Five steps to a perfect picnic
Gurdeep Loyal’s failsafe formula for filling a picnic basket at Borough Market
“THERE ARE FEW THINGS MORE CHEERING THAN THE CONTENTS OF A PICNIC HAMPER SPREAD OUT OVER A BLANKET”
Words: Gurdeep Loyal / Images: Stuart Ovenden
Eating alfresco in the summer months is one of life’s true joys. There are few things more cheering than the contents of a picnic hamper spread out over a blanket on a sunny patch of grass somewhere in the city. While you can’t always count on the weather, picking up provisions from Borough Market guarantees that your outdoor feast will be a riot of summery flavours, craftmanship and epicurean storytelling. Here’s my failsafe five-step formula for the perfect picnic – even if you end up devouring it under an umbrella!
The rippled loaded dip
Every good picnic needs a dip. Hummus, taramasalata and tzatziki are eternal classics, and whipped feta is all the rage this year. But for something fresher and brighter, try a dip with a base of blitzed summer vegetables and toasted seeds. My vegan recipe for pea, artichoke & pumpkin seed dip with a preserved lemon ripple is just the ticket.
13 Acre Orchard’s Italian globe artichokes are ideal for this, with their bright ombre purple-green leaves and thick stalks – be sure to boil them in plenty of well-salted water to bring out their delicate earthy flavour. Borough’s greengrocers are also great for seasonal crudities: purple carrots, nobbled ridge cucumbers, bright yellow Italian peppers, purple chicory, red radishes. You’ll also find a cornucopia of fresh herbs to blend into the dip – dill and mint will evoke the Middle East, fresh basil and oregano the Mediterranean, or tarragon and chives the English summer garden. For something more unusual, you could even try red-veined sorrel or aniseedy chervil.
In my recipe, a hit of flavour comes from preserved lemon from Arabica and From Field and Flower’s raw Devon flower honey, rippled through the vegetal pastel green dip. Alternatively, head to Raya for chilli sauces, oils and pastes, Borough Olives for fiery red harissa or Moroccan chermoula, or The Olive Oil Co for a tangy fruit vinegar.
Pea, artichoke & pumpkin seed dip
The flavour-amplified sandwich
A dainty crustless finger sandwich with good butter and wafer-thin cucumbers certainly has its place – but a joyful summer picnic is not it. Alfresco dining demands a deep-filled sandwich grabbed with both hands. Perfect for this task is my sourdough muffaletta – a whole-loaf sandwich with roots in New Orleans.
To start, you need a good sturdy loaf. Olivier’s Bakery’s pain de campagne is wonderful – a crusty sourdough made with a mix of white and rye flour. Their earthy London City Rye would also be great, with its earthy interior and delicious dark crust, as would Artisan Foods’ seedy white sourdough with linseeds, sesame and sunflower seeds.
Italian deli meats are essential, for which The Parma Ham & Mozzarella Stand is a great place to start – try their smoky-savoury speck or rich, nutty prosciutto di Parma. A flavoured salami or mortadella also makes a great addition, and for me it has to be salami finocchiona, enriched with fragrant fennel seeds. For Italian cheeses head to Gastronomica Market. You want a mix of something creamy and grassy like a mozzarella di bufala, and something sharp or smoky like a Puglian smoked scamorza.
Also essential are some tangy-briny condiments. De Calabria’s sundried tomatoes in oil are a classic. Borough Olives’ green pitted olives with parsley, tarragon, garlic and lemon juice are fantastically vibrant, while their plump cornichons are tangy with vinegar and mustard seeds, and their green pesto is unbeatable – another burst of flavour. A final addition is a layer of roasted red peppers – Brindisa’s cans of piquillo pepper strips offer a potent sweetness.
Sourdough muffaletta
The show-stopping savoury bake
Whether perched on the dainty cake stand or plonked onto some brown parchment in the middle of a rug, a quiche or savoury tart is essential. Classic deep-filled quiche Lorraine with gruyère and bacon is having something of a comeback. Or try a pork and stilton pie from Mrs King’s Pork Pies – water-crust pastry filled with outdoor-bred pork shoulder, cheese and white pepper.
But for a taste of something a little more continental, look to France – a nation that nails the savoury picnic bake every time. There’s the classic Niçois pissaladière – an onion tart crossed with anchovies and olives; the Marseille-style pizza, topped with heirloom tomatoes, soft goat’s cheese and an abundance of herbs; or the flamiche from Picardy – a pizza-quiche hybrid with slow-cooked leeks, cheese, creme fraiche and eggs. My recipe for a tomato & anchovy pissaladière flamiche combines the best elements of all three and shows off some exceptional Borough produce.
One of its main ingredients is slow-cooked onions, for which Le Marché du Quartier has just the thing – their hanging tower of new-harvest French onions, including Roscoff pink onions, red onions and shallots. A combination of strong cheeses is also essential and Jumi Cheese’s gruyère or Grandfather Schloss are particularly delicious. Add to this a sharp parmesan, like the 24-month Tortiano parmesan available in generous chunks at Borough Cheese Company. You’ll be combining the cheeses with eggs (try the Chapel Farm eggs from Wyndham House Poultry) and creme fraiche, for which Hook & Son is the place to head. To top your tart, you’ll want good flavourful tomatoes and an abundance of anchovies, both of which are in plentiful supply.
Tomato & anchovy pissaladière flamiche
The four c’s: cheese, chutney, charcuterie & crisps!
For cheeses, you don’t need to go overboard – two or three is perfect. Try a fresh semi-soft cheese like the nettle-coated May Hill Green from Heritage Cheese, a strong hard cheese like Pitchfork Cheddar from Trethowan Brothers, and then a blue like the heavenly 1924 by Fromagerie Laqueuille, available at Mons Cheesemongers. Chutneys from Pimento Hill always pair brilliantly with cheese – scotch bonnet chilli jam, hot banana chutney or tangerine marmalade, which is exceptional with a blue. I would throw in some of Brindisa’s jamón Ibérico, smoky pimenton-infused Ibérico chorizo, or rich salchichon de Vic, which has a deep flavour enlivened with whole black peppercorns. Brindisa is also the place to go for good crisps.
The sparkling summer tipple
The best picnic should leave you feeling fizzy with summery sunshine, which often also means leaving full of fizz – for which Cartwright Brothers Vintners is a good place to go. Their Beato Bartolomeo Breganze prosecco, a classic summer tipple, is also delicious in a summer spritz. As an alternative to champagne, try the English Davenport Limney Estate Brut, and for a sparkling rosé, the Rosa di Sera Vino Spumante is perfect for quaffing in a park.