Food Picnic Ideas

Picnic In The City

What makes the perfect picnic? Piccalilli? Champagne and strawberies? Add a splash of sunshine, a shady spot in Regent's Park and you might just have the perfect alfresco feast. Here are a few inspiring ideas for what to pack alongside the chilled wine and tartan rug in town.

1. Chicken kebabs with sweet chilli marinade
Ingredients:

2 skinless chicken breast fillets

3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce, Thai

3 tbsp Chinese oyster sauce

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the chilli sauce and oyster sauce and stir to combine. Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes, or longer if desired.
3. Heat the grill. Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers, leaving a little space between each piece, and grill for 3-5 minutes on each side or until the chicken is just cooked through. Serve hot or cold.
uktv.co.uk

2. Poppyseed, Lemon Yogurt Tart, the French way
(For a 7.5″ tart, springform pan measuring 7.5 X 2.5″; or 2 small ones using 2 small springform pans, like the one I made here)
Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup plain sheep milk yogurt

2/3 cup mascarpone

4 tablespoons blond cane sugar

2.5 tablespoons cornstarch

Zest of 1 organic lemon

1 tablespoon poppyseeds

Pastry (use a gluten free one or one that you like)

Confectioner’s sugar, to dust

1. Preheat the oven at 350 F.
2. Roll your pastry crust and garnish your mold with it. Make small holes at the bottom; place in the fridge.
3. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, mascarpone, egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest and poppyseeds; set aside.
4. Place the egg whites in a bowl and whip them firm with a pinch of salt — add 1 teaspoon sugar almost at the end, to make them firmer. Fold carefully into the yogurt preparation.
5. Pour this batter into the mold and level the top. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or so. Check regularly. Let cool before eating; dust with confectioner’s sugar
www.latartinegourmande.com

3. Pepper and chorizo picnic frittata
Ingredients:

4 tbsp Olive oil

50g Butter

1 large Onions, sliced

2 cloves Garlic, crushed

250g new potatoes, diced, with the skin left on

1 red pepper, seeds removed, sliced

150g chorizo sausages, diced

1 pinch Nutmeg, grated

0.5 tsp Paprika

6 large Eggs

1 tbsp flat leaf Parsley,

1. Heat a 25cm frying pan and add the oil and butter followed by the onions and garlic. Fry gently until the onions have softened, but not coloured.
2. Add the diced potatoes and red pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the potato is soft - about 10 minutes.
3. Add the chorizo sausage to the pan and fry for a further 2-3 minutes before sprinkling in the nutmeg and paprika.
4. Beat the eggs with a fork, season, and pour into the pan, while still on a low heat. Tip the pan around until the egg is evenly distributed and the base has begun to set. Keep tilting the pan so that the uncooked egg settles around the edges of the pan. Take the pan off the heat when the base has firmed up and the surface is softly set.
5. Slice the frittata into wedges, garnish with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
uktv.co.uk

4. Potato and radish salad recipe
Ingredients:

2kg waxy new potatoes, such as charlottes, halved if large

2 bunches of radishes, trimmed and finely sliced

Bunch of spring onions, finely sliced

2 punnets mustard cress, trimmed

For the dressing

5cm piece fresh horseradish, finely grated, or 2 tbsp horseradish cream

Juice of 1/2 lemon

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the potatoes. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Drain and tip into a large serving bowl.
2. Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl and pour over the potatoes. Season, toss together and leave to cool. Add the radishes, spring onions and cress and gently toss together.
www.channel4.com/food/recipes

5. Garden vegetable & goat's cheese quiche
Ingredients:

1 deep 24cm blind-baked pastry case
FILLING

40g butter

85g courgettes (baby or regular), sliced at an angle

85g runner beans , stringed, halved lengthways and sliced

85g fresh or frozen peas

3 continental salad onions , stems chopped and bulbs quartered

300ml milk

25g plain flour

2 large eggs

110g log full-fat soft goat's cheese , sliced

3 small vine tomatoes , quartered

1. Preheat the oven to fan 170C/ conventional 190C/gas 5. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and cook the green vegetables and onions for 5 minutes, stirring until starting to soften. Tip the milk and flour into the pan and stir over the heat until it thickens to a smooth sauce. Cool for 5 minutes or so, stirring to stop a skin forming.
2. Beat the eggs into the sauce and generously season. Pour into the pastry case and scatter with the goat's cheese and tomatoes.
3. Bake for 40 minutes until the filling is set, turning golden. Cool for a few minutes before taking from the tin. Serve with a green salad.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes