Rustling up a luxury picnic is one way of making a day outdoors extra special.
Spicy Chicken Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 sheets butter puff pastry
- 500g chicken mince
- 1/2 cup shredded tasty cheese
- 1 x 35g packet of taco seasoning mix
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 egg
- milk
- paprika
Read: Pork and Ricotta Meatballs and Polenta
Method
Preheat oven to 220˚C. Combine the mince, cheese, water, seasoning and finely chopped parsley in a large bowl and mix well. Cut the puff pastry sheets in half. Along one edge of each pastry shape, place a quarter of the mince mix in a sausage shape. Combine the egg and milk to make a wash and brush the other edge of the pastry. Roll up with the seam underneath. Cut each log into eight separate rolls about 3cm long without cutting all the way through (similar to garlic bread).
Place on a lined baking tray and brush with egg glaze and sprinkle paprika on top. Bake for 15 minutes, remove and cut the rolls all the way through then cook for a further 5 minutes until golden brown.
Crustless Spinach and Feta Quiche
Ingredients
- 250g ricotta cheese
- 100g bacon (optional)
- 100g onion
- 250g spinach
- 250g feta cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- olive oil
Read: Strawberry and Rhubarb Muffins
Method
Start by finely chopping the onion and bacon. Lightly beat your eggs in a bowl. Preheat oven to 180˚C.
In large frypan, brown the onion and add the bacon, if using. Add spinach and heat through. Crumble the feta cheese into the frypan and add the ricotta cheese, nutmeg and pepper. Mix well and cook for a few minutes (get most of the lumps out of the cheese). Add the eggs and mix well. Take off the heat and put in a baking dish and cook for 30-40 minutes.
Honey and Pine Nut Tart
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 225g plain flour
- 115g butter
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 egg
Filling:
- 115g unsalted butter, diced
- 115g caster sugar
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 175g honey
- 1 lemon
- 225g pine nuts
- pinch of salt
- icing sugar for dusting
Method
Preheat over to 180˚C. Prepare the mixture for the filling by dicing the butter and placing it to the side. In a bowl, beat the 3 eggs and, in a separate bowl, grate the rind of the lemon, and juice the lemon into a cup.
Read: Smoked Salmon, Goats’ Cheese and Asparagus Tart
Sift the flour into a bowl and add the butter, working it in with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar and add the egg and 15ml of water. Work the mixture until it is a firm dough.
Roll out the pastry on a floured board and use it to line a tart tin (23cm is appropriate). Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and chill for 10 minutes. Line with foil or greaseproof paper and fill with rice or dried beans. Bake the tart shell for 10 minutes.
For the filling, cream the caster sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs by adding a third of the mixture at a time. In a small saucepan, heat the honey on low until runny and then add to the butter mixture with the lemon juice and rinds. Stir in your pine nuts and add a pinch of salt. Remove the rice/dried beans from the shell and pour the filling into the pastry case.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is lightly browned and set. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then dust generously with icing sugar. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream.
What’s your favourite picnic treat? Why not share the recipe in the comments section below?
