Impress your dinner party guests with these quick and easy, yet elegant recipes

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PINK GIN COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS

  • Ice cubes
  • 15–30ml gin
  • 5ml rose-flavoured syrup or cordial
  • 2–3ml Angostura bitters

TO SERVE

  • Tonic water
  • A few pomegranate rubies
  • Fresh spearmint or mint leaves

METHOD

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Add the ingredients. Increase the quantities depending on how many cocktails you want to make. Close the lid and shake until well chilled. Strain the mixture into cocktail glasses.
2. Add some pomegranate rubies and a sprig of mint to each glass and top up with tonic water. Stir before serving.

(Makes 1)

BITE-SIZED PARMA HAM AND FIG PIZZAS

INGREDIENTS

  • 750g ready-made, store-bought
  • Bread dough
  • Flour, for dusting
  • Polenta, for dusting
  • 250ml Neapolitan pasta sauce
  • 250g mozzarella, torn into pieces
  • 100g Parma ham
  • 4 fresh figs, sliced into segments
  • Salt and milled black pepper, to taste

TO SERVE

  • Few rocket leaves
  • 45ml pomegranate rubies (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. To make the pizza bases, lightly flour a working surface and sprinkle over a little polenta. Roll out the bread dough thinly and cut out rounds with a cookie cutter, or shape into small rounds with your hands.
3. Place the bases on a baking tray and top with the pasta sauce and mozzarella. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until nearly cooked through.
4. Remove the pizzas from the oven and top with some Parma ham and fresh fig segments. Season with salt and pepper and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
5. Serve topped with fresh rocket and pomegranate rubies, if desired.

(Serves 6–8)