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A Picnic

Today the word conjures pictures of idyllic river banks, a country scene from Constable or a city park. All of those images have the common addition of casually dressed diners seated on rugs on the ground. It wasn’t always that way.

The first European references to alfresco eating were medieval and were hunting feasts. The participants were there for the hunt and not for the food, which was probably just a necessity. The meal consisted of hams and other cooked meats and probably not so much as a modest slice of nut roast for a vegetarian.

The word picnic may have entered the English language from the French word “piquenique” or from the German “Picknick”. The oldest written evidence of the word picnic in English can be traced to 1748 when mentioned in the Oxford English Dictionary.

A couple of hundred years ago, a picnic meant a gathering at which each person brought a dish for all to share. The change in the meaning of the term, from "everyone brings something to eat" to "everyone eats outside" was completed by the 1860s.

Victorians loved picnics but the wealthy might enjoy theirs sitting at tables with real china and glass and a full complement of servants, and there are numerous references to picnics in literature from that time. A picnic probably was a very daring pastime for people who lived their lives in a strict and formal fashion.

Although I enjoy eating outside I am not a lover of a picnic. It’s the sitting on the ground, plate-balancing and glass-joggling that ruins it for me. The bonus is that you are enjoying some (one hopes) delicious food in fresh air and lovely surroundings.

If we go to all the trouble of (probably) loading the car with baskets, boxes, bottles and blankets then we should also take a bit of trouble over the food. My advice would be to avoid chocolate, jam, icing and packets of crisps, but apart from that the world is your oyster....Oh, yes, avoid oysters!

The dishes you choose should obviously be at their best eaten at room temperature, or cold if you have a means of carting ice blocks. Raised pies are appropriate for these occasions as they don’t often suffer from crushing or drying, quiche is always good but make a deep one that will be robust. Cornish pasties are easy to transport, sandwiches are OK but the bread dries very fast so only pass them around when you know they are needed. Chicken legs and wings are always popular but season them well as cold food often tastes bland.

You might like to try some more exotic fare like Chinese Hoisin Roast Pork, Indian Spiced Roast Chicken, homemade Gravlax, Potato Tortilla, or how about a Muffoletta-type sandwich:

Take a round loaf and cut in half to form two discs

Remove some of the soft bread from inside to allow more room for fillings

Sprinkle each bread round with a flavourful olive oil dressing.

Layer the bottom round first with thin-cut prosciutto ham, then Italian cheese, spring onions finely chopped, thin slices of tomato, slices of salami, slices of mozzarella, and finally crushed pepper-stuffed green olives.

Tightly wrap the reassembled loaf and weigh it down with a small child or another heavy object of your choice. Leave in a cool place for a few hours.

The object of the exercise is to have a wedge of sandwich with layers of different fillings being easily distinguished. Serve with a green salad and an indigestion tablet!