Mediterranean Picnic Sandwich
We were great picnickers. At the end of May the Ford Popular would be prepared for the picnic season. A rug, soft and fresh from the wash, a collapsible camping stove with a tiny blue gas canister and one spare, a small frying pan with a scuffed lid, because everything can be cooked in a frying pan and camping cutlery and plates dulled and dented with time, were permanently stacked in the boot for the summer. The wide mouthed vacuum flasks were given a clean out and the list made for the places we’d go.
Picnic On Putney heath 1960s
Whilst the preparations were carefully planned, the picnic contents were much more ad hoc, often comprising of left overs from the night before. spaghetti with tomatoes, vegetable bean stew, sausages to cook when we got there, or if time permitted hurriedly made sandwiches. As soon as my mother arrived home from work we’d pile into the car and be off. This was about getting out of the centre of London and having fun, the food was very secondary. It was lovely though, on chillier days, to have hot food, leftovers or not. We’d huddle on the blanket after a dip in a very muddy pond taking snaps of each other with a Polaroid Swinger camera, enjoying the food and fresh air.
Mediterranean Picnic Sandwich
I still love picnics whether they are garden picnics or further afield and I’m now the planner. However food features strongly in those plans rather than being left to chance. Here are my tips for the perfect picnic.
Tips For The Perfect Picnic
There’s always room for the spur of the moment chuck it in a bag and buy the food on the way type of event. But for that idyllic moment under the trees, by the river or just to keep the kids entertained, the secret to the perfect picnic is planning ahead.
- Take two picnic rugs if you’re picnicking with kids. They can have one and you the other. They can come and go, leaving their food to eat later. You can relax knowing that you’re not going to sit on a jam sandwich or a spilt drink.
- Keep a corkscrew and a bottle opener in the car during the picnic season. You don’t want to have to push the cork into the bottle or open the beer with your teeth.
- Disposable plates and glasses are a must. Lugging dirty plates across a field or up the beach is always more of an effort on the way home than it took to get them there. Take a bin bag and the clearing up can be done in one go.
- Finger food is much easier to handle than balancing everything on your knees. Dips with raw vegetables in a cup are a great alternative to salad. If the family loves salad, be inventive with it. Put it in a pitta pocket, a wrap, or in disposable juice cups with a lid. Add the dressing once you get there to stop the leaves going soggy.
- If you’re making sausage rolls, spread the pastry with ketchup or chilli sauce before adding the sausage meat. If you buy frozen ones, brush the outside with Ketchup or chilli sauce half way through cooking, for a hit of sweetness and punch of spice.
- Add chopped berries or lemon slices to bottles of water, partly freeze and use as cool blocks to keep your food fresh; the drinks will be cold and fruity when you get there.
- Take soft cheese like Brie or Camembert. Cheddar and other hard cheeses can get sweaty in the sun, soft cheeses become oozy and delicious.
- Brownies or blondies make a great picnic dessert, cut them into small cubes to make them last longer.
- Individual tarts or quiches work really well for picnics, make simple fillings for kids and slightly more ‘exotic’ ones for the adults. Use the same egg quiche mixture just add tomatoes and cheese to one lot and smoked salmon or goats cheese and asparagus to another and then top up with the egg quiche mixture.
- Sticky fingers attract wasps. Takes wipes or a damp cloth in a sealable plastic bag to wipe away the remains of the picnic or mop up any spills.
- 1 loaf ciabatta crispy bread
- 130g pesto, fresh is best but a jar is fine
- 28g jar of prepared red peppers
- 260g jar of artichoke hearts
- 1 Avocado halved and sliced
- 1 ball of mozzarella cheese sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- 6 slices of Italian proscuitto or your favourite ham
- Cut the ciabatta in half lengthways to give a top and bottom, like a long crispy roll.
- Spread pesto on both halves and put the top to one side.
- Drain the peppers and cover the ciabatta with them in a single layer, cut the peppers to fit if necessary. Any dribbles of juice from the jar will just make the sandwich taste nicer.
- Drain the artichokes and cut into quarters if they are larger than that. Cover the peppers with a layer of the artichokes.
- Then layer on the mozzarella, you may need to balance things carefully from now on. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with gorgeous extra virgin olive oil.
- Finally top with the ham, rippling and folding it to get all six layers onto the ciabatta.
- Place the top of the bread that had been set aside onto the stack of mediterranean goodness and wrap very tightly in a couple of layers of cling film, pressing down slightly as you wrap, but not so hard that the filling squidges out of the sides.
- Place on a baking tray and weigh down with tins or other kitchen weights and place in the fridge overnight.
- Next day, remove from the fridge, all the oils and juices will have melded together and soaked into the bread. Remove the cling film and thinly cut off the outer crust edges, along the long sides and then the short sides.
- Slice the loaf into 6 equal wide finger sandwiches. Wrap each sandwich in parchment paper, greaseproof or wrap individually in cling film and add to the picnic basket.
Here are some more recipes perfect for the picnic hamper
strawberry-cheesecake
Fresh fat strawberries filled with cheesecake and topped with sweet crumb
Delicious Savoury Natas
Delicious Savoury Natas with melt in the mouth puff pastry
Crispy Filo Lamb And Chorizo Briouats
Crispy Filo Lamb And Chorizo Briouats
Sweet Chilli Sausage Rolls
Feta And Pomegranate Salad
Feta And Pomegranate Salad With Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Banana Blondies
I love the look of your pic-nic sandwich – always up for a meal al fresco
Thanks Heidi, food seems to taste different outside. GG
Fantastic tips. Can’t wait to get to the UK (far too hot to picnic here now). You’ve sparked so many memories with this post. Having picnics with our neighbours, who were experts and had the perfect picnic car – a Morris traveller. My Uncle cooking sausages over a small gas stove. My Mum dishing out the wet flannel from a plastic bag – pre wet-wipes.
One tip to add – keep one flask for coffee. Never put anything else in that flask. Brilliant post. Bring on summer
I’d forgotten about the coffee flask, but you’re absolutely right it does get tainted. I love the nostalgia of picnics. GG
I am not really a fan of sandwich, but these Mediterranean flavoured sandwiches look really tempting, GG.
I’m with you, they can often be a bit dull, but this is really tasty. GG
What great tips and as an avid picnicker myself, I concur and agree with all your tips! Lovely recipe too GG! Many of my memories are linked to picnics too…..Karen
I’ve seen your wonderful picnic recipes, it would be fun to plan one together. GG
We’re crazy for picnic. It doesn’t hurt that we live opposite a huge park in Sydney too so we don’t have to go far! And food isn’t an afterthought, it’s usually the main attraction 🙂
How fabulous to be so near a park. When I lived in London we were near a very small park but otherwise it was a bus or car ride away. GG
I do think the English do a picnic particularly well. I had a beautiful summer in England once and was taken to Henley where when we parked our car, everyone opened their boots and out came the most impressive picnic gear I have ever seen. I do remember we had very rare roast beef with Bollinger champagne! Your sandwich looks so good and I would love all those flavours xx
I live very close to Henley, it’s lovely on the river. Your picnic sound wonderful, was it during the Regatta I wonder. A bottle of Bolly would make any picnic. GG
Dear GG,
I love picnics and your tips are awesome. My fave is the cheese tip, how true is that!! I would add an important tip, for me anyway, and that’s to bring wine glass holders that skewers into the grass 🙂
Your glass holders would make things much easier. Thanks. GG
You post inspired me to go and grab a gourmet sandwich from the bar at my work. Doesn’t have anything on yours that’s for sure. Not to mention it is currently 12c outside, so not really picnic weather. Oh how I long for warmth and delicious eats like this. Happy week to you. 🙂
Oh, love a good picnic – many happy childhood memories and this sandwich certainly looks as if it would be at home at any picnic.
I love picnics but am never very well prepared for them. That sandwich sounds really tasty and I love the idea of making it the day before and letting all the flavours sink into each other