CHRISTMAS is out of the way. The terror of the perfect turkey is over for another year.

You can barely lift a finger, let alone face the thought of having to do all that entertaining again in just a few days’ time.

Whipping out the same old recipes? Taste brings you some new ideas for entertaining this New Year’s Eve.

Roasted Shallot & Goats Cheese Canapés 12 shallots, peeled and quartered 2 tsp olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 5 or 6 sprigs lemon thyme, leaves picked 2 flat breads 30g goats’ cheese handful of rocket Heat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. In a bowl combine the shallots, oil, vinegar and thyme and season well. Swirl everything together so the shallots are well coated then tip into a roasting tin covered with foil.

Cook for 20 mins in the centre of the oven. Then remove the foil and cook for a further 20 mins. Spoon the caramelised onions out onto a plate and set aside to cool.

Using a circular pastry cutter, cut 15 disks out of the flat breads then mound some of the shallots on top. Crumble some goats’ cheese on each one and grill for a minute or two until the cheese melts slightly.

Top each canapé with a sprig or two of rocket and serve.

If you can’t find flat breads in your supermarket use chapattis instead Tenderstem chilli and chickpea bites 200g Tenderstem broccoli 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed 1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional) 1 x 400g can of chickpeas 1 egg 75g finely grated parmesan finely grated zest of half a lemon Handful of basil leaves Steam the Tenderstem for a few minutes until it is just tender. Remove from the heat and keep to one side.

Heat the 2tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and gently cook the onion, garlic and chilli, if using, until the onion has softened but not coloured. Remove from the heat and spoon into a food processor.

Chop the flowery top section off each piece of the Tenderstem, cut into smaller pieces and set aside.

Roughly chop the main part of the stalk and place in the food processor, along with the chickpeas, egg, parmesan, lemon zest and basil.

Blitz until you have a rough paste and then transfer to a bowl. Mix in the reserved Tenderstem tops and season with salt and pepper.

Using your hands, shape the mixture into patty shapes – as small or large as you like. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the patties for a minute or so each side until golden. Remove from the pan, and serve.

Antipasti of Parmesan battered Tenderstem broccoli with salsa rossa Serves: 2 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Salsa rossa: 1 red pepper 110g tinned plum tomatoes drained 2 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove peeled and finely chopped 1 fresh red chilli seeded and finely chopped Small bunch of basil shredded Salt and cracked black pepper Vegetable oil for deep-frying Batter: 1 free-range egg 100ml double cream 40g finely grated Parmesan Salt and cracked black pepper 200g Tenderstem broccoli Flour for dusting Grill the pepper whole on all sides until the skin is blackened, leave to cool for about 5 minutes.

With a knife, cut the pepper in half and half again.

Remove the seeds from the pepper and scrape away the blackened skin, chop finely and set aside.

Chop the tomatoes finely and set aside. Heat the oil in a small pan and add the garlic and chilli. Cook for 3 minutes over a low heat until garlic starts to colour.

Add the tomatoes, red pepper and basil. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cool.

Half fill a medium sized pan with vegetable oil and place on a low heat.

In a small bowl beat together the egg, cream and parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

Dust the Tenderstem in the flour and coat in the batter mix.

To test the temperature of the oil, put a drop of the batter mix into the oil.

If the batter colours too quickly, turn down the heat. Fry the Tenderstem a little at a time so that the oil stays hot.

Once the Tenderstem is cooked, about 2 minutes, drain on kitchen paper and serve with the salsa rossa.