Monte Carlo Canapé Ideas
A selection of eight Monte Carlo canapés, featuring meat, seafood, and vegetarian options.
Ingredients
- unsalted butter
1. Mini Croque Monsieur
- brioche
- mayonnaise
- Gruyère cheese or semi-hard cheese of your choice
- honey-roasted ham
- truffle paste or oil
2. Duck Pâté with Onion Chutney and Fig
- walnut bread or rich bread with seeds
- duck pâté or high-quality chicken pâté
- red onion chutney or plain onion chutney or jam
- figs green skinned
3. Sausage with Tapenade
- baguette
- tapenade black olive spread
- sausages any type for grilling or frying
4. Salmon Mousse & Cucumber
- white bread
- salmon mousse or salmon pate/paste
- cucumber
- lemon juice
5. Prawn and Spicy Pepper Cream
- wholegrain bread
- cooked prawns or crayfish, langoustines, lobster
- mayonnaise
- green bell pepper
- green chilli pepper
- caviar or lumpfish roe
6. Smoked Salmon with Garlic Cream Cheese
- wholegrain bread or rye bread
- smoked salmon
- cream cheese e.g. Philadelphia or Boursin cheese with garlic
- garlic paste or finely chopped
- caviar
7. Salmon and Asparagus Spoon Canapé
- salmon fillet
- asparagus tips
- Hollandaise sauce homemade or ready made
- lemon juice
Brie and apricot jam
- white bread
- Brie or Comte cheese
- apricot jam or peach jam
- lemon zest
Instructions
- Bread Preparation: Choose the bread type to suit each canapé: brioche or white for toasties, wholegrain or rye for seafood and pâté, and baguette or walnut bread for richer toppings.
- If you're making open canapés, cut the bread into circles using a cutter. For toast-style canapés, prepare full sandwiches first, then cut into small squares or rounds after toasting.
- Always spread a thin layer of butter on the bread before adding any topping. This keeps the bread from getting soggy and helps the ingredients stay in place.
1. MINI CROQUE MONSIEUR WITH TRUFFLE
- Butter both sides of brioche bread, add mayo on one side, and layer with ham and Gruyère slice.
- Toast until golden, trim off the crusts, then cut into small squares.
- Top with one slice of cheese. Grill until cheese melts, a few minutes is enough.
- Add a tiny amount of truffle paste on top
2. DUCK PATE WITH RED ONION CHUTNEY AND FIG
- Slice the fig, then briefly toast or grill the slices until lightly caramelised.
- Spread a thick layer of duck pâté on buttered rye or walnut bread. Add red onion chutney and a slice of caramelised fig.
3. SAUSAGE WITH TAPENADE
- Grill or fry sausages, let them cool, and slice.
- Spread olive tapenade on buttered baguette slices, then top with sausage.
4. SALMON MOUSSE WITH CUCUMBER
- Spread salmon mousse on buttered white bread.
- Add a slice of cucumber and a few drops of lemon juice.
5. PRAWN AND SPICY PEPPER CREAM
- Blend green pepper and chilli with a little bit of water.
- Mix it with mayonnaise and add a few drops of lime juice.
- Spread on buttered wholegrain bread, then top with a prawn and a little caviar.
6. SMOKED SALMON WITH GARLIC CREAM CHEESE
- Use plain cream cheese mixed with lightly sautéed garlic paste, or skip that step and use a garlic cheese spread like Boursin.
- Spread on buttered wholegrain bread, top with smoked salmon, caviar, and lemon juice.
7. SALMON AND ASPARAGUS SPOON CANAPE
- Poach the salmon steak for about 5–6 minutes, then let it cool, remove the skin and flake into small pieces. Check for any bones. Steam the asparagus tips for 2–3 minutes until just tender.
- Use plastic canapé spoons. Fill each with Hollandaise sauce, poached salmon, and asparagus tips. Finish with a few drops of lemon juice.
8. BRIE AND APRICOT JAM MINI TOAST
- Spread apricot jam on one slice of bread and add a little lemon zest. Place a slice of Brie on the second slice, then close the sandwich.
- Toast for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts. Cut into small rounds or squares.
Notes
Since this recipe doesn’t include set quantities, calorie content will vary depending on the ingredients and portion sizes you use. As a general guide, the simpler canapés with a single slice of bread and lighter toppings are roughly 75 calories each. The richer ones, such as mini toasties made with two slices of bread or open canapés with heavier ingredients like pâté, cheese, or sausage, can range up to about 100 calories per piece.
Here's an approximate calorie estimate per piece, assuming a 6–7 cm round or square bread slice:
- Croque Monsieur with Truffle ~110 kcal
- Duck Pâté with Caramelised Onion and Fig ~95 kcal
- Salmon Mousse with Cucumber ~75 kcal
- Salmon and Asparagus Spoon Canapé ~65 kcal
- Sausage with Olive Tapenade ~100 kcal
- Shrimp with Spicy Mayo and Caviar ~85 kcal
- Melted Cheese with Plum Jam ~105 kcal
- Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese and Garlic ~90 kcal
