The Perfect Picnic Recipes

Houmous Pots

These handy individual pots of houmous are transported to the picnic already packed with their own little vegetable dipping sticks, so there's even less to carry.

Ingredients
Serve 6

100g dried chickpeas
juice of 2 lemons
150ml tahini paste
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
4 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, peeled
1 cucumber, washed
6 sticks celery
2 handfuls radishes, washed
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes

Method

Put the chickpeas in a saucepan and cover with water, leave to soak overnight. Drain and cover with fresh water. Simmer for 45 mins to 1 hour until tender, drain and reserve some of the cooking liquid.

Put the chickpeas in a food processor with the lemon juice, tahini paste, garlic and olive oil. Whizz until smooth (if too thick, drizzle in the reserved cooking liquid until you have the correct consistency, it shouldn't run of the vegetable sticks when they're dipped into the houmous).

Slice the carrots, cucumber and celery lengthways into chunky pieces, and slice radishes in half. Spoon houmous into plastic glasses or yoghurt pots, and then stick in the vegetable sticks and tomatoes. Cover with film to transport to picnic.

Chicken and Watercress Filo Pie

Ingredients
Serves 6-8

100g ready rolled filo pastry
75 butter, melted
750g potatoes, peeled and chopped
1x85g bag watercress (or a large bunch)
100g Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast, preferably organic

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180C gas4. Brush an ovenproof dish or tin, approx 20x30cm with a lithe melted butter.
Lay the filo pastry in the dish, letting it hang over the surface edges slightly, brushing in between the sheets with the butter as you go along.
Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender, drain then mash until lump free. Roughly chop half the watercress, mix into the mash along with the remaining butter and most of the cheddar. Taste then season well.

Heat the oil and fry the chicken breasts until golden brown 9they didn’t need to be cooked right through).
Slice into pieces. Spoon the mash into the dish over pastry. Top with chicken pieces and sprinkle over remaining cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Leave to cool slightly, cover and pack in the picnic basket with remaining watercress. Scatter over the watercress and drizzle with olive oil to serve.

Gado Gado Salad

This vegetarian Indonesian salad is an unusual and delicious alternative to the often limp and bland picnic offering.

Ingredients
Serves 6

51 tbsp sunflower oil
2x250g pfts tofu
6 spring onions
3 carrots, peeled
4 little gem lettuces, washed and leaves separated
1 cucumber, sliced
2 large handfuls bean sprouts

For the sauce

250g roasted peanuts
1 red chilli, de-seeded
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tsp caster sugar
200 ml/ 7 floz coconut milk

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Cut the tofu into-bite-sized pieces and fry for 5 minutes until browned on all sides. Set aside

Slice the spring onions and put in large transportable salad bowl. Slice the carrots into thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler and put into the bowl along with the little gem, cucumber and bean sprout.

To make the sauce: put the peanuts, chilli, onion, garlic and sugar in a food processor and whiz. Add the coconut milk and blitz again. Pour onto a pan and simmer for 2-3 minutes; allow cooling. Taste then season well.
Transfer to a salad tub or bottle. To serve, spoon onto picnic plates and drizzle over a little of the peanut sauce.

Aubergine and Halloumi Skewers

Ingredients
Makes 12 skewers

3 medium aubergines
Olive oil, to brush
2x250pkts halloumi cheese
2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
Pitta bread and rosemary, to serve

Method

Pre-heat a barbecue or grill. Slice the aubergines lengthways as thinly as possible.
Brush with oil and place on an oven tray (or barbecue).
Cook for 2 minutes on each side until they become soft and slightly charred.
Roll each slice up.
Cut the halloumi into chunks.
Thread onto skewers along with the red onion and aubergine.
Grill or barbecue for 5 minutes. Wrap well. Sprinkle with rosemary and serve with pitta bread.

Fruit Flapjacks

Perfect for adults and children’s alike, these Flapjacks are even tastier when made a day ahead. Simply pack in a airtight, transportable container and serve with the thirst quenching strawberry and watermelon slush or pomegranate pimms.

Ingredients
Makes 16 bars

50g plain flour
300g porridge oats
50g desiccated coconut
100g sesame seeds
200g soft brown sugar
200g dried fruit such as cherries, cranberries and blueberries
200g butter
6 tbsp golden syrup

Method

Pre-heat oven to 170C/ gas3. Line a 20x30 cm baking tin with greaseproof paper. Put the flour, oats, coconut, sesame seeds, sugar and dried fruit into a mixing bowl. Slowly melt the butter and syrup together in a saucepan.

Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well until all the ingredients are coated in buttery juices. Spoon into the tin and then flatten out.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes.
Cut into rectangles using a sharp knife and wrap in greaseproof paper to transport.

Lemon Drizzle Traybake

The ideal picnic cake: simply to make, ideal for transporting without smashing and big enough to go round. Serve in slices or square wedges.

Ingredients
Serve 8

350g self-raising flour
3 tsp baking powder
350g soft margarine or butter, softened
350g caster sugar
6 eggs
Juice and zest 2 lemons
300g icing sugar

Method

Pre-heat oven to 170C gas3. Lightly grease a 30x23cm non stick Traybake tin. Put the flour, baking powder, margarine and caster sugar in a bowl and whisk until thick and creamy.
Slowly beat in the eggs and the juice and zest of one lemon until well mixed. Spoon into the baking tin and spread out evenly. Cook for aprox 50 mins until golden and springy to touch. If the cake is browning too much, cover with greasproof paper for the last 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool in tin for 30 mins. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
Make the icing; sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the remaining lemon juice.
Slowly beat in a little boiling water (1tsp at a time) until smooth and icing coats the back of a spoon.
Put the cake into a traybake airtight box and soon over the icing so that it drizzles down the side of cake.
Sprinkle over remaining lemon zest. Decorate with small yellow edible icing flowers, if you like. Leave to set then pop the lid on the box and take to the picnic.

Strawberry and Watermelon Slush

Ingredients
Serve 6
1 small watermelon, pips removed
400g strawberries, washed and hulled
Juice and zest 2 limes
Sugar to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges

Method

Cut the flesh from the watermelon and put into a food processor with the strawberries and lime zest and juice. Whizz until smooth. Taste and stir a little sugar if you think it needs it.
Put into a freezerproof bowl or container and freeze for 30 minutes.
Remove from freezer and beat well. Freeze for a further 60 minutes.
Smash up the mixture until slushy. Spoon into a flask to take to the picnic. Pour a spoon into glasses and serve with a wedge of lime.

Pomegranate Pimm’s

Ingredients
Serve6
2 ripe pomegranates, seeds removed
150ml of pomegranate juice
½ cucumber
Sprigs mint
Ice, to serve
6x250ml cans ready-mixed Pimm’s and lemonade, chilled

Method

Put the pomegranate seeds and juice into large serving jug. Scoop out the seeds from the cucumber using a teaspoon. Slice into sticks. Pop into jug with pomegranate seeds.
Cover the jug with a lid or film and pack it carefully into a cool box with the mint, a bag of ice cubes and the cans of Pimm’s.
Scatter in a handful of the mint leaves and put some of the ice into the jug. Pour in the Pimm’s.
Serve straight away.