A friend of mine works at the Opera Holland Park in London and I was fortunate enough to go along recently to see Fidelio (incredible in case you were wondering).
The evening starts off with a picnic in the park. As it's supper time you want something that is substantial but also easy enough to transport. Something that tastes delicious cold would also come in handy.
Therefore I turned my hand to the age-old picnic staples: quiche and potato salad. For the greater part of my adolescence I hated this tart. Something about the savory custard base never appealed to me. Over the past few years I have increasingly found that this tart is in fact delicious. This was enjoyed at the picnic and hopefully it will appeal to you:
For the pastry:
85 g (3 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
175 g(6 oz) plain flour
1 egg
1 egg white (save the yolk for the custard recipe)
splash or two of cold water
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter with your finger tips to create fine bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle in the salt and add the egg with a splash or two of water - bring the dough together with your fingers (if it's looking dry add a little more water).
- Knead lightly to form a ball of dough, then wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.
- I don't have a quiche tin so used a pie dish - it worked perfectly well. Preheat an oven to 200 C/400 F. Lightly grease a loose-bottomed flan tin or pie dish and sprinkle with flour - tip out any excess.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until a few millimeters thick. Lay the pastry in the tin and trim off any excess. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill to cover with baking weights (this can be anything from actual weights to rice to lentils).
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes then remove the baking weights and paper. Brush the pastry case with the egg white as this will help seal the pastry. Return the pastry to the oven for a further five minutes or until pale golden.
- Remove and leave to cool before you add your filling.
For the filling:
There is a quiche filling for every season of the year but I decided to stick with something simple - leek and Parmesan. Two strong flavours so you don't need to faff around with lardons and herbs etc.
3 eggs + the egg yolk left over from the pastry
250 ml/1 cup whole (full fat) milk - most recipes call for creme fraiche or cream so consider this a virtuous version
1 tbsp of unsalted butter
4 leeks - washed, trimmed and sliced
50g/half a cup of finely grated Parmesan
sea salt and freshly ground pepper - you wont need too much salt as the cheese should take care of that for you, but the leeks will need seasoning and a little for the eggs as well.
- Preheat the oven to 170 C/330 F
- Melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the leeks and let them sweat down until soft
- Whisk the eggs together and add the milk, parmesan and seasoning
- Once the leeks are cooked and cooled slightly add to the egg mixture and pour into the prepared pastry case
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes - if it starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking
Leave to cool in it's tin and if you are taking it along to a picnic I would recommend transporting it in the dish you cooked it in - just remember a knife!
Potato Salad
Easiest thing to make yet cold potatoes are so delicious. I've opted for a non-creamy one as there could be a little too much dairy if you have it with quiche.
750g/26 oz of jersey royal potatoes cut into roughly 1 inch bits
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp of sugar
3 tbsp cornichons, chopped (this is about 8 cornichons)
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
pinch of salt and fresh black pepper
- Put the bay leaves in a large pan of water and bring to the boil. Season with plenty of salt and add the potatoes
- Whilst the potatoes are cooking, add the rest of the ingredients to a jam jar and give it an extremely vicious shake
- Drain the potatoes once cooked (they should be on the softer side of done as no one wants a hard cold potato)
- Pour over the olive oil mixture immediately so that the potatoes get a chance to absorb the flavours. Leave uncovered so that the potatoes can continue to release their steam
- Let it cool to room temperature before covering and placing in the fridge
That amount should serve six, but with other sides and salad. I would strongly recommend some homemade coleslaw or remoulade as well as savoury muffins. Some sausage rolls wouldn't go amiss either and you can a recipe for those on this here blog too.
Hope you are making the most of your summer!
My friend Caroline took me to Governor's Island (a quick ferry ride from Manhattan) for the Jazz Age Dance Picnic sponsored by the Brooklyn Brewery. I have to say it was one of the loveliest days I have had in ages. People were dressed in 20s attire (we didn't get the memo.. awkward) and there was a jazz/swing band. We brought a picnic. She made a delish leek, parmesan, and potato frittata. I used to make frittatas often till eggs and I fell out of love. I don't really enjoy the slimy factor of the incredible edible ingredient but this particular treat is more substance than goo. If you need a little bit of meat, throw in some cooked lardons (thick-cut bacon). The frittata can pretty much include any ingredient you want/have laying around. Try out some different combos.
