin layer of the curried onion butter on toast, top with mounds of the mackerel paté mixture, and sprinkle with spring onion greens and the chilli and lemon mixture.

It’s sure to be a winner. You can find places to shop for smaller pieces of bread to adjust serving sizes or let guests fight over seconds!

11. Soy grilled quail eggs with sesame salt

The Ottolenghi finger food is a dish of marinated and grilled eggs, which have a sweet, smoky flavour from the combination of soy, oil and toasted sesame seeds.

The eggs are boiled for 2-3 minutes, then marinated in the soy and oil mixture for 30 minutes.

Then they’re then placed on a hot griddle pan and grilled for 20 seconds on each side to get char marks.

The eggs are served warm or at room temperature on wooden skewers, with a side of sesame salt for dipping. The dish is a delicious and easy-to-prepare snack. Though… the ingredients may be a little hard to come by!

12. Smoked haddock brandade cakes with lime yoghurt

Ottolenghi’s fishcake is great finger food. It’s appeal lies in its contrast of fluffy cake with a crunchy crust.

The fishcake is made by poaching haddock in hot milk, adding mashed potatoes and herbs, and then forming it into quenelles or balls.

The quenelles are then coated in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs and fried until golden brown.

The dish can be served with yoghurt and lime sauce and an extra wedge of lime for presentation and fresh zest.

Tips to help make your Ottolenghi finger food

When making your Ottolenghi finger food, it’s important to plan ahead of time. A lot of these recipes can be a bit tricky if it’s your first go, so practice!

Some more tips to make your snacks include:

Start with fresh and high-quality ingredients
Experiment with different spices, herbs and sauces to add bold flavours
Don’t be afraid to mix and match different cuisines and ingredients
Pay attention to texture contrasts, such as a crispy exterior and a soft interior
Use simple cooking techniques like grilling, roasting or pan-frying to bring out the natural flavours
Present the finger foods attractively, and consider serving with dipping sauces or garnishes
Consider the size of the food, as well as the portion size for easy eating
Make extra to ensure there’s enough for everyone, as these finger foods are often popular and go quickly!