All About Picnics
Sun Herald
Sunday October 29, 2000
There's more to dining al fresco than soggy sandwiches and boiled eggs.
Don't forget your...
? Corkscrew
? paper napkins
? plates and cutlery
? plastic glasses and cups
? a cooler bag or esky with ice bricks (pack drinks and food close to the ice bricks to ensure they remain chilled)
? groundsheet or rug (if you're intending to sit on the ground)
? an umbrella for shade
? sharp knife for cutting
? plastic bags for litter
? mayonnaise or vinaigrette in a screwtop jar
? thermos each of hot water (with herbal tea bags) and espresso coffee
? containers of milk and sugar for tea and coffee.
? and don't forget to take along the insect repellent (a rub-on is best) and sunscreen lotion.
A salad guaranteed to survive the trip
If you hanker after a green salad, wash and dry individual leaves of cos lettuce and put them in a zip-lock plastic bag or plastic container. Take along a dressing (vinaigrette, mayonnaise) in a separate container and dip the leaves in when you're ready to eat it. For dessert, take along fruit that is in season and which travels well, such as grapes, mandarins, oranges, hard pears, plums, lychees and whole rockmelons or honeydews.
Easy lemonade
Take this traditional lemonade in a thermos.
Zest six lemons (make sure there's no pith, as it will make the lemonade bitter) and place in a large jug. Add 150g sugar and pour over two litres of boiling water. Stir until sugar has dissolved and leave to cool. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and add to the cooled syrup. Taste and adjust sugar, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. A few lemon verbena leaves (bruised with a wooden spoon and a pinch of sugar, to release their essential oils) are a nice addition.
Those flocking to Spring Carnival meetings and the Melbourne Cup may appear to lead glamorous and gracious lives. But do they? In Andrea Goldsmith's novel Gracious Living, certain behaviour in the car park at Flemington on Cup day may leave you wondering. Goldsmith sets the scene by describing the hats, cars, gossip, intrigue and food. The latter includes pre-frozen salmon patties, chicken wings, roulades, sandwiches, meat balls, a wheel of brie and an edam. Each year some of the less dedicated punters become so absorbed by the pre-race shenanigans that they remain in the car park, happy to forfeit a day at the races for a 12-hour party.
Australians have always been great picnickers (and gamblers) and on warm spring days, it makes sense to eat outdoors. Elaborate formal picnics such as those at the Cup are best left to professional caterers. For the rest of us, finger food is a better option.
Sandwiches are always a good stand-by and you can use your imagination to jazz them up with various mustards, pastes and mayonnaise. Cold roast beef and lamb sits comfortably with black olive tapenade or Vivid's Sunset Tapenade; cold pork with cranberry sauce or honey mustard; cold chicken with a basil pesto and/or mayonnaise. Double-decker sandwiches go further and are easy to hold if cut into fingers or quarters.
Baby leaves of rocket or watercress are good additional fillings, along with shredded iceberg lettuce, and if you have a hankering for tomatoes, use semi-dried instead of fresh, as the latter tend to make the bread soggy. Individual homemade pies (such as chicken, bacon, mushroom and tarragon), tarts and quiches are easy to hold and are delicious when served cold.
Roasted chicken drumsticks make ideal finger food. Marinate them in a honey, soy, ginger and garlic mixture (Masterfoods make a variety of marinade sauces) or a lime, olive oil, garlic and chilli concoction, roast in a moderate oven and refrigerate when cool. Pack them in an esky against an ice brick and hand around at the picnic wrapped in a paper napkin.
Lean lamb cutlets make excellent finger food. Some butchers sell smoked lamb cutlets, which are delicious. Or you can marinade, then char-grill them and serve cold.
Or try them schnitzel-style: roll each one in seasoned flour, then in beaten eggs and finally in a mixture of fresh breadcrumbs and grated parmesan. Shallow-fry in olive oil until golden on both sides and serve with lemon wedges. Wrap the bone with a napkin before serving. Cold soups travel well in a thermos and can be drunk from paper cups. Gazpacho is always popular (take along some Tabasco for an added hit), and cold vichyssoise is also tasty (try making it with fennel instead of leeks and adding freshly chopped dill).
To satisfy picnickers with a sweet-tooth, make a batch of homemade choc-chip biscuits or ginger snaps. Cakes which cut well (such as butter cakes or boiled fruit cakes) are good - glaze them, rather than using icing, because it tends to weep in the heat. l
Recipes
Zesty lemon cake
220g softened butter
200g sugar
4 eggs
300g self-raising flour
3 tbsp milk
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
Syrup
Juice of 4 lemons
8 tbsp caster sugar
? Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 20-centimetre-square cake tin.
? Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour with the milk and the lemon zest.
? Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool for five minutes, then brush over the hot syrup.
? Cut into squares to serve.
For the syrup:
? Stir together the lemon juice with the caster sugar in a pan over moderate heat, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and brush over the hot cake.
Green risotto balls
800ml-900ml chicken stock
50g butter
2 spring onions, finely chopped
300g arborio rice
100ml dry white wine
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
1 cup peas (fresh young ones, if available)
1/2 cup stringless beans, in 1-cm pieces
1/2 bunch thin asparagus (top half only), cut into 1cm pieces
150g baby zucchini, diced
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
2-3 tbsp basil pesto
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
? Heat the stock in a small saucepan - keep warm on the lowest setting.
? Heat half of the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan, add the onions and cook until softened.
? Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and boil until it evaporates. Stir in all the vegetables.
? Add stock by the ladleful, stirring each time until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock and stirring until the rice is cooked (but still "al dente"), which takes about 20 minutes - don't let the rice become mushy or too full of liquid.
? Remove pan from the heat, stir through the parmesan, remaining butter and pesto. Season to taste.
? Cool slightly then beat in the eggs. Spread out over a baking tray, cover and place in refrigerator to cool completely.
? To make balls, take a heaped tablespoon of risotto and roll into a ball. Continue with remaining mixture. Roll the balls in fine dry breadcrumbs or flour/egg breadcrumbs for a firmer result.
? Chill well then deep fry in hot oil at 180C until golden all over.
? Drain on paper towels.
You can also fill the balls with mozzarella:
? Cut the cheese into tiny cubes, toss together with some freshly chopped basil and flat-leaf parsley.
? Take a heaped tbsp of risotto and flatten slightly in the palm of your hand. Put 1/2 tsp of filling mix in the centre and draw up the risotto to cover. Roll into a ball and proceed as above. These are best served hot.
? Alternatively, fry the chilled risotto in olive oil in a large pan until golden, then turn carefully and fry again until golden. Cut into wedges as you would a cake.
Caramelised onion, blue cheese and ham country tarts
These delicious tarts are adapted from a recipe by Melbourne caterer Louise Lechte. Makes 12
3 sheets butter puff pastry
4 medium-large onions, sliced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
30g butter
3 tsp sugar
approx 150g thinly shaved Virginia ham, cut finely into strips
approx 120g blue cheese), crumbled
olive oil
salt and freshly cracked pepper
? Cut each puff pastry sheet into four circles 11.5cm across (use a plate or cake tin to guide you).
? Lightly butter 12 tartlet (or muffin) tins measuring 6.5cm across the bottom. Fit pastry into tins, leaving overhang. Chill.
? Preheat oven to 200C.
? Saute onions with the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan, turning frequently.
? When they are well-coloured, add butter and sugar, and cook for a further five minutes to caramelise.
? Divide onion mixture evenly between the pastry cases. Top each with ham and cheese, and season with salt and pepper.
? Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked, cheese is bubbling and ham crisp.
© 2000 Sun Herald
