8 Best Modern 'Starters' Recipes (PICTURES)

The trick to making a perfect risotto is patiently adding the stock, one ladle at a time, and watching it thicken to perfection. The chestnuts and brandy give this Italian classic a seasonal twist.

Ingredients:
½ red onion, chopped½ celery stick, chopped75g pancetta, cubed1 sprig fresh rosemary1 tbsp olive oil200g Arborio risotto rice800ml chicken stock100g chestnuts, cooked, peeled and finely chopped50ml brandy75g unsalted butter100g grated ParmesanFreshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Soften the onion, celery, pancetta and rosemary in the olive oil over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the risotto rice and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Bring the stock to a simmer in a separate pan. Add the stock to the rice pan, ladle by ladle, stirring continuously for 15 minutes.
3. Make sure each batch of stock is absorbed before adding the next. When all the stock has been added, add the chestnuts with the brandy.
4. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice has a bite but no crunch. Beat in the butter, Parmesan and some black pepper. Serve immediately.

Andy Waters helped put the Midlands on the gastronomic map when he won a Michelin star in 2003 for Edmunds, the Warwickshire restaurant he named in honour of his late father. He's now the head chef at The Queens at Belbroughton in Worcestershire.

Ingredients:
150g goat's cheese1/2 large shallot20g parsley50g double cream2 cooked beetroots4 slices Parma ham100g mixed salad leaves1 pinch salt1 pinch white pepper

Instructions:

1. Blend together the goat’s cheese, double cream, shallots, salt, pepper, and parsley.
2. Slice the beetroot finely and divide across 4 plates. Top with the goat's cheese mixture and slices of Parma ham. Serve with some salad leaves.

Adam Gray's parsnip and apple soup recipe is a remarkable surprise that works fantastically. Apples and parsnips are classic partners – both are sweet but green. Granny Smiths (a terrific cooking apple) are beautifully tart while parsnips are slightly earthy and spicy.

Ingredients:
500g parsnip1 onion2 Granny Smith apples50g butter1 litre semi skimmed milk150ml single creamSaltWhite pepper3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
To plate:Crusty Bread

Instructions:

1. Start by peeling and quartering the parsnips, removing any hardened centres. Peel, core and quarter the apples then finely chop the onion.
2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan until it starts to foam. Add the onions and cook gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring now and again, until they are soft but not browned.
3. Once soft, throw in the parsnips and apples and cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Pour in enough milk to cover the ingredients. Bring the milk to the boil and then reduce the heat, simmering gently for 15-20 minutes until the parsnips are tender.
5. Once tender remove the pan from the heat and pour in the single cream.
6. Place the soup in a liquidizer and blend until smooth, then pass it through a fine sieve. Season to taste, serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and the crusty bread.

Marcello Tully, head chef at Scotland’s esteemed Kinloch Lodge, creates a luxurious scallop recipe that’s sure to impress your guests.

Ingredients:
For the scallop mousse
150g scallops330ml double cream50ml white wine3g salt
For the white wine sauce:250ml fish stock150ml single creamSalt
For the garnish:6 king scallopsOlive oil1 handful dill

Instructions:

1. To make the mousse, put the scallops in a blender and pulse until smooth. Add the egg white and salt and mix briefly, then add the cream and blend for around 20 seconds until smooth and silky. Make sure not to overwhip or the mix will split.
2. Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas mark 2. Line the base of six stainless steel rings with cling film. Transfer the mousse to a piping bag and pipe into the rings, dividing it evenly between them. Smooth over the surface using the spoon.
3. Place the rings in a roasting tin and half-fill it with hot water from the kettle. Bake for 15 minutes then remove from the oven.
4. While the mousses are cooking make the sauce. Place the stock and wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid by a third until it resembles a glaze. Add the cream, season to taste then return to the boil and simmer until the mixture coats back of spoon.
5. Cut each king scallop into three discs. Heat a frying pan over a high heat, add a little oil and fry the scallop discs on each side for 30 seconds only.
6. Remove the cling film from the mousses. Run a sharp knife around the inside of the rings and gently lift them off. Put the mousses on serving plates, cover with sauce and arrange three scallop discs on top of each. Add some dill and serve.

Mary Ann started out life as a nurse, before stepping in one fateful night to make the pizzas at the restaurant she was a waitress at when the chef walked out on his job! It was the start of a career that now sees her winning high praise for her food at Carlton Riverside in Powys. This light goats cheese starter is delicious and simple to make.

Ingredients:
For the croustade1 sweet apple, sliced into 8 pieces8 0.5cm Pantysgawen goats cheese slices4 slices bread4 pinches paprika
To plate:Mixed salad leaves1 dash walnut oilSalt

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.
2. Toast the slices of bread and allow to cool. Cut a large circle from each piece of toast, discarding the outer crust. Layer the apple and cheese on the toast, starting with the apple.
3. Give the final, top layer of cheese a dusting of paprika.
4. Lay the bread on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown on top.
5. Serve with a mixed leaf salad dressed with walnut oil, which works incredibly well with hot goats' cheese.

A dreamy smoked salmon terrine from Jersey’s Shaun Rankin, head chef at the island’s award-winning restaurant Bohemia. This would be the perfect starter for any Christmas dinner.

Ingredients:
For the scallop mousse:400g smoked salmon125g unsalted butter125ml whipping cream12 pink peppercorns, crushed
For the white wine sauce:1 cucumber4 slices bread4 quail eggs

Instructions:

1. Start by making the clarified butter. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan. Once it has separated, use a spoon to carefully remove the milky residue on top and discard. Pour the golden liquid butter left slowly into another pan.
2. Weigh out 150g smoked salmon. Slice and lay the slices across the inside of a terrine mould. Make sure they are long enough to reach up the sides of the terrine and cover the top when filled. Place the remaining salmon in a food processor and blend until smooth.
3. Parm the cream and slowly add it to the processed smoked salmon and blend until smooth. Repeat with the clarified butter. Season with crushed pink peppercorns.
4. Pour the blended mixture into the terrine mould. Fold over the overhanging salmon slices to cover the top. Cover the whole terrine with cling film and place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours.
5. Just prior to serving, peel the cucumber and, using a peeler, create cucumber ribbons.
6. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Carefully add the quail eggs and cook for 2 minutes 45 seconds. Remove the eggs from the saucepan and leave them in ice water before peeling and slicing in half.
7. Serve by adding a slice of terrine to 4 serving plates, accompanied with a swirl of cucumber ribbons, half of a quail's egg and slices of bread.

A dreamy smoked salmon terrine from Jersey’s Shaun Rankin, head chef at the island’s award-winning restaurant Bohemia. This would be the perfect starter for any Christmas dinner.

Ingredients:
For the scallop mousse
8 small smoked trout fillets4 tbsp crème fraîche1 tbsp horseradish cream1 lemon, juiced1 pinch paprika200g mixed salad leaves1 lemon, cut into wedgesOlive oil

Instructions:

1. Trim and clean the trout fillets and remove the skin (you can ask your fishmonger to do this). Remove any small pin bones with tweezers.
2. Place the fillets on a plate, cover with cling film and refrigerate until later.
3. Stir the horseradish cream into the crème fraîche, adding paprika and lemon juice to taste.
4. Arrange the smoked trout fillets on serving dishes. Dress the leaves with some olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
5. Arrange the leaves beside the fish fillets and spoon on a generous dollop of the horseradish crème fraîche, either on the fish itself or just to one side.
6. Serve with a wedge of lemon on the side to squeeze over the fish, and eat at once.

A beautiful soup from the masterful Marcello Tully, you can impress your guests by serving this dish in a glass to show off its layers. The butternut purée at the base is denser with a more distinct flavour, while the upper layer of soup is airy, leaving a velvety feel in the mouth.

Ingredients:
Purée25ml sunflower oil100g onion, diced10g curry powder5g turmeric400g butternut squash, dicedSaltSugarWater
For the soup:50ml sunflower oil120g onion, diced10g curry powder4g turmeric500g butternut squash, diced200ml double cream1.5 tsp salt1 tsp granulated sugar500ml water

Instructions:

1. Start by making the purée. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, add the onions and sweat for 3-5 minutes, without allowing them to brown.
2. Add the curry powder and turmeric and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes, stirring gently but constantly.
3. Add the squash and water. Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender and can be pierced easily with a fork.
4. Once the purée is boiling, start the soup. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the curry powder and turmeric, stir well, then cook for a further 5 minutes.
6. Add the butternut squash and water and leave to simmer for 1 hour or until the squash is falling apart.
7. Return to the purée: strain the contents of the pan and place the solids in a food processor.
8. Once the soup is cooked, allow it to cool slightly, then transfer to a liquidizer and blend until smooth. Return to a clean saucepan and add the cream, Tabasco, salt and sugar. Bring back to the boil.
9. Place a layer of the butternut purée at the base of each serving glass. Put the butternut squash soup in a siphon with three chargers, shake well and dispense the soup into the glasses. Serve with bread.