6-minute read: this is another wrapped post, but it’s looking at the most popular foods on this site from last year.
Of course, the most iconic martini food is the humble olive, but there exists a wealth of tasty nibbles to treat yourself with on the side of the elixir of quietude. Find out what the highlights were from last year:
Honourable mentions
Before jumping into the top ten, I’ve got four food ‘themes’ that stuck out. First was the varied world of pickled goods. Pickles in general were a very widely viewed subject on the site, including the full on Pickle Martini.
A lot of viewers, and this has been the case for a decade, were particularly interested in Sri Lankan food. Not a specific item in particular, just different posts about Sri Lankan cuisine, particularly the items closely associated with Sri Lankan drinking culture like Mutton rolls.
One of the most viewed pages is a general guide for people with celiac/coeliac disease. I hope you find it useful.
And finally, we had a LOT of views of the article listing all the different kinds of food you can serve with a Porn Star Martini. Given that the drink has a completely different flavour profile to the classic martini this is a broad and very different array to the usual types of food I cover on this blog. I recommend giving it a read, even if Porn Star Martinis aren’t in your usual drinks order.
Otherwise, let’s look at the specific items that people wanted to read about in 2024:
Number 10: the Mini Drop Scone!
First up on the list, we’ve got a bite-size version of a Scottish classic. Miniature drop scones are just like the real thing but you use a teaspoon to measure the batter into the pan and the end result is a delightfully soft little round that’s absolutely perfect for an indulgent canapé. Read the post here.
Why not try these out for Burns Night? Maybe alongside some warming Paisley Martinis to commemorate Scotland’s national poet.
And remember, it’s pronounced SCONE, not SCONE!
Number 9: Prunes and Blue Cheese wrapped in Prosciutto
Moving on, these are worth the faff. Remove the stone from the prune, insert the cheese, wrap in Prosciutto and cook. They taste amazing served warm and disappear rapidly with a group of people.
I particularly recommend using a Hebridean Blue from my hometown, but it works with all manner of blue cheeses.
Number 8: Bamboo Charcoal Peanuts
This isn’t a recipe, it’s a snack I sometimes buy from my local Chinese supermarket. They’re crunchy, tasty and look fantastic, belonging of course to the elite category of black-coloured food. Read more here.
Number 7: Japanese Tsukemono
Simple, subtle and healthy pickles, these are easy to make at home, come in all sorts of seasonal varieties and even make a good martini garnish.
Read how to make them here, and maybe you might consider trying out the Tsukemono Gibson if they strike your fancy!
Number 6: Physalis
Fruit isn’t a common pairing for a martini but I love this one. It’s sweet and sour, while the plump, smooth and tight exterior gives way to a burst of seeds like brightly coloured caviar when you bite into it. Joyful. Read more here.
Number 5: Octopus Carpaccio
This is a store-bought variety but if I come up with a recipe made from scratch I’ll share it here. Preparing more seafood is one of my New Year’s resolutions so here’s hoping!
Carpaccio is an absolute delight alongside a martini. Read more about this octopus one in particular here.
Number 4: Crunchy Air Fryer Eggplant / Aubergine
Well surprise, we’ve got an air fryer entry in the top 10. Most of my martini foods don’t involve an air fryer, not least because part of me wants to avoid the cooking smell for the violet hour. Nonetheless, I do still love my kitchen gadget.
This dish really does require the air fryer treatment. It’s absolutely delicious, the texture is wonderful, it’s really easy to make and it really won’t come out the same with a normal oven.
I strongly recommend it – read the recipe here.
Number 3: Shime Saba (Japanese cured mackerel sushi)
This is my favourite kind of sushi to make at home, and usually my favourite kind of sushi to eat out as well. It’s the criminally underrated mackerel. You fillet it, lightly salt it then cure it to create a dish that is both light and subtle, yet firm and strong enough to stand next to your favourite martini.
I will always keep coming back to this dish, especially when it’s freshly caught in summer, or delivered by my favourite fish monger!
Number 2: Addictive Japanese Drinking Cabbage
Yes, you read that right. Yes, it’s a thing. Yes, it’s addictive.
It’s also dead easy to make, and once you eat it for the first time, you’ll wonder why it isn’t served all over the place.
It’s roughly torn or sliced cabbage leaves, dressed with sesame oil and salt, although you can also pimp it up with dashi powder, chicken powder, minced garlic, chilli flakes, sesame seeds, kimchi or a range of other toppings and seasonings, although I like to keep it fairly simple.
It’s classic izakaya fare, which is essentially hearty and/or refreshing chunks of food (meat, fish and plant) to serve alongside alcohol.
It’s crunchy, it’s tasty, it’s simple and it’s even healthy, making it a fantastic accompaniment to a martini.
Why not serve it alongside crunchy chicken skin crackers, and use the rendered chicken fat to season the cabbage as well?
Give it a go and follow the straightforward recipe here!
Number 1: Crunchy Salmon Skin!
And finally, the most viewed food page on the blog from 2024: it’s crunchy salmon skin!
The recipe talks about how to make them in the air fryer which was obviously a key word for getting more views over the year.
However, since posting the original article I’ve changed how I make this dish. I now prefer to dry fry the skin in a pan to render the fat and slowly crisp up the skins without all the smoke (and smoke detector false alarms) that the air fryer generates.
You can try it either way with the instructions for both methods here.
And that’s a wrap! If you have any other food that you like to eat alongside a martini, please write it in the comments.
Itadakimasu!
The Martini Socialist 