Meals on Wheels |
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Pack a hamper with home-made goodies and head off for a special picnic.
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Menu
Iced Fruit Tea
Curried Egg and Salad Rolls
Lettuce and Herb Salad with Coriander Dressing
Tabouli
Marinated Chicken Drums
Lemon and Ginger Syrup Cakes |
Setting the Scene
- Surprise your friends by taking them to a local park for a colourful summer picnic. Pack some bright blankets, plastic cups and plates, a menu of delicious fare and a selection of fun outdoor games.
- Paper napkins are perfect for picnics. Keep them from blowing away by placing a couple of medium-size painted stones on top of the stack.
- Give bread rolls a little café chic by wrapping them with a band of folded baking paper and tying with twine.
- Add a little fun to the table setting by serving the green salad in a retro-style colander. The dressing can be served separately in a small plastic container placed next to the salad.
- Tablecloths give picnic tables an inviting feel. To stop them blowing around, make some tablecloth weights (children will enjoy this). You’ll need four wooden pegs and four medium-sized stones painted to match the table setting. Tie them together with string and clip a peg to each corner of the tablecloth.
Iced Fruit Tea
Iced tea is a wonderfully refreshing summer drink. Wildberry tea bags can be found with the fruit teas in supermarkets.
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8 cups water
12 wildberry tea bags
½ cup each: liquid honey, brown sugar
8 strawberries
2 each: oranges, lemons and limes, cut into wedges (skin on)
4 sprigs of mint
Ice cubes
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Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan. Turn off heat and add tea bags, honey, sugar, half the fruit and half the mint sprigs. Leave to cool completely, stirring occasionally, then place in the refrigerator for an hour. Strain tea and discard flavourings. Strained tea can be covered and refrigerated overnight if necessary.
To serve, place ice in a serving container along with remaining fruit and mint sprigs and pour strained tea over. Serves 6
Curried Egg and Salad Rolls
Serve these retro-style rolls encircled with paper cuffs for both good looks and practicality.
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6 eggs
3 tablespoons good-quality mayonnaise
1½ teaspoons curry powder
1 French stick
Soft butter for spreading
Fresh salad leaves, including watercress |
Hard-boil eggs, peel and place in a bowl with mayonnaise and curry powder. Mash with a fork and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Cut loaf into 6 equal pieces then slice each piece in half lengthways. Spread one side generously with butter, followed by the mashed egg. Top with salad leaves and remaining bread. Secure with a band of baking paper or a napkin tied with string.
To keep rolls fresh, wrap them in a just-damp clean tea towel and place in an airtight container. Keep chilled until ready to serve. Makes 6
Lettuce and Herb Salad with Coriander Dressing
A zingy Asian-style dressing adds punch to this green salad. Look for lemon basil at greengrocers and larger supermarkets.
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200g mixed lettuce leaves
1 bunch watercress
½ cup each: coriander, mint, lemon basil leaves (or regular basil)
3 spring onions, finely sliced on the angle
Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 coriander roots, cleaned and dried, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon each: caster sugar, fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce
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Wash salad greens and herbs and drain well. Wrap in a clean tea towel with spring onions and keep chilled until ready to use.
To make dressing, place garlic, salt and coriander roots in a small food processor and mix until finely chopped. Add lime juice, oil, sugar, fish sauce and chilli sauce. Pulse until just combined.
Dressing can be made a day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.
To serve, place prepared salad in a serving bowl, pour over dressing and toss together. Serves 6-8
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Picnic Planner
Although this is an impressive picnic spread, very little last-minute work is required, so the cook will get a chance to relax too.
- A day ahead: Marinate the chicken drums and bake the cake. If desired, you can also make the iced tea, the curried egg roll filling and the lime and coriander salad dressing.
- A few hours ahead: Assemble the salad rolls, make the tabouli and bake the chicken drums.
- At serving time: Pour the tea over ice and fruit, dress the lettuce salad and cut and garnish the cake.
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Tabouli
This popular Middle Eastern salad (also spelled tabbouleh) travels well so it’s a good picnic choice. Bulgur – whole wheat that has been partially cooked, cracked then dried – can be found in delis and health food stores.
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1¼ cups bulgur (cracked wheat)
1½ cups boiling water
8 baby tomatoes, halved
½ telegraph cucumber, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 small red onion, finely diced
½ cup each: mint, basil and parsley leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large lemon, juice and finely grated zest
4 tablespoons olive oil |
Place bulgur in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water. Leave to stand for 15 minutes then transfer to a sieve and press to remove excess water.
Combine drained bulgur with the remaining ingredients and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and leave to stand in a cool spot for 2-3 hours.
Before serving, toss tabouli with a fork and add a little extra olive oil and lemon juice if needed. Serves 6
Marinated Chicken Drums
Start making these the day before to allow time for the chicken to get the full benefit of the tasty marinade.
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4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 thumb ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons each: sweet chilli sauce, liquid honey
1 tablespoon each: sesame oil, fish sauce
1 cup white wine
1 bunch of fresh coriander, coarsely chopped, plus extra for garnish
12 chicken drumsticks
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Combine all ingredients except chicken in a large, non-reactive bowl. Add drumsticks and stir to coat well with marinade. Cover and chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 190°C. Transfer chicken and marinade to a roasting dish and bake 30-40 minutes, basting once or twice during this time, until juices run clear. Serve warm or cold, garnished with additional fresh coriander leaves. Serves 6
Lemon and Ginger Syrup Cakes
For ease, these cakes are baked as one whole cake first, which is then cut into smaller, single-serve squares.
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100g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
25g preserved stem ginger, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons milk
175g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Strawberries and cream to serve
Syrup:
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon preserved stem ginger syrup
100g icing sugar
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Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm square tin (allow baking paper to come above the sides of the tin; this will help when removing the cake).
Cream butter and sugar. Using a wooden spoon, beat in lemon zest, ginger, eggs and milk to form a smooth batter. Sift flour and baking powder over and mix until combined.
Spoon mixture (which is quite stiff) into prepared tin and level top. Bake 25-30 minutes until cake is cooked (test with a skewer) and lightly golden.
While cake is cooking, combine syrup ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Once cake is cooked, prick the top all over and pour syrup over. Leave cake in tin overnight to cool completely.
To serve, remove cake to a chopping board and cut into 9 even squares. Top with a dollop of cream and fresh strawberries. Makes 9 small cakes
What to drink
Good drinks make a good picnic but, if fruit tea is a little tame for you, try a spicy pinot gris with the sticky chicken drums – Astrolabe Marlborough 2008 ($22) is divine.
For afters, pop in a little bottle of the sweet, honeyed Forrest Estate Late Harvest Gewürztraminer 2007 ($18).
Yvonne Marie Lorkin
Stockists:
Vespa scooter from Scootling, (09) 360 0717; yellow butterfly chair from Republic, (09) 361 1137; pink bag, pink lantern and tableware, all from Emilie, (09) 571 9375; colander from Briscoes (Wairau Park), (09) 415 1100; paper napkins from Foodtown, 0800 404 040; tablecloth fabric and paint for pegs from Spotlight, 0800 276 222; toys from The Warehouse, 0800 422 274; blankets from Harrowset Hall, (09) 361 5647; pebbles from Kings Plant Barn (St Lukes), (09) 846 2141; string and pegs from Mitre 10 (Glenfield), (09) 440 5100.
For more styling suggestions, see this story's photo gallery.
Story: Bernadette Hogg
Photographs: Kieran Scott
Stylist: Claudia Kozub
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