Sunshine& Eating outdoors is a pleasure when the sun is out – all you need is food to suit the occasion and the company. These new prepare-ahead recipes will fit the bill Recipes CASSIE BEST Photographs SAM STOWELL
POSH PICNIC FOR TWO
If friends are joining you, just add a shop-bought pork pie plus some olives and cheese to keep everyone satisfied.
Smoked salmon & poppy seed palmiers
Asparagus & prosciutto bundles with goat’s cheese & hazelnut dip
EASY
EASY
uncooked MAKES 10 PREP 25 mins COOK 25 mins
320g sheet puff pastry 1 egg, beaten 1 tbsp poppy seeds 5 tbsp cream cheese 100g/4oz smoked salmon small bunch chives, snipped
1 Unroll the pastry and brush one side all over with the beaten egg. Sprinkle over the poppy seeds, then fip over the pastry. Spread the cream cheese over the pastry and top with the smoked salmon, then scatter over the chives. With one of the longer sides facing you, mark a line roughly down the centre, but don’t cut all the way through. Tightly roll each end in towards the middle until you reach the centre. Slice into 1cm-thick pieces and place, cut-side up, on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Chill until ready to bake, or freeze for up to 2 months. 2 Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake for 20-25 mins until puffed up and golden brown (if baking from frozen, cook for an extra 5 mins). Leave to cool on a wire rack before packing for your picnic. PER PALMIER energy 179 kcals • fat 12g • saturates 6g • carbs 11g • sugars none • fibre none • protein 6g • salt 0.8g
MAKES 6 PREP 20 mins COOK 5 mins
18 asparagus spears, woody ends removed drizzle olive or rapeseed oil 6 slices prosciutto handful rocket leaves 12 semi-dried tomatoes FOR THE DIP 100g/4oz cream cheese 100g/4oz soft rindless goat’s cheese 1 tbsp milk 6-8 toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 Heat a griddle pan. Drizzle the asparagus with a little oil, season and cook for 3-4 mins, rolling around the pan until just tender. Leave to cool. 2 Lay a slice of prosciutto on your chopping board. Put 3 asparagus spears on top, with the tips poking out the end, then top with a few rocket leaves and 2 semi-dried tomatoes. Roll up the prosciutto tightly to enclose the flling and put in a sealable container for transporting. Continue until all the ingredients are used up. 3 Mash the cream cheese and goat’s cheese together in a bowl with a fork. Season and add enough milk to make a smooth consistency, into which you can dip the bundles. Transfer to a pot for travelling and sprinkle over the hazelnuts. PER BUNDLE energy 210 kcals • fat 16g • saturates 9g • carbs 4g • sugars 3g • fibre 2g • protein 12g • salt 1.3g
Elderfower & cucumber G&Ts EASY GLUTEN FREE
MAKES 4 PREP 10 mins NO COOK
Peel 2 long strips from a 10cm piece of cucumber and put in a small tupperware for transporting. Grate the remaining cucumber into a sieve set over a bowl and press down on it with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Add 100ml elderfower cordial and 100ml gin
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to the cucumber juice and put in a bottle ready for travelling. At your picnic, wind the strips of cucumber around inside 2 glasses, pour in a quarter of the cucumber gin mixture, and top up with with a quarter of a 1 litre bottle tonic water to serve. PER G&T energy 199 kcals • fat none • saturates none • carbs 33g • sugars 17g • fibre none • protein none • salt none
bbcgoodfood.com
Raspberry & coconut scones If you want to mix fruit into your scones, it’s a good idea to freeze the fruit first or buy it ready-frozen. That way, it won’t break up too much as you mix it into the soft dough. EASY
MAKES 4 PREP 25 mins COOK 15 mins
200g/7oz self-raising four, plus a little for dusting 25g/1oz desiccated coconut, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling 50g/2oz cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 25g/1oz golden caster sugar 100ml/31/2f oz buttermilk 1-2 tbsp full-fat milk 50g/2oz frozen raspberries, any large ones halved 1 egg, beaten clotted cream and jam or curd (passion fruit curd is nice with these scones), to serve
1 Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and dust a baking tray with a little four. Put the remaining four in a bowl with the coconut and 1/4 tsp salt. Add the butter and rub in with your fngertips until the texture resembles fne breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix again, then pour in the buttermilk and 1 tbsp milk. Mix with a knife until the mixture has almost come together, then add the raspberries and mix again, trying not to break up the fruit too much. Add the remaining milk if the mixture seems too dry. 2 Tip onto a work surface and knead the dough a little to bring it together and even out any dry patches – don’t overwork it or the scones will be heavy. Pat the dough into a square about 4-5cm deep. Cut into 4 pieces, roughly shaping them back into squares if they’ve lost their shape. 3 Place on a baking tray, brush with egg and bake for 15 mins until golden and risen. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Pack clotted cream and jam or curd to serve with the scones. Best eaten on the day they are made. PER SCONE energy 365 kcals • fat 16g • saturates 10g • carbs 45g • sugars 9g • fibre 4g • protein 8g • salt 0.6g
May 2015
