thepassionatecook

Couscous salad with mediterranean vegetables

The rainy season is officially over, which means two things... we no longer have to put on our "winter" clothes to go out in the evening (you wouldn't believe how cold 25C can feel after 6 months of living in a tropical climate!) and we get to enjoy BBQs again on a regular basis. Of course, our way of living here is completely different from back in London - which has its up- and its downsides. On the downside, we no longer can step outside into our own garden to fire up the Weber when we feel like a big juicy steak, as BBQs are not allowed on a condo balcony. But what we lose in spontaneity, we gain in company...

Booking one of the BBQ pits in our condo is such a palaver (filling in a form well in advance, incl. out your FIN number, paying a deposit, etc) that it's worth making a bigger thing out of it. So there you have the upside: we never barbecue alone anymore. It's usually a late-afternoon get-together with a number of families in our block of flats, the children splashing in the pool or riding their scooters, the ladies sipping a cocktail with their feet in the Fish Spa (yes, we have our own!) and the big boys manning the Teppanyaki grill. And we don't even have to worry about cleaning up after!

To minimise the effort involved, everybody chips in with supplying booze, some dips, a selection of side dishes or a dessert - and here is what I made last time. My friend Nina said she loves couscous and is always happy to get new ideas, so I decided on a refreshing couscous salad. You'd really be hard-pressed to find a salad that is easier to prepare - the couscous takes a bowl of stock and all but 15 minutes to soak, then your roast some chopped up vegetables in the oven, throw it all in a bowl, give it a generous glug of olive oil and lime juice and you're ready to rock and roll! If you want to spruce it up a bit, add some chopped herbs or toasted pinenuts, some olives or cubed scamorza, you could even add some left-over roast chicken if you want this to become a more substantial salad - the possibilities are endless.

Tapas - a contribution to WTSIM

A little later than anticipated, I finally got round to organising my tapas extravaganza, all in honour of Andrew's WTSIM event this month. And if you haven't had the time to send in your entry yet, you should know that he has gracefully extended the deadline - no excuses now!

I am not sure why, but up until now, I had this immense fear of tortilla failure... and I don't even think it was due to scaremongering, it's more the fact that all the Spaniards I know (and even those who aren't Spanish, but are in love with Spanish food) seem to be extremely opinionated or simply picky when it comes to a tortilla española or Spanish omelett. Whenever I have eaten tortilla in the presence of Spanish friends, I have never heard a word of praise for it, it was always "too dry", "overcooked", "bland", "rubbery" or "just not how they make it here or there". So to get a tortilla right, I was assuming, you needed immense skill and hundreds of years of experience. After last week's first attempts, I can safely say that this is not the case, a natural talent or beginner's luck, maybe (patting herself on shoulder), but I believe to have found out that the quintessential factor is that it must be boiling hot outside so you can stand there over the hot stove, sweat running down your forehead, spine and just about everywhere imaginable and then you can make a pretty darn tasty tortilla just like a Spanish mama would.

When I called my friend Sonia to ask for rough guidance on how to make one (I had seen her do it a million times and never actually jotted down any notes), I was brave enough to pass an idea past her.

I: "So, what if I wanted to give the tortilla a little twist, you know, more than just potato and egg?"
She: "Well, some people put onion in."
(Me, thinking: well, that's a bit plain still.)
Me (actually saying out loud): "I was thinking more along the lines of feta, chilli and parsley".
She (not saying anything for a moment, just gasping along the lines of that's heresy, and if the tortilla really needed it, don't you think that 46,661,950 people would have gone and done something about it? And who the f*** do you think you are anyway, you bloody foreigner, to think you can change our culinary traditions just because you feel like it?)

In her defense, I have never heard her swear, this last bit is completely made up, but it might well have been racing through her mind. Understandably so.

Undeterred, I decided to go for the "adventurous, but still authentic" version that involved some chopped onions and then I did the unimaginable. I made a second lot, defiling the graves of my dear friend's ancestors by putting in some diced feta, chopped chilli and parsley... and you know what, my guests (admittedly completely ignorant when it comes to Spanish food) preferred that second version. But I didn't leave it at that, I had to get Sonia's opinion as well - she praised my traditional tortilla, saying it was tasty and moist and everything you'd expect, she wasn't raving about the eccentric version, which is just as well... but her kids ate it without complaints and they're pretty fussy and strongheaded usually, so I take this as a point in my favour.

I also made some gambas al ajillo, always a winner in my book with loads of garlic and chilli - although I love my prawns, it is the juices I make this for - brilliant for mopping up with some home-made sourdough! Inspired by Sonia's home region of the Basque country and their own twist on tapas (which the call pintxos... don't you love that name?) I made some pintxos of sauteed garlic & herb mushrooms with prawns. And again, although the prawns add a lovely colour and give it that little extra in the looks department, I am just as happy just with the mushrooms fried in a pan, drizzled with garlic and oil, then deglazed with sherry vinegar.

All in all, I made a vow to make tapas more often and especially the tortilla, which is not that hard to make at all - and seeing that it's one of my daughter's favourite foods, I better indulge her with it more often. Do try them all and see what you think: if you have no ties to Spain other than the odd vacation, try the "adventurous" version - I find it light, refreshing and super yummy. I also served this as part of a picnic spread at the Royal Henley Regatta and it went down a treat. It would be a shame to discard such a winning recipe just on the grounds of it not being entirely original, I hope you'll agree!

STOP PRESS:
The deadline for WTSIM has just been extended, as Jeanne, Andrew and myself were roasting in the sun at the Royal Henley Regatta on Saturday, we figured it's been hot enough out there to give you and ourselves a break... check details on SpittoonExtra - no excuses now not to indulge in a tapas evening!

Quinoa, prawn & asparagus salad with coriander & lime dressing

Super tasty meets super healthy. Not something you read every day, right? This salad has become an absolute favourite in our household - it is inspired by an old clipping out of a magazine supplement, but just as happens with dishes you make over and over again (we have this almost every week), it has been adapted, improved and reached a point where you just sleep-walk your way through the recipe, using some main components but also throwing in whatever you might have left in the fridge.

I normally add some avocado, but as per usual all I could get at the supermarket that day was either so hard you could easily kill someone with it or completely mushy - so I threw in some green asparagus which we're also eating like mad at the moment. I vary the herbs a lot, using dill or basil, always coriander, though, simply because I am addicted to it. The prawns and quinoa are a constant, but it would taste equally nice with some pan-fried or even smoked salmon.

Quinoa is a relatively recent discovery of mine, I had tried it on various occasions and always completely overcooked it. Ever since I discovered I could steam it in my Thermomix, which takes all of 20 minutes and doesn't need any attention at all, I make quinoa at least twice a week - a big batch of it, too, so that I can throw some into a tasty salad, add some to a, say, tomato soup and feed the kids with it as well. Perfectly versatile and super healthy: as well as being a comforting carb, it is one of the few non-meat products that contain all your essential amino acids. Plus it contains more protein than beef, balancing out your naughty carb fix niftily!

Baba Ghanouj (Iraqi style)

For me, this recipe represents more than just a way of serving the probably most recognised of Middle Eastern dishes for me... I recently enjoyed my first visit to an Iraqi restaurant and the whole experience was an eye-opener. I was lucky enough not to jump into the cold water all by myself, I was actually guided and pampered by a very good friend of mine who hails from Iraq and therefore knows exactly what to order and can comment on the originality or authenticity of it all, something I would have completely missed had I gone alone.

The place we went to (Masgouf House in Knightsbridge) may be unassuming in terms of decor, the service could be friendlier and more forthcoming, but I enjoyed my visit there tremendously - and not just because of the wonderful spectacle that is the people-watching involved. I had expected the food to be much more exotic or foreign to what I know, but learnt that Iraqi cuisine is a mixed bag, leaning either to the Persian or the Turkish side - and what we enjoyed was decidedly the latter. Lots of grills, succulent pieces of chicken marinaded in saffron and yoghurt, the speciality of the house, Masgouf seabass, was a whole bass butterflied and seasoned with salt, pepper and tamarind, then skewered up and grilled in the wood-fired oven... very nice indeed. For starters we had kibbeh halab (rice balls filled with lamb mince - I am usually not too keen on lamb, but thoroughly enjoyed the taste of this), a "salad" which was basically a plate of big chunks of baby gem lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes and peppers, Khubz baked in the tannur, the most wonderful flatbeard I have ever eaten, and Baba Ghanouj.

Now, this Baba Ghanouj was very different from what I had enjoyed under the same name until then - for me, Baba Ghanouj was a paste of bland-tasting aubergines, seasoned with more or less garlic, always involving yoghurt and a drizzle of lemon juice but definitely nothing worth an entry in my diary, if I had one. The Baba Ghanouj at Masgouf House was an entirely different affair: it had such a wonderful smokiness and was so pleasantly creamy, as opposed to slimey, I also don't think it had much, if any, yoghurt. From what I could find in my internet research, the Iraqi way of making Baba Ghanouj is using tahini - an ingredient you don't find in Turkish Baba Ghanouj if my latest cookbook (turquoise) is to be believed.

So last week I tried my hand at Baba Ghanouj for the first time and boy, it was love at first sight (not sure the sentiment was returned, as I gobbled the whole pot up almost entirely on my own, getting really greedy with my fellow diners). I seriously charred those aubergines under the grill until the skin was hard and brittle, completely black, not just browned - I basically went as far as my smoke-detector would let me... then scooped the flesh out, chopped it up, mixed it with a good measure of tahini, just enough not to be overpowering or sticking to the palate, a good squeeze of lemon juice and just enough garlic. And I was rewarded with what I believe to be the best Baba Ghanouj ever. I could eat the whole pot for lunch without any help at all - Next time my friend Dabia comes over I will let her try my version to see if she, as an Iraqi, approves... if I can get myself to share, that is!

Waiter! There's something in my... picnic basket! - the round-up

A phantastic collection of picnic ideas contributed by food bloggers around the globe... this list will ensure you never run out of picnic ideas - savoury recipes as well as sweet, breads, salads, quiches, tarts and much, much more!

The recipes are organised by category and show the main (or rare) ingredients, so you know at one glance whether the recipe is right for you. ENJOY!

BREADS
Beer bread
Green Gourmet Giraffe (Australia)
A bread for grown-ups and kids alike... wonderfully simple, yet delicious!
Ingredients: lager, flour, salt, sugar

Blue cheese & butternut bread
gastroplod (UK)
Easier to transport than a full-blown meal, but equally satisfying…
Ingredients: stilton, butternut, sage, pecans, olive oil dough

Cucumber parsley focaccia with spicy whipped butter
Charche Chauke Ke (USA)
Fresh and fluffy bread dunked in deliciously spicy butter.
Ingredients: flour, yeast, honey, herbs, butter, lime, chilli powder

Gramflour coriander squares (Kothimbir Vadi)
Tongue Ticklers (India)
Wonderfully exotic bread alternative – and a recipe for apple & fig milkshake!
Ingredients: chickpea meal, ginger, garlic coriander, turmeric

Eric Kayser’s Baguette Monge
Apple Pie, Patis, & Pâté (USA)
For the hobby bakers among you, an irresistible recipe for traditional baguettes.
Ingredients: liquid levain (100%), bread flour, instant yeast, water

Fake Focaccia
Food & Family (South Africa)
Italian staple with sea salt and rosemary – fill any way you like!

Mini bagel chips
Cherrapeno (UK)
Ideal for snacking and dipping, ready to enjoy anywhere - no need to go on a picnic!
Ingredients: home-made bagels, olive oil, dried herbes, spices, parmesan

Olive, herb & parmesan sticks
Technicolor Kitchen (Brazil)
Irresistible savoury treat for snacking in the grass or on your carpet.
Ingredients: yeast dough, parmesan, herbes de provence, olive oil

Quick crisp flatbread
Kitchen Parade (USA)
There’s no picnic without bread and this is a great alternative to a store-bought loaf…
Ingredients: flour, olive oil, herbs, maldon salt, toasted seame seeds

Spinach parathas
Annarasa (USA)
Indian flatbreads, used cold for wraps or hot with pickles, cucumber and yoghurt.
Ingredients: wholewheat flour, spinach, garlic, onion, chillies, spices, ghee

SANDWICHES & WRAPS:

Bombay grilled sandwich
My Food Blog (India)
Celebrated food-on-the-go, but not that easy to take along… ticket to Mumbay essential!
Ingredients: bread, tomato, potato, onion, cheese, chutney, chaat masala

Cheese & tomato croissant
Sukanya's Musings (Singapore)
Quick and easy snack for taking along just anywhere.
Ingredients: croissants, tomatoes, cheese

Chicken club sandwiches
What’s For Lunch, Honey? (Germany)
Healthy version of a club house classic with deliciously marinated chicken.
Ingredients: chicken breast, avocado, spices, tomato, lettuce, coriander

Italian grinder
TastyCurryLeaf (USA)
Healthy, refreshing sub sandwich Italian style.
Ingredients: zucchine, broccoli, marinara sauce, mozzarella, bread

Picnic Wraps
SpittoonExtra (UK)
Heart-warming meal in a tortilla, enjoyed along the river with a glass of wine and a paper.
Ingredients: chicken, apple, red onions, bacon, pine nuts

Vegetable sandwich
Sukanya's Musings (Singapore)
Nutritious and healthy sandwiches to be assembled on the spot.
Ingredients: bread, potatoes, beetroot, cucumber, tomatos, chutney

SAVOURY MEALS-IN-ONE:

Goat's Cheese and Caramelized Red onion tart
My Easy Cooking (South Africa)
Eternal French classic with a new twist and perfect harmony of savoury and sweet.
Ingredients: puff pastry, red onions, goat’s cheese

Leek, asparagus and goat’s feta tarts
Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once (Australia)
Great for the colder days of spring, a delicious revival of an old classic!
Ingredients: leek, asparagus, goat’s feta, filo pastry, eggs, cream, milk, parmesan

Onion tarts
~Foodie...Cook-ie~ (Australia)
Classic bistro food that tastes equally good cold.
Ingredients: shortcrust pastry, onions, eggs, sour cream, cheese

Roasted pumpkin, bacon & feta frittata
Gourmet Chick (UK)
Perfect for a picnic, a classic Italian dish with an autumnal twist!
Ingredients: pumpkin, onion, bacon, eggs, cream, parmesan

Savoury pepper cake
Kopiaste.... to Greek Hospitality (Greece)
Excellent for using up left-overs and preparing a quick treat for a trip to the lake.
Ingredients: ham, turkey, peppers, halloumi, evaporated milk, eggs

Summer rolls
Lekker Lekker Lekkerste (Netherlands)
Vietnamese-style rice paper rolls with crunchy vegetables and own peanut sauce.
Ingredients: rice paper, spinach, carrots, mange tout, chicken

Tortilla suprema
Simplicious (Jordan)
Wonderful for a picnic in the park or in your lunch box – Spanish tortilla & more!
Ingredients: potatoes, onion, minced beef, cheese, eggs

SALADS

BBQ pasta salad
Tasting Spoons (USA)
Hot sauces spice up this pasta salad and the variations are endless!
Ingredients: pasta, scallions, bell pepper, celery, mayo, hot BBQ sauce

Couscous salad
1x umrühren bitte aka kochtopf (Spain)
Tasty, yet healthy and refreshing salad using veggies left-over from the BBQ.
Ingredients: couscous, grilled vegetables, lemon juice, parsley

Orzo salad
Equal Opportunity Kitchen
Pasta salad with grilled vegetables, warmed on a camping stove or served cold.
Ingredients: orzo pasta, Italian sausages, zucchine, tomatoes, pepper, chicken stock

Pasta salad with ham, cheese & apples
thepassionatecook (UK)
Sweet & sour the European way – a filling pasta salad for any occasion.
Ingredients: ham, cheese, apples, maccaroni, onions, gherkins, mayo, parsley

Potato and tomato pesto salad
Dragon’s Kitchen (Canada)
Light potato salad inspired by Italian flavours – perfect for picnic and BBQ.
Ingredients: potatoes, tomatoes, bacon, pesto, pine nuts

Potato salad with runner beans & pesto
A Year From Oak Cottage (UK)
Light and summery potato salad with a nod to our Italian friends.
Ingredients: potatoes, runner beans, pesto, balsamico, pine nuts, spring onions

Roast potato soy salad
What Smells So Good? (Canada)
A mayo-free, yet creamy and lightly spicy salad made with roasted potatoes.
Ingredients: potatoes, garlic, silken tofu, dijon, mustard, herbs

Salad oliv'e
Columbus Foodie (USA)
A bowl that contains a bit of everything - therefore liked by all!
Ingredients: potatoes, carrots, peas, eggs, pickles, cucumber

Southwestern Layered Salad
Cafe Lynnylu (USA)
Warning! Basket also contains water melon agua fresca and delicious empanadas!
Ingredients: pasta, black beans, corn, olives, cheddar, lettuce, spices and herbs

SWEET TREATS
Baby fruit cakes
Kitchen Delights (UK)
These will delight even in the colder season – and they’ll keep forever!
Ingredients: dried fruits, spices, butter, flour

Banana bread with chocolate chips and walnuts
Dragon’s Kitchen (Canada)
Moist and sweet treat with the wonderful aroma of toasted nuts.
Ingredients: bananas, chocolate, walnuts, lemon juice, eggs, butter

Blackberry, mint & whisky jam
Dhanggit's Kitchen (France)
Jam prepared for your picnic or from what you gather during your picnic…
Ingredients: berries, mint, sugar, whisky

Brioche berry galette
eat the right stuff (UK)
This is just the ticket for all sweet-toothed picnickers who adore fruits!
Ingredients: mixed berries, mascarpone, crème fraiche, plums, almonds, brioche dough 

Double chocolate brownies
Exceeding the speed limit
Exceedingly indulgent dessert for a picnic – apparently great with wine!
Ingredients: eggs, butter, chocolate, flour, chocolate chips

Energy-O bars
vegetarian in ME (United Arab Emirates)
Energy with every bite: perfect for those moments when you think you won’t make it home…
Ingredients: fruits, nuts, orange zest, bran flakes, butter, syrup, honey

Fruit turnovers
Dine & Dish (USA)
Perfect for breakfast or a treat on any journey, however far.
Ingredients: flour, water, butter, pie filling

Mini pistachio tarts
Cook Sister! (UK)
Almost too beautiful too eat, a great twist on the old American classic pecan pie!
Ingredients: syrup, honey, butter, rum, pistachios, shortcrust pastry

Nuts, chocolate & banana bread
La Tartine Gourmande (USA)
Wheat-free alternative to a perennial favourite… a wonderful sweet treat!
Ingredients: quinoa, tapioca starch, rice flour, bananas, nuts, chocolate, eggs, butter, oils, pumpkin seeds

Peach & plum galette
Passionate About Baking (India)
Delightful, flaky pastry topped with seasonal fruit – a delight inside and out!
Ingredients: flour, buttermilk, butter, sugar, fruits and spices

Raspberry & lime cheesecake
Greedy Gourmet (UK)
Best made for a picnic on a coolish day, this will bring out the sunshine in no time!
Ingredients: digestives, quark, double cream, raspberries, limes, gelatine

Vegan carrot cake
TONGUE TICKLERS... (India)
A sweet, guilt-free treat that isn’t as sticky as many other vegan cakes.
Ingredients: carrots, jaggery, flax seeds, coconut, soy milk

This collection of recipes has been put together as part of the series "Waiter! There's something in my..." organised alternatingly by Jeanne of Cook Sister!, Andrew of SpittonExtra and Johanna of thepassionatecook.

Thanks for another excellent round of our favourite food blogging event - you are amazing!

Pasta salad with ham, cheese and apples - a contribution to WTSIM!

It's summer time... and more reason than ever to have a picnic! Not that I don't enjoy clever dishes that travel well throughout the entire year, no: I take much pleasure in piste-side meals in and outside chalets, and for poor old me, who is not too keen a swimmer, the beach is just as attractive in the winter as in the summer. Who hasn't had potato & leek or gulyas soup out of a thermos flask before? Well, if you haven't, promise you'll try it! (My father will also always carry a flask of something a wee bit stronger in his skiing jacket - don't try that if you're under age, of course!)

At the danger of sounding repetitive, we Austrians don't tend to do picnics all that often. You might think this is due to the weather, but if you thought Austria was cold, think again! In winter, maybe (but not even nearly enough to give us the length of skiing season we used to have as little kids), but the summers are often swelteringly hot (I am holidaying here at the moment and the past few days, the thermometer hasn't dropped below 35 C!). I don't quite know what the reason is, but the only "picnics" I remember are bread rolls stuffed with cold meats, cheese and cornichons when we stopped en route to Italy, most probably taking advantage of a seemingly endless traffic jam at (or rather 50 km before) the border to Italy, or lake-side lunches out of a cool box, most likely consisting of Wurstsalat, assorted breads and water melon. On other occasions, we would escape the inevitable queues of cars trying to reach the motorways after a hot summer weekend returning from the lakes of the beautiful Salzkammergut and enjoy some freshly caught fish barbecued on a stick or some fillet of smoked trout or Reinanke with potato salad.

Since then, I have become a great fan of picnics, getting addicted to those quintessentially British traditions like the Royal Regatta at Henley, a proper Polo Match at Ham, the great picnic concerts etc and to be honest, ever since we moved and enjoy a beautiful garden, the kids ask to have a picnic under the apple trees at least once a week. It goes without saying that in all this time, I have tried various picnic foods, from quiches to finger food, muffuletta, pastrami bagels and Jaegerwecken. Various times I have tried to take along salads, like melon & prosciutto or peach, spinach & blue cheese, but nothing transports quite as well as my version of the Waldorf salad and this recipe here: my Mum's (even though she insists she only ever made it once and I heavily adapted it) pasta salad with ham, cheese and apples. It sounds like a weird combination at first and I don't know if nostalgia is confusing my palate, but I love this salad, not only because it tastes even better if you prepare it the night before... and god knows how I love to sleep in!

PS: Don't forgat you've got almost two weeks to submit your entry to Waiter, there's something in my... picnic basket! I can't wait to receive your contribution!

Red pepper, aubergine & scamorza terrine - a contribution to WTSIM!

Today is T-day... and although the weather is really miserable and making a proper baked terrine with all the trimmings would be much more fitting, I've of course decided to make something vegetarian and rather summery. I've been wanting to make a proper meaty terrine for a while, but as usual, left everything till the last minute - I couldn't rely on finding all the ingredients necessary and, picky as I am, on them being all free-range and organic and what have you. So vegetarian was the better option by far.

I have been making this type of terrine in various declinations for years now, it's easy to make, transports well, keeps its shape and is therefore the perfect picnic ingredient. The layers could be anything, but I usually go for fried zucchini/courgette slices, herby tomato sauce and mozzarella and this last composition works is almost better in my opinion: chargrilled red peppers, aubergines grilled with lemon zest and oregano and scamorza, which is just a posh name for smoked mozzarella. Of course, I've been buying scamorza from the same old supermarket for years and the day I am in a rush to get my WTSIM contribution in, I discover they don't stock it anymore... for all of you wanting to try this recipe (and believe me, you should!), I ended up finding some at a Carluccio's deli. And if the Kingston branch does it, they will have it all over town. Now, am not in love with Carluccio (men with hair growing out of their ears just don't do it for me, call me picky!) and that goes all the way back to the very first cookbook I owned (truth be told, I had "borrowed" it from a friend and never given it back... if you're reading this, Julia, I promise I'll buy you a cookbook of your choice) - one of Carluccio's, of course. There he is on a picture serving pasta in a wooden bowl - yuck! That's engraved itself in my mind and forever spoilt my appetite for his food. Not only will the pasta be tasting of wood, the smell of garlic, olives and anchovies will forever stick to the bowl, no matter how hard you scrub it! No, no, no.

This time, though, I'll have to be grateful to the old man for saving my life when I was in need - I got my scamorza in the end and could make my terrine after all. The only problem with this variation on my original recipe is that the layers don't stick together like the one with the tomato sauce (as is obvious from the picture), so when I actually served it, I decided to warm it up in the oven for a few minutes, just enough for the scamorza to get a bit softer and ooze its way into the lower layers. You wouldn't believe what difference a few centigrades make even tastewise... I've always been addicted to melted cheese and this is no exception!

More terrines on thepassionatecook:
Zucchini, sage & scamorza terrine (October 2006)
Prune & almond chocolate terrine (October 2004)

Fig, parma ham and camembert piegata

There are two ways to enjoy Polo, another one of those quintessentially English events I love so much - like the Henley Royal Regatta, Horseracing at Ascot, Picnic Concerts and the Wimbledon Finals: you can dress up like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman", buy a ticket for about a hundred quid (be informed that at this price, Richard Gere doesn't come as standard!), and soldier through a probably perfectly forgettable buffet and wine you wouldn't even buy if it was the last bottle on Earth and you were desperate to get over a relationship you (and only you) thought was absolutely perfect.

Or you can sit directly opposite all those beautiful people, spreading your blanket between yours and your neighbours' car (mind you, except for your own, the vehicles we're talking are likely to be the Aston Martins and BMW Z4 convertibles of this world, rather than a dirty old beaten Daihatsu) and enjoy the same view from the cheap ranks. And you still get to "tread the turf" at half-time.

But saving on the entry fee doesn't mean you have to be a cheapskate: it might mean that you're a gourmet on two levels... for the money you set aside, you could afford to splash out on a lunch at the nearby Petersham Nurseries, easily the best spot for amazing food in the South-West of the capItal - and you can also afford decent picnic food for starters! Forget the pre-cut, dried-out carrot sticks and tiny pot of hoummus you picked up from M&S, leave behind the bland-tasting Brussels paté, cheap cheddar and the crackers which are doing their best to approximate cardboard for a taste-experience.

Now, I love a decent ploughman's sandwich as much as the next person, but on such occasions, I think you really should do it in style. Last weekend at the Ham Polo Grounds, I splashed out on the must-have tastes of the autumn: a slice of moist and succulent parma ham, some ripe and runny camembert, a scattering of rocket leaves and a generous helping of the plumpest, ripest figs the stalls have on offer - all wegded into a rosemary & olive piegata, aka as a delicious Italian flatbread. This bread is new at my supermarket: a dough similar to a thick pizza base, but a light and fluffy one at that, at the same time strong enough to hold any filling. It's enriched with rosemary and olive oil and can be used in the same way as you would a pitta pocket... but has more sustenance, more bite and holds its shape much better. Luckily, it is also already folded (as the name suggests), so I don't struggle with it in the same way as I invariably do with my picnic blanket - why is it that I can never seem to fold and put it back in the right way? Almost as difficult as those maps I used to have eternal fights with before we got sat nav...

Zucchini, sage & scamorza terrine

Today is another Monthly Mingle over at Meeta's What's For Lunch Honey?
After Football's coming home, Big on Barbecue, Beat the Heat and Holiday Cuisine, of which I've missed all but the latter, I wrecked my brain over what to contribute to this round. Truth be told, zucchine (or courgettes, as we call them here - in Britain, there's a French word for everything!) don't feature much on my menu, even though I actually like them. Maybe I was fed too many of them deep-fried, sort of tempura-style, when I was young, as my Mum loverd to grow them in the vegetable garden (to Tchernobyl sizes that would have won any gardening contest!), but always got a stomach ache from them, so my brother and I were left to devour 5 kg of squash in one go every once in a while...
In a recent edition of Elle à Table, I came across a reader's recipe for this terrine - and after the usual tampering with the original, here's what I came up with: a savoury omelette cake, using grated zucchine and sage, as well as a generous helping of grated scamorza (smoked mozzarella) cheese. A great brunch offering as it can be prepared the day before, then re-heated, or just as good taken along for an autumnal picnic. Served with oven-roast tomatoes and crusty bread, you can also enjoy this as a light lunch or a starter... but it's bound to become your favourite new way of using up your courgette harvest!
For more zucchini & sage recipes, check Meeta's blog for the round-up soon!

Wurstsalat or: the Austrian way to do picnics

Austrians are not what you would call a nation of picnickers. Not sure why this is, but there are only three occasions that I can think of where you bring your food and consume it in full view of others: Firstly, although rapidly disappearing nowadays, you can still find certain "Heurigen" (establishments where local wine producers are licensed to sell only their own produce, sometimes restricted to just a couple of weeks every autumn) where you're allowed or expected to bring our own food while you consume the house wine on the premises, secondly, when you go hiking and bring dry-cured sausages, some cheese and bread (in the case of our family mostly in a battered tin box rather than tupperware) and thirdly, when you go to spend a day on the lake.
I guess there are two main reasons that prevent us Austrians to frolick and indulge on our picnic blankets... one is that, unlike London, you'd be hard-pressed to find a space in an urban park, as most green spaces are inaccessible to the public and apart from "don't step on the lawn" signs left, right and centre, you have park patrol keeping a vigilant eye on anyone attempting to break the rules. So you'd find yourself restricted to the few park benches scattered along the paths, which are usually occupied by the elderly taking a well-deserved break or some homeless wino sleeping his alcohol levels down to a reasonable level.
But apart from the difficulty of finding a suitable space, there is a common negative attitude towards eating in public. Despite there being many shops and kiosks where you can grab a quick bite, eating in public is frowned upon and you're really expected to either consume your purchase in the immediate perimeter of the locale or take it whereever the wind blows you next, be that your work place or your home. If you attempt to eat your hot dog in a tram or on a bus, you're most likely to lose your appetite altogether under the scornful eyes of some old ladies... and we all know such specimens, don't we?
So the rare occasions where we enjoyed our lunch al fresco was usually in summer, when we headed for some mountainous lake or even just a nature pond in the vicinity of my hometown to spend a day in the sun. On such days, my Mum would prepare a "Wurstsalat" (I will spare you the literal translation as it is bound to evoke the wrong pictures in your head and ruin your appetite). We use "Extrawurst" or "Knacker", a cold meat similar to some luncheon sausages you can get round here, the ingredients of which are not far from a Frankfurter or Wiener, a hard cheese (like Emmental or Gruyère), onions, tomatoes and sweet peppers, thinly slice all of it and dress it with a simple vinaigrette. Straight out of the coolbox and with a crusty baguette on the side, I cannot think of anything more refreshing on a hot summer's day...