Veggie

An antipasto platter of tender, fresh vegetables and a creamy dip is a familiar sight in bistros, trattorias and tavernas around the Mediterranean shore. Here's a gourmet antipasto plate which you can enjoy at home. Although you can buy quails' eggs in most supermarkets and delicatessens, you could use ordinary hens' eggs instead, in which case use 4 eggs (1/2 egg per person).

These succulent grilled vegetable skewers can be served hot or cold - either way they are equally delicious. They taste especially good with the Italian basil and tomato dip. For a special party when you want to impress your guests, you could thread the vegetables on to thick fresh rosemary stems, just remove most of the green leaves so that only a small sprig is left at the end and then push the woody pointed end through the vegetables.

This dip is the perfect accompaniment to the Spicy Indonesian chicken kebabs. Like all the other dips featured here, it is very low in Sins and goes down well at parties.

A salsa makes a wonderful dip for vegetable crudites, grilled chicken or party kebabs. It also doubles up as a quick and easily made sauce for grilled meat and fish. This version is particularly colourful as diced peaches and cooked beans are added to the traditional Mexican ingredients.

If wished, you can use a mixture of red, yellow and green peppers to make these colourful party canapes. They can be made in advance and stored for several hours in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. Because they are good "finger food", these pepper rolls would be prefect for popping into your packed lunch box, too.

These mini kebabs are perfect for entertaining at any time of the year. They are quick and easy to prepare, can be made in advance, require no cooking and taste wonderful.