The Perfect Picnic

Buy Local! There is wide variety of fresh, locally produced foods out there—wines, delectable cheeses, smoked fish, organic vegetables and breads. Check out your local farmers market when planning your next outing/

And the next time you’re on holiday take an empty picnic basket. Yes, empty. That way you can buy regional foods while putting money into the hands of local economies. Have a Happy Weekend!


A Pan-bagnat recipe
Pan-bagnat (pahn bahn-YAH) is a sandwich that is a specialty of the region of Nice, France. The sandwich is composed of white bread, raw vegetables, anchovies and/or tuna, and olive oil. It’s a perfect picnic food.

The filling is open to endless variation. The only real no-nos are ordinary salad ingredients such as fresh tomatoes (they go soggy) cucumber (too crunchy and slippery) and lettuce (it'll go slimy).

Many of the antipasto goodies found at the deli are great additions: artichoke hearts, semi-dried tomatoes, grilled courgettes (zucchini). Ready-grilled peppers can be a great time saver, but ask to taste them before you buy them, and reject vinegary ones. Goat's cheese, or for a milder version, buffalo mozzarella, can be added too.

1 ciabatta
5 peppers, (a mixture of red and yellow) deseeded, grilled and peeled
1 aubergine (eggplant), sliced and grilled until brown and tender.
A handful of olives, stones removed
7 or 8 tinned anchovies (optional)
8 tbsp fresh pesto

Cut the ciabatta in half horizontally. Pull out some of the bread inside to hollow it out a bit. Spread both cut sides with pesto.

On the bottom half of the ciabatta, pile up layers of the peppers, aubergine, olives and anchovies, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Top with the other half of the loaf.

Wrap the pan bagnat tightly like a parcel in parchment paper and tie with string in five evenly spaced places. Put in the fridge, with a board on top, weighed down with a couple of tins of tomatoes. Leave overnight.

To serve, cut the wrapped pan bagnat in between the string ties. Serve the sandwich still wrapped and tied for the recipient to unwrap.
Enough for 4-6 people

Telegraph UK