Quick and Easy Impromptu Picnic Recipes for National Picnic Week

I’ve just learnt from the rather excellent blog that is Lavender and Lovage that this week is national picnic week. Well a quick glance outside tells me one thing…Mother Nature clearly didn’t get the memo, it’s tipping it down here in Cardiff and the weather forecast doesn’t look promising.

I’ve figured out a solution to the problem of picnicking in the UK… don’t plan it! If you plan your alfresco dining in advance you have pretty much guaranteed that there will be rain. The best thing to do is to grab some easy food the next time you see the sun poking out from behind the clouds and run to the nearest open space.

That’s exactly what I did a couple of weeks ago with Ed. It was midweek and I was looking at the sun through the office window when I was struck with a thought… let’s have a picnic supper. I finish at 5 and I knew that Ed would be home by 6.30 so I had an hour and a half to run to the shop, get home and make any treats I needed. It was certainly a tall order and in actual fact we didn’t set off until 6.45… still good going though!

Here’s the veritable feast of picnic recipes that I managed to whip up with less than an hour spent in the kitchen:

Wild Garlic Houmous

Serves 4

I love wild garlic and the woods have been full of it recently. Normally this foraged delight has disappeared by June but our cold spring seems to have delayed both its appearance and exodus so there are still some hardy bastions left if you look carefully. This recipe is a fantastic way to show off your haul as is my Wild Garlic Pesto which makes a great salad dressing and would be a fantastic picnic addition.

If you don’t have wild garlic, not to worry, just add in a couple of cloves of normal garlic and perhaps some parsley if you still want that greeny hue. Serve these with some crudités and breadsticks.

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas (drained but retaining the water)

1 – 1.5 tbsp Tahini (this depends on personal preference, start with one and add more if necessary)

2 tbsp good olive oil

5 flower heads of wild garlic

10 – 15 wild garlic leaves (depending on size and personal preference again, the more you add the more garlicky it will be)

Salt and Pepper

1. One easy step… put all the ingredients in a food processor and press go. Add the chick pea water to loosen the mix a little at a time until you have the consistency you want.

Beetroot and Feta Salad with an Orange Dressing

Serves 2-3

This is ridiculously easy and quick to make if you buy ready cooked beetroot. I used fresh garlic that I’d bought from the farmers market but it’s not widely available so have included spring onions (scallions) here instead.

2 x ready cooked beetroot – chopped into medium chunks

60g feta cheese (get barrel aged if you can, it’s so delicious) – chopped into medium chunks

2 x spring onions (including the green bit) – sliced

A handful of parsley and mint – roughly chopped

For the dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ tbsp orange juice

½ tsp dijon mustard

black pepper

1. Combine the beetroot, feta, spring onions, parsley and chives in a tub.

2. Whisk up the orange juice, olive oil, mustard and pepper in a bowl. Then pour over the beetroot mix.

3. Pop the lid on the tub and put it into the picnic bag.

5:2 Diet Tip: I’ve since enjoyed a version of this salad on a fast day… I omitted the feta and oil to reduce the calories and made the dressing from low fat yoghurt and orange zest (the juice is prone to curdling) with lots of lovely herbs and spring onions.

Asparagus, Artichoke and Duck Egg Frittata

Serves 4-6

Asparagus – cut into 1 ½ inch lengths

Artichoke hearts (jarred in oil) – 8 pieces cut in half

1 red onion

3 duck eggs

A good pinch of truffle salt (optional but tastes fantastic)

Good sized handful of flat leaf parsley

Salt and Pepper

1. Fry off the onion and asparagus in the olive oil a wide bottomed frying pan for 5 minutes over a medium heat.

2. Add in the artichoke for a further 2 minutes.

3. Beat all the other ingredients in a jug and cover the contents of the frying pan.

4. Using a wooden spoon, agitate the mixture in the pan for a minute or so then let the mix settle down , tipping the pan to ensure all the gaps are filled. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

5. Turn your grill on to a medium heat and put the frying pan under the grill until the frittata has browned nicely on top.

6. Remove from the pan and allow to cool slightly before slipping it off onto a board and cutting into segments.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Serves 2-3 (depending on greed levels…)

I made two types of these. They were the ideal picnic dessert, not utensils required to eat them, super quick to make and the ideal blend of rich chocolate and refreshing fruit for a meal on a hot day.

Seasoned Dark Chocolate Strawberries:

Black pepper and strawberries are a match made in heaven and when you bite down on to one of the salty crystals the sweetness of the fruit is intensified.

100g dark chocolate

¼ tsp sea salt crystals

¼ tsp cracked black pepper

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water or if you’re in a rush and super careful you could melt it in the microwave on half heat.

2. Mix in the salt and pepper.

3. Dip the strawberries in the mixture; allow the excess to drip off and then pop on a tray lined with greaseproof paper.

4. Put in the fridge for an hour to set the chocolate (45 minutes minimum).


Nutty Milk Chocolate Strawberries:

100g milk chocolate (I used some Caramelised Almond Toblerone that was in the cupboard but any milk chocolate will do)

50g hazelnuts

1. Put the hazelnuts into a hot oven for 5 minutes until they are starting to brown and their skins are flaking. Take out and allow to cool a little before rubbing any loose skin off.

2. While the nuts are cooling melt the chocolate (see above).

3. Blitz the nuts in a food processor quickly but not too much, you don’t want hazelnut dust. Spread the nuts on a plate.

4. Dip the strawberries into the chocolate and then roll gently in the nuts. Place on a lined tray and pop into the fridge to cool.

And since this feast was all made by my own fair hands I'm including it in the Made With Love Mondays challenge.