Snappy Hampers

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday October 19, 2004

Jill Dupleix

The best springtime picnics do not call for hundreds of Victorian comestibles spread as far as the eye can see. They are meant to be easy, both to prepare and to devour. Take what you feel like eating and leave the rest at home where it belongs: no little jars of condiments, no containers of this and that, no mucking around with fiddly little bits and no decisions to make.

That's why impromptu picnics are often the most enjoyable. Take a hunk of baguette stuffed with ham and a couple of cold beers, spread out your tartan rug anywhere away from an ants' nest and have a good time.

Whether it's barefoot in the sand at Balmoral Beach, a bush picnic in the Blue Mountains or just a lazy afternoon spent in your local park, the trick is to keep things simple, strong and honest. I'm not convinced that hampers are the way to go (all those matching plates and cutlery handles send the wrong messages) but there are plenty of reliable picnic performers designed to survive the trip and the fresh air.

The ideas here include tiny boiled quail eggs to dip into celery salt (a revelation in itself), a smoked trout brandade you can pile on to crusty bread, a lively shredded chicken salad to eat with chopsticks - your new picnic friends - and eat-in-the-hand baby carrot cakes. Food such as this will help the picnic reclaim its title as the only sensible way to eat when the sun is shining.

Remember, the absence of so-called civilised accoutrements makes a picnic special. We simply don't need them.

Smoked trout brandade

This French technique, customarily used on salted cod, works wonderfully with the moist flesh of hot-smoked trout, turning it into a perfect picnic starter with some crusty bread.

300g smoked trout flesh, free of bones and skin

150mL milk

2 garlic cloves, smashed

3 thyme sprigs

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp chives, finely snipped

1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

Lemon juice

Black pepper, finely ground

Finely shred the smoked trout with a fork and place flesh in a bowl. Heat the milk gently with the garlic and thyme until just under the boil, then leave to cool for 5 minutes and strain.

Gradually add the warm milk to the trout, beating vigorously. Beat in the olive oil, until you have an almost fluffy consistency. Add the chives, lemon zest, lemon juice and pepper to taste (smoked trout can be sufficiently salty). Serve as a starter or snack with olives and a crusty baguette, melba toast or crispbread.

Serves 4.

Vietnamese chicken salad

The essential flavourings of Vietnamese nuoc cham relish are called upon in this light salad, which is easy to prepare and pack into plastic containers for a fork or chopstick picnic meal.

2 chicken breasts

1 carrot, peeled

3 tbsp rice vinegar or lime juice

1 tsp sugar

1 garlic clove, crushed

Sea salt and pepper

3 shallots, finely sliced

Half a cucumber, peeled

Dash of sesame or vegetable oil

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

3 tbsp mint or coriander leaves

1/2 mild red chilli, finely sliced

2 tbsp roasted peanuts

1 lime, quartered

Poach the chicken in simmering salted water for 20 minutes, then drain and leave to cool (or use left-over cooked chicken). Cut the carrot into 10cm sections, finely slice lengthwise then cut into matchsticks. Mix the vinegar or lime juice with the sugar, garlic, salt and pepper, toss with the sliced shallots and carrot and set aside for 10 mins.

Roughly shred the chicken. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and finely slice. Combine the chicken, cucumber, sesame oil, fish sauce, mint and chilli with the shallots, carrots and their dressing, and toss lightly.

Roughly crush the peanuts and scatter over the top. Serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4.

Baby carrot cakes

A picnic isn't a picnic unless it comes with its own sturdy, portable fruit cake or rich nutty carrot cake. Better still is a muffin tray of little carrot cakes, iced and returned to the tray for easy transporting.

250g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground

cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

200g soft light brown sugar

200mL corn, sunflower or light olive oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

200g raw carrot, finely grated

75g walnuts, chopped

100g raisins or sultanas

For the icing

200g cream cheese

2 tsp lemon juice

80g icing or caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180 C. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and mixed spice into a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix well, then add the oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in the grated carrots, chopped walnuts and dried fruit.

Lightly butter or oil a 12-mould muffin tray and spoon in the mixture, mounding the top slightly. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cakes start to shrink from the sides of the mould and feel firm on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray.

To make the icing, beat the cream cheese, lemon juice and sugar together and ice each cake using a broad, flat palette knife, dipped in hot water.

Makes 12.

Quail eggs with celery salt

Hard-boil a dozen quail eggs (3 minutes) or hen's eggs (8 minutes). Crush or grind 1 tsp celery seeds with 1 tbsp sea salt and a pinch of black pepper and wrap in a twist of greaseproof paper. Peel each egg and dip in the salt.

Next week: Party food

© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald

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