Portable starter suitable for pregnant person - help!

[Trills]

Every year for the last 7 years, a couple of friends and I (and partners) have done a Christmas dinner.

We rotate around different people's houses, with the host doing the main course (which apparently HAS to be properly Christmas-flavoured), and the others bringing pudding and starter.

This year, one friend has a baby and the other is pregnant.

So I need to think of a starter that:

can be transported

won't need too much doing to it when I get there (because the kitchen will be mainly full of Christmas dinner)

can be eaten by a pregnant person

Help!

Everything nice that comes to mind includes blue cheese or nice charcuterie type stuff. Smoked salmon is probably out too, isn't it?

Home made spicy parsnip soup with chopped chestnuts in it (sprinkle on when served)

Stilton and celery tartlets (cheese is cooked)

Pigeon breast (or other meat such as venison or beef) cut into thin strips (as thin as you can cut) - cut and add a little salt and pepper/soy sauce and a glass of port, a chopped spring onion and zest of an orange to marinade before you go (you can take in a plastic bag or pot). Then flash fry in a little oil - then when just done (no more than 2 minutes) add a small glass of port (or the juice from the marinade) to coat everything and heat throgh and serve with home made herby croutons (which you can make before you get there).

Tartlets sounds nice. I know my pregnant friend does LIKE blue cheese and would enjoy some well-cooked cheese. And she trusts me to cook it properly and not fob her off.

I could maybe do a couple of flavours of little tarts, and if she really feels unsure then she can swap with someone and have just the non-cheese ones.

Hard blue cheese is fine in pregnancy anyway.

How about something sausagy? Or oriental? I've got a great recipe for crispy pork noodle bites somewhere, they'd reheat fine, and are delicious with sweet chilli sauce. They're minced pork combined with ginger, spring onion and some spices then you cook and chop noodles then fashion them into individual balls and shallow fry. Yum!

I've made some lovely pork patty oriental things before, but never quite considered them robust enough to transport.

I would like your recipe anyway though - for another time! :o

Awesome news about the stilton! I thought it was all mould-ripened and mould-containing cheese.

Voul a vents with creamy mushroom or asparagus or seafood filling. You'd take the pastry cases carefully packed in a box. Pop into oven for a few minutes to refresh while filling heats through. Spoon filling into pastry and if liked sprinkle with dry bread crumbs and finely chopped parsley and back into oven for a few minutes.

Waldorf salad with pan roasted chicken breast. Spoon waldorf salad onto a large lettuce leaf on each individual dish. Place sliced chicken on top and garnish with a few toasted pine nuts or extra pieces of walnut which can be toasted or caramelised.

Cauliflour and broccoli graten served in individual ramekins. Can be taken in one covered container and then put into each ramekin, sprinkled with cheese or fresh breadcrumbs before putting into oven to heat through and lightly brown.

Pancakes with filling of choice. Could take pancakes separated by greasproof paper. Heat filling in microwave then fill each pancake and roll up before placing into oven to heat through.
Along the same lines canellonni with tuna stuffing would only need heating in oven.

Niçoise salad delux. Take each ingredient in a separate container (cooked whole potatoes, steamed green beans, cherry tomatoes, tinned tuna or seared fresh tuna, salad greens, boiled eggs, black pitted olives, anchovies, capers, jar tiny artichoke hearts, sliced red onion) Dressing in a screw top jar.(mustard, olive oil, wine vinegar, sea salt)
On each dish place the salad greens, slice the boiled potatoes on top, arrange green beans and halved cherry tomatoes or tomato wedges, sliced boiled egg, tuna in chuncks, sliced red onion. Add rolled up anchovies, halved artichoke hearts, black olives and capers. Shake dressing in jar until creamy and pour over salad. Sprinkle with maldon salt.

Smoked salmon is fine too. NHS linky

Lovely long list - thanks! :)

From past experience anything that needs "popping into the oven" is risky. The oven will probably be fully occupied. Or if not, all the baking trays will already have things on them waiting to go in. I know if I were making roast dinner with many extras I'd not be pleased at someone's request to "pop" something in the oven.

Would you do the gratin if you knew you were about to have a roast dinner? What if a cauliflower cheese then appeared? :)

For some reason I imagined that smoked salmon is the same kind of thing as cured meats. I'll add that to the list of unexpectedly-OK things.

If you want something really easy to do you could do blinis with crème fraiche and smoked salmon. Making the blinis is more impressive, buying them is easier . Just a bit of dolloping at the end.

I know it's not wildly exciting, but it's light and sort of festive and doesn't take up kitchen space?

These are great for that type of arrangement as need nothing much doing at all when you get there. I've always been a fan as all the effort is in advance. Nhs site says feta fine in pregnancy so long as made with pasteurised milk.

www.nigella.com/recipes/view/courgette-fritters-211

Or, can't quite find the recipe I was thinking of, but a terrine thing like this (Goat's cheese also fine- www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/foods-to-avoid-pregnant.aspx#cheese)

Blinis were something that I thought of but then thought I couldn't do.

I could try to MAKE them, that would be fun.

The person who likes smoked salmon least is actually me... I could have some smoked salmon and some roast beef with horseradish creme fraiche.

Thank you so much for all your suggestions - I know it's not the most exciting question in the world.

I always think starters are surprisingly difficult. They are my favourite bit of a meal out, but so many home options involve an amazing amount of faff or last minute involvement that you just can't be doing with, especially in a group situation like this one.

Thank you :)

Yes they are difficult but also very enjoyable if you get them right.

We do smoked salmon (www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=287107510) on oatcakes on a thin layer of honey-mustard (www.paterson-arran.com/item-catalogue/5/1/Mustard/Smooth-Honey-Mustard) every year as starters.

The omega-3 in the salmon is good for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Some pregnant people say they can't have smoked salmon but the NHS website says its ok and so did my friend who is a dietitian so I ate it throughout my pregnancy.

It also takes about 15 minutes to make!

Good luck with whatever starter you choose

xx

I would do a winter salad (cold) of mixed leaves, roast butternut squash, roast red onion, feta (NHS says safe for pg) some toasted pumpkin seeds/toasted walnuts for crunch, some puy lentils and a lovely squeeze of balsamic syrup.

Could take everything mixed in one box and just portion out and squeeze on the balsamic syrup when you get there.

I have bought buckwheat flour so I'm going to try to make blinis and then all I have to do is assemble with smoked salmon or beef.

And if they don't work I will go to a big supermarket on the way and BUY blinis.

Ooh. Hope it goes well. My mum made them quite successfully a while back.

Terrine works well if you don't use liver (Google Gordon's rustic pate for a preg friendly one). Slice it whilst still in the dish, and bring presliced crusty bread and presaged watercress then you don't even need any prep space.
Or a cheats option - vegetarian mezze board - just buy jars of peppers, olives etc...

*presliced watercress