I love food. Any kind of food: desserts, main courses and maybe one of my favourite - appetizers. Why is it that appetizers always look so much more tempting than entrees on practically any restaurant menu? Almost every time I go to a restaurant it's a struggle to choose just one starter to eat. Sometimes I secretely wish that I could have a few (or, who am I kidding, a lot) of the small dishes instead of having one entree. I guess this is why people go out to Spanish restaurants for tapas, right? My boyfriend, however, has a very different idea about appetizers. A few weeks ago I listened in disbelief when he mentioned his dislike for tapas. Really? Who doesn't like tapas? Perfect little appetizers they are! One of my favourite things to order as an appetizer is a dip. I rarely get it by myself, but sitting at a pub with a few of my girl friends and sharing a warm gooyey and cheesy dip, drinking martinis or beers and gossiping is a perfect way to spend an evening.

This recipe serves 2-4 people as an appetizer.

I recently visited a fellow cooking enthusiast, and she made the most amazing and delicious lunch I had in a very long time. There was a light, summery salad made with spinach, prosciutto, mozzarella and peaches. Little pancakes with cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill. Grilled herb marinated scallops and tiger shrimp. Spaghetti with lightly cooked vegetables. And there were tiny pastries with eggplant and tomatoes. (There were three different desserts as well!!!) It was the first time she made those pastries and she used the recipe from some cookbook, but the actual dough didn't work too well. It was extremely crumbly and a bit sandy. My friend was really upset about it, but the filling of those pastries was absolutely delicious. So, I got her recipe for the filling and I used the other dough recipe that I knew would work. The result was really good! Juicy, tasty, garlicky filling wrapped in thin layer of tasty pastry. I made a simple dip for those little pies: equal measures of mayo and yogurt cheese mixed with minced garlic and cilantro. Perfect combination!

filling recipe adapted from carina-forum

makes eight medium (12 cm) pies

Pastry

• Unbleached all purpose flour -500ml (2 cups)
• Salt -2.5 ml (1/2 tsp)
• Water - 60 ml (1/4cup)
• Maple Syrup - 15 ml (1tbsp)
• Canola oil - 125 ml (1/2 cup)
• Oil for brushing

Filling

• Tomatoes - 250 g (2 medium)
• Eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes - 500 g (1 medium)
• Onion, chopped - 1 medium
• Cilantro, finely chopped - 1 tablespoon (my store didn't have fresh cilantro, so I used one frozen cilantro cube)
• Garlic, minced - 1 clove
• Cumin - 1/2 teaspoon (I didn't use it)
• Tomato paste - 1 teaspoon (forgot to use it)
• Olive oil, salt, pepper

- Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

- Heat some oil in a large pan and saute the onion until it's soft.
- Add the cumin and cubed eggplant to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30 seconds.
- Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and drop them into cold water for 2 minutes.
- Peel the tomatoes and chop them.
- Add the tomatoes to the eggplant and cook for another 10 minutes until the eggplant is cooked.
- Add the minced garlic into the mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the cilantro, salt and pepper. Let the filling cool.

- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a measuring cup, combine the water and honey.
- Add the oil.
- Pour over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until flour is just moistened.

- Roll out the dough to 3-4 mm thickness.
- Cut 12 or 8 cm circles, put some filling in the middle and fold the circle in half to create a half-moon shape. Press the edges together with a fork.
- Put the pies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush the pastries with milk, eggwash, or oil.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the dough is baked through and golden brown.

Perfect vegetable side for meat, fish or chicken. Minimum ingredients, minimum time, maximum flavour - Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.

recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties

• Cherry tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt (good salt, not regular table salt)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Basil (not used in the picture)

- In a bowl mix the tomatoes, oil, salt and pepper.
- Pour the tomatoes into a roasting pan.
- Roast them at 400F (200C) oven for 15-20 minutes until they are soft and almost bursting.
- Sprinkle with basil before serving.