Pack a picnic

Posted on 30 October 2014

With sunny weather forecast for the weekend, why not pack a basket and head outdoors? Here are four delicious and easy-to-prepare meals.

Raw cauliflower ‘couscous’ salad
Serves 4

1 medium-sized cauliflower head
2 tablespoons chopped mint, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 finely chopped red chilli
5 chopped black olives
5 chopped green olives
100g cubed feta
1/2 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g micro greens
4 tablespoons sunflower seeds, toasted in a dry pan

Dressing
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blend the cauliflower in small batches in a food processor until it looks like couscous. Add it to a bowl with mint, parsley, chilli, olives, feta, a squeeze of lemon, and salt and black pepper. Mix all the ingredients and place in a serving bowl. Garnish with micro greens, mint leaves and sunflower seeds. For the dressing, combine the olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper, and drizzle over the salad. Pack into glass jars.

Really easy carrot cake
Serves 8

2 free-range eggs
100g brown sugar
75ml olive oil
175g grated rainbow carrots
100g wholemeal self-raising flour
or spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g roughly chopped pecan nuts
2 tablespoons icing sugar

Preheat oven to 190°C. Cream the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Slowly pour in the oil while whisking. Add the carrots, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and vanilla extract, and mix with a wooden spoon. Pour the cake batter into a greased 18cm cake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until a cake skewer comes out clean when tested). Allow the cake to cool before topping with the pecan nuts and a dusting of icing sugar.

Bruschetta with flavoured ricotta and spring-pea dip
Serves 4

8 slices of ciabatta
300g ricotta
4 grated radishes
6 finely chopped green olives
2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan
250g green peas
3 tablespoons fat-free Greek yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the grill and toast the ciabatta slices in the oven until crisp. Roll the ricotta into 2cm balls, then roll a few balls in the grated radishes, a few in the olives, some in the parsley and the last balls in the sesame seeds. For the dip, blanch the peas in a pot of salted boiling water until just cooked. Place in a food processor immediately with the Greek yoghurt, pulse together and then season to taste. Serve with the ricotta and toasted ciabatta.

Asian chicken noodle salad with granadilla dressing
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
6 tablespoons ponzu sauce
400g rice noodles
1/3 cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
2 thinly sliced Granny Smith apples
2 heads of butter lettuce

Dressing
Seeds from 2 granadillas
3cm piece of ginger, grated
1 deseeded and finely chopped red chilli
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil over a medium heat. Slice each chicken fillet through the centre of the breast and then divide each half into four, season and brown on both sides. Add the ponzu sauce to the pan and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked. Prepare the rice noodles by following the packet instructions. In a large mixing bowl combine the browned chicken in the ponzu sauce, the cooked rice noodles, cucumber and apples. Season if necessary.
For the dressing, whisk together the granadilla seeds, ginger, chilli, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Spoon the noodle salad into cups made out of butter lettuce leaves and serve with the granadilla dressing.

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The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.