These one-bite spring canapés are perfect for a spring or summer celebration and make a truly gorgeous showing on an appetizer tray! They use olive tapenade or herb cream cheese as the base for irresistible, colorful little gardens of roses and veggies. All the components can be prepared ahead of time and quickly assembled before your party!
Spring Canapés
Ingredients
For the tapenade
- ½ cup kalamata olives – pitted
For the dill spread
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the chive cream cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the canapés – all
- 1 loaf white bread
- 4 ounces chive cream cheese
- A few radishes – small to medium, sliced and then cut into strips
- A few yellow cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
- A few slices English cucumber, cut into strips
- A few more slices English cucumber, cut into quarters
- Fresh dill, cut into small sprigs
- Fresh thyme, sprouts, or pea shoots, cut into small sprigs
- Fresh chives, cut to 1.5” length pieces
- A few slices prosciutto, sliced into quarters
Preparation
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1. First, make your bread base. Use a cookie cutter to cut perfect squares or circles out of each slice without the crusts. I used a square 1.5” cookie cutter for this recipe. You’ll want to cut 18 perfect little pieces. Toast for 8-10 minutes at 250°F. You want them to be dried out a bit so they’re a little crunchy. Then, assemble each canapé below.
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2. Make your olive tapenade. In a food processor, simply add the pitted kalamata olives and process for about 10-15 seconds. You don’t want it to be a consistency of pâté, it’s nice when it has a bit of texture.
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3. Make your dill cream cheese. In a food processor, blend the cheese with the butter, mustard, lemon juice, and the dill. Blend until the dill is very finely chopped and the mixture is very smooth. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper.
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4. Make your chive cream cheese. In a food processor, blend the cheese with the chives. Blend until the chives are very finely chopped and the mixture is very smooth. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper.
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5. Chop your ingredients. For the radishes and cucumbers, slice first and then cut into strips. You'll also want thinly sliced quartered cucumbers. Half and then quarter your cherry tomatoes. The proscuitto slices will be cut into quarters. Cut the chives into 1.5” pieces. Lastly, prepare sprigs of dill and thyme to have ready to assemble.
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6. Create your cucumber dill canapés. Add a layer of dill cream cheese onto 6 toasts with a small knife. Top them carefully with 3 cucumber quarters and a sprig of dill.
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7. Create your tomato tapeade canapés. Add a layer of tapenade to 6 toasts with a small knife. Top them with two tomatoes, two radish strips, one cucumber strip, and a small chive.
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8. Make your prosciutto rose canapés. Add a layer of chive cream cheese to 6 toasts with a small knife. Cut the proscuitto slices into quarter and then a quarter, fold it in half lengthwise, and simply roll to create a rose. Place it in the center of the bread and cream cheese – the cream cheese will hold it in place. Add a sprig of thyme to the side of the rose by pressing it into the cream cheese.
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9. Line all canapés up on your tray and serve.
Your cheat sheet for assembly:
Cucumber Dill Canapés
- Dill cream cheese
- Three cucumber quarters
- Top with a dill sprig
Tomato Tapenade Canapés
- Olive tapenade
- Two quartered tomatoes
- Two sliced radishes and a cucumber
- Top with a cut chive
Proscuitto Rose Canapés
- Chive cream cheese
- Prosciutto, rolled into a rose shape
- Thyme or other garnish on the side
Prepping for a party? More of my one-bite appetizers can be found here and here.
Bon Appétit!
xx—BB
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