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Notting Hill Carnival was on the weekend which is one of my favourite things about London. There is nothing like Carnival back at home in Australia – 2 days of awesome street parades, crazy sound stages around Notting Hill, and all sorts of people partying in the streets. It’s the biggest street party in Europe and the second biggest in the world after the annual Mardi Gras in Rio.

We live on the parade route so hosted a small gathering as we could view the parade from the top! This meant I could do a bit of cooking for our guests, so our day was pretty much full of food!

My favourites were the caprese bites, the reggae reggae nachos and quesadillas, chilli haloumi, and of course the brownies!

Caprese bites

These are super easy, yet super tasty. They are simply a caprese salad in one bite!

• mini bocconcini balls (or mozzarella)
• cherry tomatoes
• fresh basil leaves
• freshly ground black pepper
• balsamic vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil (optional)

1. Chop each of the mini bocconcini balls and cherry tomatoes in half.
2. Thread a piece of tomato, a basil leaf (folded if they are big) and a piece of bocconcini onto a cocktail stick.
3. Repeat until you have used all of them up.
4. Arrange in a bowl and drizzle over some balsamic vinegar and a grind of some black pepper.

This was round one before I drizzled the balsamic – they taste good both ways though!

Reggae Reggae Nachos

Reggae Reggae sauce is awesome! We no longer keep plain tomato sauce or ketchup in our kitchen anymore – just reggae reggae! I saw this recipe in the August edition of BBC Good Food and it’s also on their website at BBC Good Food online.

I figured it was pretty easy to take some of the same ingredients and make Reggae Reggae Quesadillas. 

• Wholemeal tortillas
• Reggae Reggae Fiery Guava dipping sauce
• mozzarella cheese, grated

1. Spread one tortilla with the reggae reggae guava sauce, top with cheese and another tortilla.
2. Heat a little chilli oil in a non-stick frypan, slide the tortilla on and brown on one side then flip and brown the other. The cheese will be melted and the tortillas will be stuck together.
3. Slice into wedges and serve.

Chilli Haloumi

This is one of the easiest party snacks I know of. It’s a staple of ours whenever we entertain and always a hit! I get a stack of compliments with these babies so give em a go!

Slice a block of haloumi cheese (I use haloumi lite) and place in a dry non-stick frypan. They will sizzle and the juices will flow out, so move them around a little and make sure they don’t stick. Brown on both sides and cut into bite sized pieces while they cook.

Meanwhile finely chop 2 red chillies and mix with some olive oil. Up to you how much, but enough to be able to drizzle over the haloumi. I like to use chilli-infused olive oil so it’s got an extra kick!

Mix through the haloumi and serve with cocktail sticks so your guests don’t burn their fingers.

Sweet potato falafels

I got the idea for these from Leon – they are super tasty in their wraps so I thought they would make a good finger food. I made them the day before the carnival and heated them up on the day so I think they dried out a tad, but were still tasty. We dipped them in tzatiki but I think aioli would have been better.

I used the fab Leon cookbook, but the recipe is available on The Guardian’s website.

Hummingbird Brownies

The recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook is the best one I have tried. And believe me, I have tried many! They always come out moist and fudgy – just the way I like em!

Ingredients for 12 big, or more smaller pieces:

• 200g dark chocolate, broken up into small pieces
• 175g unsalted butter
• 325g caster sugar
• 130g plain flour
• 3 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 170c, Gas Mark 3.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until thoroughly melted, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
3. Add the sugar and stir until well incorporated, then add the flour and do the same.
4. Stir in the eggs until thick and smooth.
5. Pour into a baking tray (I have a proper brownie tray, but Hummingbird recommends a 33cmx23cmx5cm tray) and bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until they are flaky on top but still soft in the centre.
6. Leave to cool completely before attempting to turn them out, otherwise they will break and you will end up eating all the broken pieces! Cut into small pieces when cool

Veggie Frittata

I have made this up based on a bunch of recipes. You can pretty much use any veggies you have to hand. I used:

• 6 eggs
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 red chillies, chopped
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 courgette (zucchini), sliced thinly
• 1 carrot, sliced thinly
• 1 red pepper (capsicum), sliced thinly
• a small handful of fresh parsley
• olive oil
• cheddar cheese, grated

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the garlic, chilli and onion and soften
2. Add the courgette, carrot, pepper and cook until golden. Add the parsley and mix through
3. Beat the eggs and season with some salt and pepper. Add to the pan and cook, moving the egg around until the base is set.
4. Sprinkle some cheese on top and then slide under a hot grill until puffed and golden.
5. Allow to cool and then cut into bite sized pieces. You can serve hot or cold depending on what you prefer.

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