Hooray, July is officially National Picnic Month but why confine it to July. I’m a perennial picnicker, I virtually never leave home without a picnic.
My tin box, full of goodies, comes with me on the train, on a plane, up the hills, onto the beach or the cliffs…
I’ve got several picnic baskets, they are best for the beach, they fit several small frying pans so I can cook sausages over a little fire. I make a circle of stones on the sand, send the kids off to collect driftwood, scrunch up the sports pages and sizzle the sausages. What could be better after a swim, Colemans mustard made from the powder is an obligatory accompaniment for me and thick slices of fresh soda bread slathered with butter.
You’ll never be short of friends when you arrive with a picnic!
I’ve got lots of hand woven willow baskets. Some are relatively new, others are old and wonky but all much loved and full of memories. Childhood memories of picnics by the sea on the cliffs near the Metal Man in Tramore. Mummy would always roast a fat cockerel just before we left and bake several loaves of brown soda bread and a spotted dog. Always a pot of raspberry jam.
Good bread and jam tastes so good outdoors. And a cake, an old-fashioned coffee cake is my favourite.
You could of course make or bake something exotic for your picnic, though gorgeous, it’s definitely not essential. You’ll probably have lots of delicious store cupboard stables ready for a spontaneous picnic. I love to have good sardines or mackerel, a tin or two of really good anchovies. The latter will be delicious on thick slices of crisp cucumber (a delicious bite that Rory O’Connell introduced me to), and big juicy red and yellow tomatoes…
Make a batch of mayo and divide it in half, add some crushed garlic and chopped parsley to one lot and you’ve got a delicious aioli or garlic mayo.
I usually bring a few hardish boiled eggs too and a couple of ripe avocados. You’ll need some flaky sea salt for the avocados, and I love a little dollop of mayo, a sprinkling of Aleppo pepper and flaky sea salt over the hard boiled eggs – that simple treatment transforms them into a little gourmet picnic bite.
Don’t forget a hunk of cheese, or something soft and gooey and some water biscuits, a bottle of rosé and/or fizz and some elderflower cordial.
Depends where you’re off to, but one could call to a local shop to pick up a bag or two of ice, bring an ice bucket with you, use it as a container to fill it with picnic goodies on the way and for garbage on the way home.
Happy Picnicking…
Very Best Anchovies on Crisp Cucumber
Rory O’ Connell introduced me to this delicious little bite and so simple to make, they are also great for canapés.
Ingredients
1 crisp Irish new season cucumber
1 tin of the very best anchovies
a little lemon thyme if available
Method
Slice the cucumber into 2cm thick slices, lay a piece of anchovy on top. A
little sprinkling of lemon thyme enhances the magic.
The contrast of the crisp texture of the cucumber and briny anchovy makes for a
truly WOW bite.
Glazed Loin of Bacon
Best still warm – everyone will be licking their lips!
Serves 12-15
Ingredients
1.8-2.25kg loin of bacon, either smoked or unsmoked (streaky may also be used)
400g/1 small tin of pineapple, use 3-4 tbsp approx. of the juice
350g brown Demerara sugar (crunchy not soft brown sugar)
whole cloves, 20-30 approx.
Method
Cover the bacon in cold water and bring slowly to the boil, if the bacon is very salty there will be a white froth on top of the water, in this case it is preferable to discard this water. It may be necessary to change the water several times depending on how salty the bacon is, finally cover with hot water and simmer until almost cooked, allow 25-30 minutes approx. for every 450g. Remove the rind, score the fat into a diamond pattern, and stud with cloves. Blend brown sugar to a thick paste with a little pineapple juice, 3-4 tablespoons approx., be careful not to make it too liquid. Spread this over the bacon. Choose a small low sided gratin dish or roasting pan that barely fits the joint, otherwise the glaze will just burn on the tin. Bake in a fully preheated hot oven 250°C/Gas Mark 9 until the top has caramelised – baste the bacon three or four times during this time. It will take approx. 10-15 minutes to caramelise. Remove to a carving dish. Carve in thin slices lengthwise so each slice includes some of the eye of the loin and streaky bacon.
Note: We use loin of bacon off the bone.
Classic Coffee Cake (Loaf)
This is a splendid recipe for an old-fashioned coffee cake – the sort Mummy made – and we still make it regularly. Everyone loves it. I’m a real purist about using extract rather than essence in the case of vanilla, but in this cake, I prefer coffee essence (which is actually mostly chicory) to real coffee.
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
225g soft butter
225g caster sugar
4 organic eggs
225g plain white flour, preferably unbleached
1 tsp baking powder
scant 2 tbsp Irel or Camp coffee essence
Coffee Butter Cream
150g butter
330g icing sugar, sieved
5-6 tsp Irel or Camp coffee essence
Coffee Glacé Icing
450g icing sugar
scant 2 tbsp Irel or Camp coffee essence
about 4 tbsp boiling water
To Decorate
Caramelised Walnuts or just use walnut halves (see recipe)
1 x 20cm square cake tin
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Line the base and sides of the tin with greaseproof or silicone paper. Brush the bottom and sides with melted butter and dust lightly with flour.
Beat the soft butter with a wooden spoon, add the caster sugar and beat until pale in colour and light in texture. Whisk the eggs. Add to the mixture, bit by bit, whisking well between each addition.
Sieve the flour with the baking powder and stir gently into the cake mixture. Finally, add in the coffee essence and mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes. When the cake is cooked, the centre will be firm and springy, and the edges will have shrunk from the sides of the tins. Leave to rest in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Remove the greaseproof paper from the base, then flip over so the top of the cake doesn’t get marked by the wire rack. Leave the cake to cool on the wire rack.
To make the coffee butter cream, whisk the butter with the sieved icing sugar and add the coffee essence. Continue to whisk until light and fluffy.
When cold, cut the cake in half lengthwise, then cut each half horizontally creating rectangular layers, 4 in total. Sandwich each sponge layer together with half of the coffee butter cream, forming a loaf shaped cake. Place half of the remaining buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with a medium star shaped nozzle. Spread the sides and top of the cake thinly with the last of the butter cream and place into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to chill. This technique is called crumb coating.
Next make the Coffee Glacé Icing.
Sieve the icing sugar and put into a bowl. Add coffee essence and enough boiling water to make it the consistency of a thick cream.
To Decorate
Remove the cake from the fridge. Pour the glacé icing evenly over the top of the cake, gently spreading it down the sides with a palette knife. Allow to set, 30 minutes approx. Decorate with piped rosettes of buttercream and garnish with the caramelized walnuts or walnut halves if preferred.
Caramelised Walnuts
100g sugar
50ml cold water
20 walnut halves
225ml hot water
Dissolve the sugar in the cold water over a gentle heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved, then remove the spoon and continue to simmer until the syrup caramelises to a chestnut colour. Remove from the heat, dip the walnuts into the hot caramel, and coat each one completely using a fork. Remove to a silicone baking mat, or oiled cake tin, and allow to cool. Once all the walnuts have been coated, pour the hot water into the saucepan and continue to cook until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is quite smooth. Reduce until it starts to thicken slightly. Allow to get cold. This sauce can be used for serving with ice cream.