Sesame Potato Cake Canapes with Smoked Salmon

Ok, so I have been watching Masterchef Australia again and last week the contestants had to cater for a wedding and one of the dishes was potato cake canapes and I thought…mm that would be nice as a Christmas pre dinner nibble so no sooner the thought and I’m at the shops buying the indredients. They don’t offer recipes on Masterchef so you have to go with your own but how hard could potoato cakes be? I decided it would be nice to use some sesame seeds as well for flavour and I added baby leeks instead of spring onions. They made the perfect canape but also the next day I had enough left to have with breakfast topped with poached eggs and smoked salmon. So they are very versatile and easy to make into various dishes; canapes, breakfast or to accompany a stew for all those in the colder climates at present!

Ingredients – makes 12 regular or 24 canape size

• 1kg potatoes (mashing variety), peeled
• 4 baby leeks or spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tblsp chopped fresh thyme
• 3 tblsp sesame seeds, black & white
• 1 egg, whisked
• Salt & pepper

Method

1. Boil the potatoes until they are cooked but still firm, allow to cool completely.
2. Dice potatoes and place into a bowl.
3. Add leeks, sesame seeds, egg and thyme to the potatoes and bind together squashing a quarter of the potatoes.
4. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
5. Press the potoato mix into moulds or if you don’t have any form with your hands. For the canapes I pressed the potato into a mini cookie cutter! I wold suggest making them ony 3 cm thick so you have plenty of crispy outsides with less soft potato on the inside.
6. Heat a non stick frying pan and coat the base with a little oil.
7. Cook on a low heat until golden brown on either sides and warm through to the centre. Do not crowd the pan with too many as it will be difficult to turn them, therefore I would suggest keeping the first batch warm in the oven until all are cooked and ready to serve.
8. I topped mine with horseradish cream, smoked salmon and chives
9. Enjoy!