March is a blissful month for outdoor activities. The wind has diminished, the intense heat has been replaced by balmy days that beg for picnics, al fresco feasts and a wealth of outdoor activities. Picnics shouldn’t be your everyday packet of cheese sarmies and a box of fruit juice – but a posh affair that marks a special occasion.
As with any celebratory meal, this calls for extra effort on the part of the cook. Successful picnics are based on the four Ps – planning, preparation, packaging and presentation. The fare itself should be colourful, seasonal and delicious, but it also needs to be transportable.
Rather than starters, have a selection of nibbles like olives and nuts – augmented by tapas items, like bite-sized squares of filled omelette, mini-quiches, stuffed baby potatoes and baby roma tomatoes.
Chilled soup can add glamour to the occasion. Breads layered with contrasting flavours are trendy – again the importance of packaging the items separately and assembling on site cannot be overstated.
It’s easier to present all courses simultaneously, so that diners can mix and match to their hearts’ content. Seafood, cold meat, chicken and savoury tarts can be served with or without cutlery, as filling for tortilla wraps, but all with a pile of good paper serviettes. Side dishes of sturdy salads – think couscous, potato, rice and corn – add colour and flavour, while savoury fritters make another option. Take dressings in bottles and add last. For dessert, seasonal fruit can be used for a salad. Smoothies also make fine finales.
Finally, check on those items so often left behind – the bottle opener, the salt and pepper, a sharp knife, a large container of water.
And, if it is a moonlight picnic, include a torch or three.
Spicy prawn and cucumber soup
Delicious variation on the classic chilled uncooked cucumber soup, this contains tomato, and is garnished with prawns.
It comes from the Soup Bible, published by Penguin Books. Vegetarians could replace the seafood with cubed feta.
1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
Salt
1½ cups tomato juice
1½ cups vegetable stock
2 cups plain yoghurt
½tsp ground cumin
½tsp ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1tbs finely chopped spring onion
1tbs finely chopped fresh mint
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely shredded
12 freshly cooked prawns, peeled and deveined
Extra chopped mint, optional
Place cucumber in sieve, sprinkle with salt and set aside.
Combine tomato juice, stock, yoghurt, cumin, coriander, garlic, spring onion, mint and chilli, and season to taste.
Rinse salt from cucumber and pat pieces dry.
Stir into soup, then chill until ready to serve.
Ladle into bowls, divide prawns evenly among bowls, and garnish with mint.
Serves four to six people.
Thai-style satay chicken
Authentic Thai Recipes is a small book in the Family Circle mini cookbooks series and the photograph here illustrates their barbecued skewers of chicken thigh fillets served with a cooked satay sauce which sounds delicious, but involves a fair amount of work.
This is my easy recipe for chicken breast satays: also Thai in flavour, the marinade is uncooked, the satays can be grilled or baked the night before the picnic and no further sauce is needed. They are tender provided you don’t overcook them.
3 free-range chicken breasts, bone in
Marinade:
Light soy sauce
Sunflower oil
Sesame or peanut oil
Crushed garlic
Grated ginger
Powdered coriander
Lime or lemon juice
Bottled chilli sauce
Soft Brown sugar
Salt
Chopped fresh coriander or chopped Thai basil leaves
Carefully cut the chicken flesh off the bone and cut it into thin strips or bite-sized cubes. Make the marinade: Whisk about 45ml (3tbs) soy sauce with 15ml (1tbs) oil until the mixture emulsifies. Stir in 2tsp of sesame or peanut oil. Crush between 2 and 4 cloves of peeled garlic with a little salt and stir in, along with 1tbs of grated root ginger. (You can use powdered ginger). Stir in about 2tsp of powdered coriander. Add the juice of one lemon, then stir in chilli sauce to taste. If you are using sweet chilli sauce, you will not need sugar. If not, add 1 to 2tsp soft brown sugar and stir to dissolve. If you use low-salt soy sauce, you may need a little salt. Finally, stir in lots of chopped coriander leaves, or use Thai basil, for an exotic flavour. You may need a little more soy sauce to make enough marinade to just cover the satays.
Thread the chicken on to short wooden satay sticks, arrange satays in a single layer in an enamel or stainless steel baking tray, pour over the marinade and leave for 30 minutes or up to two hours.
Bake at 170ºC for about 5 minutes, turn and bake on the other side for about 3 minutes, until satays are just cooked through. Or, grill them under medium heat, turning once. They can be braaied as well, but be careful not to overcook.
Makes enough for four to six.
Mexican matzo salad
This trendy assemblage from Sharon Lurie’s Celebrating with the Kosher Butcher’s Wife, published by Struik Lifestyle is open to infinite variation, using a variety of ingredients.
Any flatbread (toasted pita halves for example) can replace the matzo strips, tomato or olive paste, or savoury cottage cheese can be substituted for the guacamole.
Garlic matzo strips:
Half cup oil
1tsp crushed fresh garlic
Pinch salt
4 matzo sheets
Guacamole:
2 avocados, peeled and chopped
2tbs lemon juice
1tsp crushed fresh garlic
Salt and pepper
Fresh salsa:
1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
1 English cucumber, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. For the matzo strips, mix the oil, garlic and salt in a bowl and leave for a few minutes. Paint each sheet of matzo with the garlic oil, transfer to a baking tray and bake for 5 to 10 minutes until golden and crispy.
For the guacamole, blend or mash the ingredients together and chill until needed. For the salsa, mix the ingredients in a bowl and drain off excess juices by pressing the mixture into a sieve or colander. Break the matzo sheets in half and layer with the guacamole and salsa and serve.
Marinated olives
This irresistible collection can be found in Peter Veldsman’s new book Blissful Bites, published by Human & Rousseau, the perfect title for those who entertain both formally and casually.
Veldsman suggests that you halve the quantities of oregano and marjoram if you make the olives a few days ahead.
500g mixed olives
30ml (2tbs) chopped fresh oregano
15ml (1tbs) chopped fresh marjoram
10ml (2tsp) chopped fresh rosemary
10ml (2tsp) chopped fresh thyme leaves
10ml (2tsp) onion flakes
Grated zest and juice of two oranges
Olive oil
Drain olives and transfer to a clean tea towel.
Dry well and place in an earthenware dish.
Add the herbs and onion flakes, then the orange zest and juice and mix.
Stir in enough olive oil just to moisten.
Cover and leave at room temperature for an hour or two, or chill if doing ahead of time.
Serve with a good bread. Ciabatta is a popular option and is good for mopping up salad dressing and olive oil.
Another good picnic bread is a focaccia topped with herbs or a good rustic sour dough loaf.
You could also take along savoury muffins or scones – preferably freshly baked. - Cape Argus