For me, one of the great pleasures of summertime is the slower pace that accompanies our evenings. The weekday frazzle born of trying to fit in family dinners between extracurriculars, school meetings, and appointments all fades away. In its place, I delight in recreating the early evening apéritif gatherings of my childhood summers in the south of France. 

L’Apéritif, or l’Apéro, is usually a casual get together with friends and family before dinner. For a couple of hours, you sit, sip, nibble, and chat, letting the evening unfurl as the heat of the day dissipates. No need to plan weeks in advance, deep clean the house or get out the fancy dishes. This is a relaxed moment entres amis to savour with every bite. 

Below are a few of my favourite offerings to arrange in small bowls and plates for guests to enjoy with a glass of rosé or a refreshing mocktail. Santé.
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Tapenade puff pastry twists

Deliciously salty and flaky, these puff pastry twists are quick to make but look (and taste!) de luxe. 

Ingredients

1 box of frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed on the counter for a couple of hours

All purpose flour for dusting

1 jar black olive tapenade

¼  cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten
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• Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Dust a cutting board with flour to prevent sticking. Lay your puff pastry on the board. If yours comes in two blocks, roll them out into rectangles.
• Spread a couple of tablespoons of tapenade on one half of your pastry.
• Fold in half, bringing the plain side over onto the tapenade side and press down gently around the edges to join them together, 
• Slice the pastry into one-inch-wide lengths with a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cutting towards the folded edge.
• Pick up a length, holding each end, and twist the pastry in opposite directions to create a twist. Lay it on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry.
• Brush each twist with egg and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the twists are puffed up and golden brown.
• Leave to cool on a rack for 10 minutes before placing them on a tray or in a clean Mason jar for serving. 
• You can make these in advance and store them in an airtight container for up to a week.

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Goat’s cheese with fig jam

A salty-sweet combination of goat’s cheese and jam is excellent for scooping onto crackers or thin slices of fresh baguette. A top tip I learned from Elly Curshan: heat a spoon in a mug of hot water and use the back to smooth out the plated goat’s cheese. 

Ingredients

300g goat’s cheese, softened at room temperature

½ cup fig jam (apricot or blueberry jam would be delicious too)

¼ cup chopped nuts, such as pecans, pistachios or walnuts

Fresh thyme, chopped
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• Warm the fig jam in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes and set aside. 
• Place the goat’s cheese on a plate and use the heated spoon trick mentioned above to smooth out the cheese.
• Drizzle the warmed jam over the goat’s cheese
• Sprinkle with chopped nuts and thyme leaves

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Crudités with aioli

Crudités simply translates to “raw vegetables.” I like to arrange the vegetables on a plate around a small bowl of aioli for dipping. You can make your own aioli - Rick Stein has a great video here  - or you can give yourself one less thing to do and buy jarred aioli - I love Stonewall Kitchen’s Roasted Garlic version.

Some vegetable suggestions:

• Cucumber - peeled and cut into ½ inch rounds
• Radishes - if you can find the long, skinny french version, sometimes called Breakfast Radish, I just trim off the greens, give them a wash and leave them whole on the plate. North American salad radishes work just as well, but I tend to cut them in half for easier dipping.
• Snap peas - just trim the ends and enjoy their satisfyingly sweet crunch
• Endive - the separated leaves of both the pale white and vibrant red versions are perfect for spooning up your dip.
• Asparagus - despite the “raw vegetable” translation, I do like to briefly par-boil my asparagus in a shallow pan of water, to take some of the bite out of them. Two to three minutes should do the trick. Plunging them into a bowl of ice water immediately after will save them from overcooking.

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Quick and easy

Round out your apéritif with small bowls of salty, sweet or crunchy selections. Here are my top picks for quick and easy treats:

Black and green olives

• Thinly sliced cured sausage, like Rosette de Lyon or the sweet heat of chorizo 
• Salted potato chips
• Cantaloupe melon, cut into cubes
• Tangy cornichons (Maille are my favourite)

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On boit quoi, alors?

There are many good options when it comes to deciding what drinks to serve for apéritif, but when it's hot, the last thing I want is something heavy or cloying. My French father always offers what he calls rosé en piscine or “rosé in the pool.” It's become my first choice for a simple, refreshing drink. Just add lots of ice to a large wine glass and add a generous pour of your favourite rosé. 

If you’d like an alcohol-free drink that still brings to mind the south of France, consider serving a Blueberry lavender lemon mocktail.