Critter Crudites

Serves: 4 people

Recipe course: Desserts

Total time (min.): 30

Tool

Food Processors

Ingredients

For crudités:

2 carrot
1 cucumber
2 celery

For decorations:

1 red apple
½ cucumber
20-35 grapes, halved
1 punnet blueberries
A handful glace cherries, halved
Lemon juice as needed
Simple filling: Peanut butter, cream cheese or humous

For orange filling:

1 carrot, sliced and pre-cooked
50g cream cheese

For green filling:

2 large handfuls of spinach
100g frozen peas
50g cream cheese

For purple filling:

2 cooked beetroots
50g cream cheese or soft goat cheese

To finish:

Royal icing or edible glue
Edible eyes

Method

Make the filling:

1 - Create 3 different coloured fillings.
2 - Fit the knife blade to the processor bowl.
3 - Blend the carrots with the soft cheese for an orange spread, then place into a storage pot.
4 - Blend the spinach and peas with the soft cheese for a green spread, then place into a storage pot.
5 - Blend the cooked beetroot with the soft cheese for a purple spread, then place into a storage pot.
6 - Place them into the fridge to firm up.

Make the crudités:

1 - Fit the Express DiceTM crudité attachment to the processor feed tube.
2 - Working in batches add the carrot and cucumber into the feed tube and push down using the feed guide.
3 - Cut the celery in half lengthways.
4 - Transfer the crudities to a separate bowl, set aside.
5 - Assemble the Express ServeTM attachment, fit the 4mm slicing disc, ensure the slinger plate is fitted.
6 - Use the Express ServeTM attachment to slice the apple and cucumber into discs.
7 - In a small bowl combine the sliced apple in the lemon juice to prevent it going brown.

To assemble:

1 - Transfer your chosen fillings to small piping bags.
2 - Use the carrot, cucumber and celery crudités as the long body of the critter, pipe your chosen fillings onto the crudities.
3 - Snail- Add the disc of cucumber/apple as the shell, then a grape, blueberry or cherry for a head, then add the eyes.
4 - Caterpillar- Add several coloured grapes or blueberries for the body then a cherry for the head, add the eyes.
5 - Butterfly- Add several blueberries for the body, then cut a slice of apple into two, add these into the sides of the body to form the wings, add the eyes.