Saturday Afternoon Platter - Roasted Chilli and Basil Bocconcini

How is your Saturday? Mine has gone super quickly. I pottered and cleaned and suddenly it was 2 o'clock and time to get Mr 4 ready for a birthday party. Which is my excuse for why my afternoon platter has jumped into the evening snack category, and actually 'X-Men Origins - Wolverine' is on TV so I may get distracted by Hugh Jackman......This could end up being a midnight snack post 😉

This recipe is based on an old Jamie Oliver recipe, one I saw him make on TV somewhere back at the turn of the century. That makes me feel old!!!!

(How sweet is the tiny basil leaf below???)

The chillies are roasted until black and then the skin is stripped off to revel the sweetened spicy flesh. You can pick any chillies you like. Thin spicy bird eye ones, the killer spicy ghost chillies, the hot jalapeño, rich cayenne chilles or the medium and fragrant poblano chilli. Mix, match and make it how you like it.

Tonight we unintentionally played a bit of a chilli roulette! I bought three cayenne chillies (red, green and orange) and a white paprika chilli (which was more yellow than white!) None of which are super hot, I wanted some spice and some sweetness. Well one of those chillies packed a super punch!!! Stew managed 4 attempts before he hit a spicy one, I got hit on the first bite. Still not sure which chilli scupper my spice plans, but it certainly made the dish exciting.

The hot chilli is the perfect foil for the milky mild bocconcini balls. Add some peppery olive oil, plenty of fresh basil and a sprinkle of salt and you have a perfect platter for serving with crisp ciabatta slices.

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Saturday Afternoon Platter - Roasted Chilli and Basil Bocconcini

Roasted Chilli and Basil Bocconcini. A great appetiser or sharing platter.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time20 mins

Servings: 4 -6

Author: Claire | Sprinkle and Sprouts

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Ingredients

• 2-4 chillies (the variety is up to you)
• 440 g bocconcini balls (this is 2 pots if you are buying them from the supermarket)
• handful basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt

Instructions

• Prick the chillies a couple of times with the point of a knife.
• Then place them directly onto the burner. If you don't have a gas hob then you can put them on the barbecue or under a super hot grill.
• Allow the chillies to blacken and blister, rearranging them and turning them until they are completely black.
• Place the chillies into a small bowl and cover with cling film.
• Leave the chillies to steam and cool for 5 minutes.
• Then carefully pull the skin off. Don't try and wash it off as you will get rid of the beautiful sweet charred flavour.
• Cut the chillies open and remove the seeds, then cut the chillies into long thin strips.
• Cut each bocconcini ball into 3 slices and arrange over a platter or plate.
• Arrange the chilli strips over the bocconcini, sprinkle over the basil and drizzle with a generous amount olive oil.
• Season with salt and serve with some crisp bread.

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