An Elegant Egg Appetizer For Your Holiday Lunch | Desi~licious RD
On the hunt for something different for your holiday lunch? Take eggs to the next level with this edible holiday wreath centrepiece. It’s an easy make-ahead cold appetizer that’s colourfully delicious and assembled rather quickly. Perfectly boiled eggs, sweet cherry tomatoes, pickled pepperoncini peppers, crunchy cubes of cucumber and black olives skewered on knotted picks placed on a bed of fragrant rosemary and scattered sage leaves — it’s a showstopper!
This post was sponsored by the American Egg Board’s Egg Nutrition Center. As always, all opinions are my own.
The holidays are right around the corner, and if you’re like me, you may be wondering how on earth you’re going to celebrate this year. We typically have been hosting or gathering with friends for as long as I can remember. And although many of us will be spending the holiday period ‘at a distance’ from family and friends, I do think it’s an opportunity to embrace this reality, bring comfort and replicate our dining celebrations with a beautiful holiday feast. So, Mr. D. and I have pledged that the Devje crew will not sulk, and our festive feast will not be put on hold.
As the crowds begin to hit the supermarkets, it’s tempting to get a head start and overstock your fridge and pantry. I’ll be the first to admit it; those sweet and delicious tomatoes easily lure me piled high in baskets. I mean, who hasn’t been bamboozled by the stunning images of festive foods that compel us to buy a humongous amount of seasonal produce — only to have it rot away in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Whether it’s during the holidays or not, reducing food waste starts with the obvious: shifting our mindset and practices in our kitchens. The good news is that you can take plenty of easy steps to strive towards a more green kitchen. For example, take stock of the ingredients in your refrigerator and use items before they pass their time. I’ve found it especially helpful to designate one day in the week monitoring how much we’re throwing out. It’s a great way to plan delicious meals around the ingredients we have on-hand while taking note of what to buy less or even freeze. Similarly, having access to easy and tasty recipes that put veggies to work can help prevent food from going to the landfill.
Eggs provide a unique fix to reducing household waste because they combine easily with other foods. Sometimes fruits and vegetables are still acceptable to consume — past their “prime” time. Instead of tossing your veggies in the garbage, match them with eggs and #honortheharvest. And if you’re stuck for recipe ideas, here are four versatile, fast and affordable egg pairings you’ll love. Don’t forget, if your produce is rotten, it is unsafe to eat, and you should discard it.
Festive Finger Foods To Add To Your Holiday Lunch
This egg recipe is the ideal savoury, elegant holiday appetizer to tantalize your taste buds before your main course. And what a stunning first impression of your holiday meal. With plenty of indulgent holiday foods on the menu, eggs offer an opportunity to include more nutrient-dense foods. Of course, eggs cook in minutes and can be prepared ahead of time to fit your hectic holiday schedule.
Eggs are:
- A good source of high-quality protein.
- An excellent or good source of eight essential nutrients, making them a perfect complement to any eating pattern, including Mediterranean, DASH, low-carb, and plant-based.
- Easy to love at any age and any meal.
- An easy choice if you’re following a plant-based diet because they pair well with vegetables, which many of us often don’t eat enough.
How to Make a Holiday Wreath With Boiled Eggs?
What You Need For The Edible Holiday Wreath:
- 16-inch lazy Susan or plate
- Sixteen 5.5-inch skewers
- Fresh rosemary sprigs ~120 g
- Fresh sage ~8 large leaves
Ingredients For The Skewers:
- Eight perfectly boiled eggs (large size)
- Sixteen pickled pepperoncini peppers. You could also use a bell pepper if you wish to avoid the heat of the pepperoncini pepper
- Sixteen cherry tomatoes
- Half a cucumber – cut into cubes
- Sixteen large pitted black olives
How To Assemble:
- Peel and cut the boiled eggs widthwise (Image 1)
- Cut half the cucumber into mouth-friendly cubes. Prepare and gather the remaining ingredients (Images 2-3).
- Arrange sprigs of rosemary around the edge of your plate in a circular fashion. You want to layer them on top of one another and place some sprigs pointing outwards to create a wreath’s look (Images 4-6).
- Scatter sage leaves along the outer edge of your plate on top of the sprigs of rosemary (Image 7).
- Thread one pickled pepper onto the skewer, followed by one egg half, a cherry tomato, cucumber, and finish with olive. Repeat the process with the remaining 15 skewers (Image 8).
- Carefully place the skewers on the plate, circularly arranging them to create your edible holiday wreath (Images 9-10).
Top Tips For Your Festive Recipe:
- Use perfectly boiled eggs that are easy to peel. Everyone’s technique differs slightly. I add eggs to already boiling water (fully submerged) and boil for 8.5 minutes. I use a timer on my stovetop. Once cooked, I immediately discard the hot water and rinse the eggs under running cold tap water. I actually do this several times to prevent any further cooking. The eggs are peeled straight after.
- Don’t forget to squeeze out any excess vinegar from the pepperoncini peppers before threading them.
- Make sure the tomatoes and cucumber are dry before threading.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the boiled eggs perfectly. Handle them carefully.
- When threading the boiled egg half onto the skewer, make sure you pierce near the centre; otherwise, it will not hold properly. Always support the skewered egg half with your fingers as you continue threading the remaining ingredients.
- Opt for the freshest herbs and ingredients as this will impact the look, taste and texture of your appetizer centrepiece.
- To achieve a consistent design for your holiday wreath, ensure all the ingredients are threaded the same way.
- The skewers can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator; however, the herbs’ arrangement and creating the wreath should be done on the day of serving. You want the herbs to look fresh and not wilted. The arrangement takes about 5 minutes.
How To Preserve Leftover Herbs And Avoid Food Waste
Wondering what to do with the leftover rosemary and sage? I like to dry them in the oven and store in an airtight container, and use them in all sorts of recipes. It’s the perfect way to reduce food waste, and they last for months.
To dry your herbs, simply preheat the oven to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, spread the leftover herbs onto a baking tray – lined with parchment paper. Send to bake for a couple of hours; however, make sure you check on them regularly. Once completely dried, remove and store.
More Elegant Appetizers You May Like:
- Beetroot Salad Recipe (Poriyal)
- Spicy Herb Avocado Dip
- Tofu Chutney With Dill
- Filo Cups With Apple-Cranberry Salsa
What’s one holiday dish you simply can’t live without? Share in the comment section below!
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment, rate it, or share a photo and hashtag with #desiliciousrd on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Can’t wait to see your photos.
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An Elegant Egg Appetizer For Your Holiday Lunch | Desi~licious RD
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Ingredients
- 8 boiled eggs medium-sized
- ½ cucumber washed, dried and cut into mouth-friendly pieces
- 16 cherry tomatoes washed and dried
- 16 black olives canned
- 16 pepperoncini peppers pickled in vinegar, drained
Instructions
-
Peel and cut the boiled eggs widthwise
-
Prepare and gather the remaining ingredients
-
Arrange sprigs of rosemary around the edge of your plate in a circular fashion. You want to layer them on top of one another and place some sprigs pointing outwards to create a wreath's look
-
Scatter sage leaves along the outer edge of your plate on top of the sprigs of rosemary
-
Thread one pickled pepper onto the skewer, followed by one egg half, a cherry tomato, cucumber, and finish with olive. Repeat the process with the remaining 15 skewers.
-
Carefully place the skewers on the plate, circularly arranging them to create your edible holiday wreath.
Notes
- Use perfectly boiled eggs that are easy to peel. Everyone’s technique differs slightly. I add eggs to already boiling water (fully submerged) and boil for 8.5 minutes. I use a timer on my stovetop. Once cooked, I immediately discard the hot water and rinse the eggs under running cold tap water. I actually do this several times to prevent any further cooking. The eggs are peeled straight after.
- Don’t forget to squeeze out any excess vinegar from the pepperoncini peppers before threading them.
- Make sure the tomatoes and cucumber are dry before threading.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the boiled eggs perfectly. Handle them carefully.
- When threading the boiled egg half onto the skewer, make sure you pierce near the centre; otherwise, it will not hold properly. Always support the skewered egg half with your fingers as you continue threading the remaining ingredients.
- Opt for the freshest herbs and ingredients as this will impact the look, taste and texture of your holiday lunch appetizer centrepiece.
- To achieve a consistent design for your holiday wreath, ensure all the ingredients are threaded the same way.
- The skewers can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator; however, the herbs’ arrangement and creating the wreath should be done on the day of serving. You want the herbs to look fresh and not wilted. The arrangement takes about 5 minutes.
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