Portable food, perfect for a picnic on the beach, in a park, in the wilderness or on the floor beside an open fire. Here are some of my favourite picnic recipes.
Chive Pull Aparts These pull-aparts are simply a scone dough rolled up with a savoury filling. So, as with any scones, the trick is not to handle the dough any more than is necessary (see video below). Use any filling you fancy, such as chopped herbs, ‘nduja, cheese, anchovies or tapenade, and serve alongside your […]
Stuffed Vine Leaves (Dolmades) I enjoy rolling the filling into stuffed vine leaves, once you get started it’s quite meditative. Vine leaves come in large packs, which is just as well, as some will be too small or too large and some will tear. It’s worth making a big batch, so consider doubling the recipe […]
Funghi Trifolati Trifolati is an Italian term for dishes cooked in olive oil with garlic and parsley; mushrooms, zucchini and kidneys are often prepared this way. This was one of my favourite starters in Sydney’s 1980s suburban Italian restaurants, where exotic oyster mushrooms seemed to be the funghi of choice, so use any mushrooms you […]
Hazelnut & Butterscotch Pull-aparts Hazelnut and butterscotch pull-aparts are one of the quickest and easiest sweet treats to make, yet looks fabulous and tastes delicious. That’s my kind of cooking! Best of all, you can use this technique to make any flavour pull-aparts, sweet or savoury. Replace hazelnuts with any other nut, add dried fruit […]
Vitello Tonnato This elegant Italian version of surf and turf hails from the north-western region of Piedmont. It is delicious, though when prepared correctly not particularly attractive, and its English description of ‘poached veal in tuna mayonnaise’ doesn’t do it justice at all! You have to wonder why anyone would want their veal to taste […]
Walnut & Cinnamon Coffee Cake I’m not much of a baker, but this moist walnut and cinnamon coffee cake, with a scrumptious crunchy streusel topping, is foolproof and so delicious that it’s become my go-to when I need a homemade sweet treat to take to a friend’s house. Moist strudel-topped coffee cakes (streuselkuchen) originated in […]
Date & Walnut Roll If I’m baking, it has to be super-easy, like this delicious date and walnut roll that I don’t even need to get the electric mixer out for. I remember my Aunty Dorothy making these when I was a child, her daughter Gail often had slices in her lunchbox and I thought […]
Greek Leek & Cheese Pie (Prasopita) I’ve always loved Greek pies like spanakopita (spinach and cheese), tiropita (cheese) and hortopita (wild weeds – see video below). Then I discovered this Greek leek and cheese pie, which might just be the most delicious of all. Prasopita is popular in Greece during Lent, when devout Orthodox Christians […]
Bacon & Egg Pie Bacon and egg pie is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner and, as it’s great served at room temperature, it makes ideal picnic fare. Best of all, the ingredients will be on hand in a well-stocked fridge. I was introduced to this pie by my friend Janni Kyritsis who makes his […]
Escarole Frittata I first tasted escarole (also called curly endive) when I was backpacking around Italy in the late ’80s and stayed with a family in Campania; my hostess showed me how to cook it with pine nuts and raisins. In Naples it’s often cooked with garlic, anchovies, capers and olives as a filling for […]
