Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 90g frozen peas, defrosted and any water drained
• 90g cooked ham hock, shredded
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 650g sausagemeat
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• ½ tsp dried sage
• 70g plain flour
• 130g dried breadcrumbs
• 1l vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and gently lower in 4 of the eggs with a spoon. Cook for 10 mins, then scoop out and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. Peel and chop the boiled eggs into small pieces. Tip into a bowl, then gently fold through the peas, ham hock and mayonnaise. Season. The mayonnaise will help bind everything, but don’t overmix, or the egg will start to break up. Set aside.
3. Mash the sausagemeat, mustard, parsley, sage and some seasoning together with your hands until well combined. Divide the mixture into 16 walnut-sized balls. Press one of the balls flat in your palm to make a thin disc, then add a heaped teaspoon of the pea and ham filling to the centre. Close your hand to wrap the sausagemeat around the filling, then press and pinch to seal well. Reroll into a neat ball in your hands, then transfer to a plate and chill. Repeat with the remaining sausagemeat balls and filling.
4. Put the remaining eggs in a shallow bowl and beat, then tip the flour and breadcrumbs onto two separate plates. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dust the chilled picnic eggs in the seasoned flour, then dip into the beaten egg, then finally roll in the breadcrumbs until well coated.
5. Fill a large pan or wok no more than a third full with the oil and heat to 180C, or until a cube of bread sizzles when dropped into the oil, and browns in 30 seconds. Lower the picnic eggs into the oil in batches of four or five, and turn every minute for 3-4 mins, until evenly golden and crisp all over. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper while you cook the remaining batches. Scatter with some sea salt and serve with mustard mayo or minty tartare sauce, or serve cold.

Ingredients

• 2 kiwi fruits
• ½ small pineapple
• 1 small mango
• 75g blueberries
• 8 rice paper wrappers

For the coulis

• 250g frozen mixed berries, defrosted
• 3 tbsp honey, maple syrup or other sweetener

Method

1. For the coulis, blitz the berries and honey in a food processor (or in a jug using a hand blender) until very smooth. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed to loosen.
2. Prepare all the fruit by peeling, pitting or coring, as required. Thinly slice a few pieces of each fruit to decorate. Roughly chop the rest.
3. Soften the rice paper rolls by dunking into a wide, shallow bowl of water for a few seconds. Transfer to a work surface, then arrange a layer of fruit slices down the middle (this will be the visible decoration when rolled up). Spoon over some of the chopped fruit, then fold the rice paper wrap in at the sides before rolling up. The rice paper will stick to itself to seal. Keep chilled in a cool box or with an ice pack if travelling to a picnic, then serve with the coulis for dunking.

Ingredients

• 3 courgettes (about 650g), coarsely grated
• 75g feta
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 15g parsley, finely chopped
• 10g dill, finely chopped
• 25g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 50g breadcrumbs
• Vegetable or sunflower oil, for air-frying
• Yogurt drizzled with olive oil, to serve

Method

1. Put the courgette in a large bowl, sprinkle over 1 tsp salt, mix to combine and leave for 1 hr. Tip the courgette into a colander or sieve and drain any liquid, then put the courgette into a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Put in a clean bowl (or dry out the previous one).
2. Crumble in the feta, then mix in the spring onions, parsley and dill. Sprinkle in the flour, toss to combine, then mix in the egg and the breadcrumbs. Form into around eight fritters and arrange on a plate or tray. Brush each side with oil.
3. Heat the air-fryer to 180C, then put the fritters in a single layer and cook for 12 mins. Turn and cook for another 5-8 mins until golden and firm (you may need to do this in two batches). Serve with yogurt drizzled with a little olive oil, if you like, or alongside a salad for lunch, or poached eggs for brunch. Grind over some black pepper.

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp natural yogurt
• 4 chicken breasts, bashed with a rolling pin until slightly flattened
• Pittas or flatbreads and pickled chillies (optional), to serve

For the tahini dressing

• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 200g natural yogurt
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds

For the salad

• ½ red cabbage (about 500g), finely shredded
• 2 red onions, finely sliced
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, halved, deseeded and sliced
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 Little Gem lettuce, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Mix the garlic, olive oil and lemon juice together in a reusable plastic container or bowl. Stir in all the spices, oregano, a large pinch of salt and the yogurt, then mix to make a paste. Tip in the chicken, tossing to coat, then cover and marinate for at least 1 hr, or chill overnight.
2. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, season, cover and chill until needed. Can be made up to two days ahead. Toss all the salad ingredients, except the lemon juice and olive oil, together. The salad can be assembled 1-2 hrs ahead and kept chilled.
3. Light the barbecue or heat a griddle pan over a high heat. Cook the marinated chicken for 5 mins on each side, or until lightly charred and cooked through. Lift onto a board and set aside.
4. Drizzle the salad with the lemon juice and olive oil, then season with salt and toss everything together. Scatter the salad over a large platter or tip into a large serving bowl. Slice the chicken, then arrange it over the salad (or serve it on the side if you’re also cooking for vegetarians). Serve the salad with the tahini dressing on the side for drizzling over, along with toasted flatbreads or pittas for stuffing the chicken into and pickled chillies, if you like.

Ingredients

• 320g fine beans, ends trimmed and halved if large
• 4 carrots (320g), cut into slim batons
• 2 red onions, halved and sliced
• 400g can cannellini beans, drained
• 400g can red kidney beans, drained
• 320g mixed colour baby tomatoes (ours were red, yellow and orange), halved
• 15g basil leaves, roughly torn
• 120g vegetarian mozzarella, cut into cubes

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½-1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried English mustard powder
• 15 pitted Kalamata olives (about 45g), sliced
• ½ tsp lemon zest, and 2 tbsp juice

Method

1. Boil or steam the green beans and carrots for 8-10 mins until just tender. Put the sliced onions in a bowl and pour over boiling water until just covered.
2. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Tip the cooked beans and carrots into the dressing along with the drained onions, canned beans and tomatoes, toss well, then add the basil and toss again. Serve scattered with the mozzarella and a grinding of black pepper, if you like. Will keep chilled for up to three days.

Ingredients

• 500g strong white flour
• 7g fast-action yeast
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra
• Small pack basil, leaves picked
• 2 x 125g mozzarella balls
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 3 tbsp green pesto

Method

1. Put the flour, yeast and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl, ensuring the yeast and salt don’t touch. Pour in 350ml lukewarm water and the olive oil, and bring together with a spoon to form a wet, elastic dough. If using a stand mixer, knead for 5 mins or until the dough stops sticking to the side of the bowl. If kneading by hand, knead for 10 mins on a lightly floured surface.
2. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hr or until doubled in size.
3. Line a 20 x 30cm roasting tin with a piece of crumpled baking parchment. Cut the dough in half and press, as lightly as possible, one half into the roasting tin, stretching it out to fill the tin. Cover with the basil, mozzarella and pine nuts, then spread out the other half of the dough and place on top. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hr or until light and puffy.
4. Meanwhile, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Once risen, press indents with your fingers into the top of the dough. The dough is ready if the indents stay; if they bounce back, leave the dough for longer. Fill the indents with pesto, then sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and drizzle with a little olive oil.
5. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 25-30 mins, without opening the oven door, until golden.
6. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Take to your picnic whole and slice into 10-12 sandwiches when serving.