Look, I love Christmas — the food, the friends, the faint sense of panic when you realise the oven’s already maxed out and you still have 10 things to cook. What I don’t love is the heat, and what can sometimes feel like a relentless churn of meals and snacks as the gathering season hits full throttle.

This year, I’m keeping the snack game simple. My secret weapon? The holy trinity of flavour: salt, crunch and cure.

It involves ditching fiddly canapes and embracing shortcuts: snacks built from a tube, a jar, and a packet. Think Pringles for satisfying crunch, olives for brine and depth, and mortadella for that rich, cured saltiness, all finished with a handful of cooling grapes. They come together in minutes and vanish even faster.

Because sometimes, the best festive entertaining starts with zero cooking and ends with everyone asking for the recipe.

Dirty martini dip and mortadella olives

Yes, these are a touch fiddly to assemble, but embrace the simple, repetitive prep – it’s practically therapy. The payoff? A salty, meaty, creamy bomb of pure deliciousness that will disappear instantly.

You need to treat the mortadella like you’re rolling a perfect, tight cigarette back in your student days. Use steady hands and a firm, tight roll. This improves the structural integrity, making it easier to slice and ensuring it holds its shape when you stuff it into the olives.

Don’t bother with those sad, pre-pitted jars from the supermarket. Seek out your local Greek grocer – the one with the ginormous tubs and the slightly haphazard scooping technique. For reasons science can’t explain, their olives always seem to have a much more generous, clean pit removal. This little olive miracle will save your patience and ensure the morty-D slides right in.

INGREDIENTS

• 100g thinly sliced mortadella
• about 2 cups pitted green olives
• zest of ½ a lemon, to serve
• finely chopped chives, to serve
• olive oil, to serve

Dirty martini dip

• zest of 1 lemon
• 200ml tub creme fraiche
• ¼ cup pickling liquid from a jar of pickles
• 30g blue cheese
• 3 tbsp roughly chopped chives
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder

METHOD

1. Add the dirty martini dip ingredients to a blender and blitz to combine. If it seems runny and not scoopable, keep blending – it will thicken to a perfect schmear-like consistency. Season generously with sea salt flakes and black pepper. Set aside while you prepare the olives.
2. Roll the mortadella slices firmly, then cut them into slices about 5mm wide. Stuff each olive with one of the slices. It’s not meant to be pretty and perfect – you want the mortadella to sprout from the centre of the olive like a salty, meaty flower. Repeat with the remaining mortadella and olives.
3. To assemble, schmear the dirty martini dip artfully across a serving tray in a generous layer. Line up the olives like perfectly drilled soldiers, nestling them into the dip with the mortadella end facing up. Season generously with sea salt flakes, lemon zest and chopped chives. Drizzle some olive oil over it and serve.

Makes about 40

Tuna Pringles

It’s a classic case of chicken-or-the-egg – did Tao or Nobu first introduce the internet (and our taste buds) to the genius of the Tuna Pringle? Regardless, this viral sensation is the most epic snack you can serve this festive season.

My streamlined version uses store-bought Pringles, and it’s the perfect answer to your “snacks-with-drinks” requirements. I’ve switched out the expected Asian flavours for the bold zing of horseradish, a drizzle of excellent olive oil, and fresh herbs to create a cool, addictive bite that will disappear the moment it hits the table.

INGREDIENTS

• 53g tube of Pringles, original flavour
• 200g sashimi-grade tuna, finely diced
• 4 tsp finely chopped chives
• zest of 1 lemon (or use finger lime pearls, if available)
• good-quality olive oil

Horseradish mayo

• ½ cup Kewpie mayo
• 1 tbsp horseradish paste or finely grated fresh horseradish
• zest of 1 lemon

METHOD

1. In a medium bowl, combine the diced tuna, chopped chives, and lemon zest. Drizzle in enough olive oil to lightly coat the tuna, then toss gently to combine. Place this mixture in the fridge to chill while you prepare the mayo.
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk to combine the Kewpie mayo, horseradish, and lemon zest, then taste to ensure it has a sharp, clean horseradish kick. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Arrange the Pringles on a large serving tray. Place ½ tsp of the horseradish mayo in the centre of each chip. Remove the tuna mixture from the fridge, and mound about 2 teaspoons of tuna on top of the mayo. Don’t worry about precise measurements – you’re looking for a generous, elegant bite that sits well on the chip.
4. Give them a final sprinkle of salt flakes and pepper and serve immediately.

Makes about 20

Prosciutto, black grapes with barely-a-dressing dressing

This is the quickest, most moreish snack in all the lands. Forever and ever. The end.

The true genius lies in the dressing that’s barely even a dressing. The MVP? A sweetened raspberry balsamic that does all the heavy lifting. This simple starter is glorious served with excellent crusty bread or as part of a wider spread of delicious, snacky, bitey things.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup seedless black grapes, quartered
• 250g thinly sliced prosciutto at room temperature
• crusty bread to serve

Barely-a-dressing dressing

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp sweetened raspberry balsamic*
• 2 tbsp pink peppercorns
• ½ tbsp caraway seeds, roughly crushed

METHOD

1. To make the barely-a-dressing dressing, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Arrange the prosciutto on a large platter and scatter over the quartered grapes. When you’re ready to serve, spoon over the dressing and season generously with sea salt flakes and black pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

Makes 1 platter

Note: Sweetened raspberry balsamic is available in some supermarkets and specialist food stores.