1. Tartlets with curd cheese, red fish and caviar
Legion Media
Cute little baskets made of shortcrust pastry always look better than regular sandwiches, and are more suitable for festive get-togethers.
How to prepare: Fill pastry baskets (16 pcs) with curd cheese (140 g). Thinly slice trout or salmon (50 g), make into a roll or rose shape, and place in each basket. Fill the remaining space with red caviar (50 g). Garnish with a sprig of parsley.
2. Eggs stuffed with mushrooms
Legion Media
This appetizer captures the taste buds with its unusual combination of yolk and fried mushrooms. Fact: not all guests will guess what it’s made of.
How to prepare: Hard-boil eggs (10 pcs), cool and gently peel so that the egg-white retains its shape. Chop mushrooms (300 g) and onions (1 pc), fry in a pan, add salt and pepper, and mix. Cut the eggs in half, remove the yolks and mash with a fork. Stir the yolks with the mushrooms and onions, add mayonnaise (150-200 g), and mix everything thoroughly. Fill the egg-white halves with the filling. Decorate with herbs or caviar on top as desired.
3. Tomatoes with cheese and garlic
Legion Media
This is one of the quickest and most popular snacks from Soviet times. Despite its simplicity, the bright tomatoes make it an eye-catcher on the table.
How to prepare: Wash large tomatoes (4 pcs) and cut into rings 1 cm thick. Grate cheese (200 g) with garlic (2 cloves), add salt, and mix with mayonnaise (150 g). Lay the cheese mass on the tomatoes, and add herbs on top.
4. Bread with herring and pickled cucumber
Legion Media
This appetizer is a version of "herring under a fur coat" salad for those who don’t like beetroot. It goes down well with a stiff drink.
How to prepare: Cut rye bread (200 g) into 2 cm-thick rectangular slices. Hard-boil eggs (2 pcs), cool, peel and cut into rings or half-rings. Slice pickled cucumbers (2 pcs) into circles, peel the herring (200 g), and cut into pieces the same size as the bread. Spread butter (20–50 g) on the bread, and put an egg ring, cucumber and herring on top. Decorate with parsley. Can be held in place with a skewer.
5. Eggplant rolls with cheese and walnuts
Legion Media
Almost any filling can be wrapped in eggplant, so if you’re missing some ingredients from the recipe below, feel free to improvise.
How to prepare: Select eggplants (2 pcs) as straight as possible, rinse, cut off the top, and peel. Cut into thin layers less than 1 cm thick, sprinkle generously with salt, leave for 20 minutes, then rinse off the salt (to make less bitter). Dry the eggplants, add pepper, and fry in a little vegetable oil. For the filling, chop parsley, walnuts (40 g) and a clove of garlic, add cream cheese (150 g), season with salt, and stir. Place the eggplants on a paper towel to drain off excess oil, and allow to cool. Spread the cheese mass on the eggplant, and make into a roll. Skewer if necessary.