Simple canapé ideas

One of my big joys in life is hosting dinner and drinks parties. On Friday I had a very small drinks and canapés party for two of my friends and I made various things to eat. Two of these turned out to be most successful, and I thought I would share them as they are simple and effective (perfect drinks party fare as far as I'm concerned!):

Figs wrapped in prosciutto (serves 3)

6 figs
6 slices of prosciutto
squeezy honey
balsamic vinegar

1. Chop the very top of each fig and cut a deep (but not to the bottom) cross into the middle of the open top.
2. Wrap each fig with the prosciutto (this is surprisingly fiddly, as the meat is rather wet feeling so it sort of sticks to the next slice; try not to get the prosciutto to squidged together!) and place onto a non-stick baking tray.
3. Open the cross up slightly and squeeze a blob of runny honey into it and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
4. Cook in a hot oven (200 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until fizzing and oozing!

Asparagus spears wrapped in prosciutto (serves 3)

9 asparagus spears
5 slices of prosciutto

1. Snap the ends of each asparagus spear, and discard any woody ends.
2. Carefully cut each slice of prosciutto into half (again, as above, this is surprisingly fiddly, so I would suggest you use good kitchen scissors and a will of iron!).
3. Wrap each asparagus spear in half a slice of prosciutto; you can do this is any way you like, but I find it best when I wrap it length ways, like a duvet cover, or round and round like a spiral.
4. Lay each spear onto a non-stick baking tray (I just put them on the same one as the one with the wrapped figs).
5. Cook in a hot oven (200 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until you want to eat them!

Optional serving choice: these go particularly well with a cold, fizzy prosecco; Italian all the way!