5 easy and delicious appetizers for warm weather

Good weather is already here! It's time to be in the sun to recharge our energy, crave walks on the beach by the sea and want to eat without complications, with menus based on light small plates and appetizers that take little time to prepare but with that touch of cheer and festivity that summer brings.

So that's what we're doing today: recipes that are a hit at home, that we have ready in the blink of an eye and that also make us look like top chefs. We'll nail it with them!

To make it very easy for you, we're going to prepare these five super-fast and very impressive recipes:

1. Vegetable skewer with pesto
2. Bacon rolls with marinated olives
3. Mini corn skewers
4. Brie toasts with strawberry jam
5. Mini cherry and mozzarella skewer

These five suggestions are a real statement of intent. Taking advantage of seasonal products, I promise a great result with minimal effort, so you can enjoy the good weather and some surprising appetizers, without giving up eating well. Are you up for them?

1. Vegetable skewer with pesto

Ingredients

• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Tomato
• Mozzarella cheese or goat cheese log, whichever you prefer.
• Oil
• Light pesto
• Skewers for assembling the bites

Preparation

1. Heat the grill or the griddle to cook the vegetables and while it heats up, wash the zucchini, eggplant, and tomato and cut them into slices a little over half a centimeter thick. You can do it with a knife sharp or use a mandoline so they come out the same.
2. Place the slices on the hot griddle with a drizzle of oil and cook them to your preferred doneness.
3. While they roast, cut the cheese you've chosen into slices slightly thinner than the vegetables.
4. When the vegetables are almost done, turn off the heat and keep them on the grill, taking them off as you assemble the skewers. That will help the cheese melt slightly when you assemble the skewer, without fully melting.
5. Prepare the skewers alternating slices of vegetables and cheese to your liking: eggplant, zucchini, cheese, tomato, ... Arrange them as you like and insert the skewer so that it sticks out enough to pick up easily.
6. Finally, pour a generous spoonful of pesto over the skewers, and enjoy!

Notes

• You can make the pesto at home. Preparing it will take very little time and the result is delicious. You will find the traditional basil pesto recipe here and also two more variations, arugula and walnut and sun-dried tomato, with which you can give a different twist to your dishes.

2. Bacon rolls with marinated olives

Ingredients

• Bacon cut into strips
• Pitted marinated black olives
• Toothpicks to make the rolls
• Bread sliced (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat the grill or the griddle to lightly sear the bacon.
2. Cut the bacon strips in half and drain the olives well.
3. Place the bacon on the griddle and, when it's ready, flip it so it gets seared on both sides.
4. Lay out the half bacon slices, place an olive on each and roll the bacon to form a roll.
5. Close the rolls by securing them with a toothpick.
6. You can serve them as they are or place a few rolls on a slice of toasted bread, to accompany each bite.

Notes

• You can vary the bacon roll recipe by substituting the olives with dates. The sweet note pairs wonderfully with the flavor of bacon. You'll see how tasty it is!

3. Mini corn skewers

Ingredients

• A cooked corn on the cob or cooked, shelled corn
• Melted butter
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Sweet paprika
• Spicy paprika
• Toothpicks to form the mini skewers

Preparation

1. Cut the kernels off the cob if you have it whole. You can easily do this with the Chef'n corn peeler.
2. Thread several corn kernels onto a toothpick leaving only one end free so you can hold the stick when eating the corn.
3. As you make them, arrange them on an oven-safe tray.
4. Prepare the "paprika butter" by melting the butter in a bowl, adding sweet paprika and a little spicy paprika to taste and stirring well. You can omit the spicy paprika if you prefer.
5. Brush the skewers with the "paprika butter".
6. Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top and gratin until ready.
7. Serve them accompanied by tomato sauce or barbecue sauce.

Notes

• If you have an air fryer, you can certainly prepare these mini skewers there with perfect results.
• You can make them without adding spicy paprika if you prefer, but with just a pinch you won't notice much heat and you'll see how the flavor changes.

4. Brie cheese toasts with strawberry jam

Ingredients

• Sliced sandwich bread
• Brie cheese
• Butter
• Strawberry jam
• Chopped pistachios (or the nut of your choice)

Preparation

1. Heat the iron grill over medium heat and grease it with a little butter.
2. Cut the slices of sandwich bread in half to make triangles and place them on the grill to toast. Flip them when the grill marks are visible on the bread so they are marked on both sides.
3. Cut the brie into slices not too thin, about 1 cm.
4. When the bread is toasted on both sides, without removing it from the grill, place a slice of brie cheese on each triangle, add a dessert spoon of strawberry jam, and sprinkle some chopped pistachios on top.
5. You can serve it directly on the grill.

Notes

• If you want a recipe to make strawberry jam at home, you have the recipe here, but if you prefer a ready-made one, I can't help but recommend the Tiptree strawberry jam.
• If you want to vary these toasts with different cheeses, you can use camembert, goat cheese or even a blue cheese like Roquefort.

5. Mini cherry and mozzarella skewer

Ingredients

• Mozzarella balls
• Round cherry tomatoes
• Red pepper
• Yellow pepper
• Arugula
• A few fresh basil leaves
• Dried ground oregano
• Toothpicks for the skewers

Preparation

1. Drain the mozzarella balls.
2. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes.
3. Cut the peppers into squares the same size as the cherries and mozzarella balls.
4. Arrange a bed of arugula leaves on the tray you'll use to serve the skewers.
5. Prepare the mini skewers by threading a piece of red pepper, a mozzarella ball, the yellow pepper, another mozzarella ball and a cherry tomato.
6. Place the skewers on the bed of arugula, on a nice tray.
7. Finely chop the basil leaves and sprinkle them over the skewers.
8. Sprinkle a little ground oregano, and enjoy!

Notes

• You can use only one variety of pepper, or use green, but in that case I recommend doing it as shown in the recipe and in the same order they are skewered, because that way their sweetness will make a difference. The skewer goes from sweeter to less sweet, ending with the cherry tomato, which should be the round one and gives the acidic touch at the end.
• From the cherries and mozzarella, you can prepare other mini skewers: alternating fresh basil leaves, with olives, pickles, with boiled quail eggs... There are many possibilities!
• You can serve the mini skewers as they are or you can also accompany them with a bit of traditional homemade pesto or something different. The recipe can be found here.