Stock up your picnic basket and head to the park, writes Catherine Cleary
There is a lot to be said for hosting a picnic in the park. For a couple of hours you can pretend to live in a stately home. There's no need to apologise for the state of the lawn, as someone called the gardener is responsible for that. There is enough room for a game of rounders or a treasure hunt around the crumbling statuary. Spot of croquet, anyone?
We have no garden, so instead we have planted our new but already pesto-stained picnic blanket on several patches of park these past few weeks. The youngest has eaten fistfuls of Dublin City Council's finest grass while nobody was looking. The other boy has eyed up other children's games and managed to join in with just the gentlest of nudges.
At the picnic tables in Phoenix Park whole families and groups of thirtysomething friends set up camp on sunny weekend afternoons with foldable chairs, Swingball sets and disposable barbecues. It is as sociable as the beach, is an easier place to talk to strangers, as everyone is fully clothed, and has are none of the problems of sand or two-hour traffic jams to contend with.
Unlike beach picnics, park picnics can involve something less basic than a ham sandwich. In the absence of sand, Tupperware containers can be filled with tasty salads that are not turned into grit baths at the first breath of wind. You can even do a Wind-in-the-Willows picnic basket, with real plates, knives and spoons - and, of course, real glasses. And we all know every mouthful will taste better outside, and better still after an energetic game of Frisbee or a spot of cricket on the rolling lawn.
So for the civilised picnic or garden party in the park you might want to try some of these recipes. All you add is some good fresh bread, maybe some nice cheese and a warm afternoon breeze.
Recipes serve four
CHICKPEA AND CITRUS SALAD
1 large orange
1 lemon
1 small clove garlic
sea salt
olive oil
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
handful fresh mint leaves
12 cherry tomatoes
1 large ripe avocado
Peel the orange and lemon and remove as much of the pith as you can. (Use a sharp knife to do this and you should be able to cut it cleanly away.) Chop the flesh into chunks and remove any pips. With a large pestle and mortar crush the garlic clove with a sprinkling of sea salt to make a paste. Add the chopped
citrus fruit and mash into a pulp. Add a good dollop of olive oil and the white-wine vinegar and mix together well. Pour the drained chickpeas into a bowl and cover with the citrus dressing, adding the mint leaves torn into shreds. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and stir them in with the rest of the ingredients. Peel and stone the avocado and chop it into small chunks. Let the salad sit in the fridge for about an hour before serving, to let the flavours blend.
POTATO SALAD WITH CHORIZO AND RED PEPPER
4 good-sized potatoes
100g chorizo (or 6 pork sausages)
1 large red onion
1 large red pepper
1 clove garlic
olive oil
3 tbsp white-wine vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
Boil the potatoes, then peel and cut them into square chunks. Slice the sausage, then halve the slices. Peel and chop the onion, then deseed and chop the pepper into long slices. Chop the garlic as finely as you can. Heat some olive oil in a pan, then add the garlic, onion and red pepper. Fry gently for about three minutes, until the onions have softened. Throw in the potatoes and the sausage. If you are using ordinary sausages, grill them first and then slice them into chunks. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool. Mix the oil and vinegar together in a bowl and whisk well. Pour this vinaigrette over the salad and serve.
CUCUMBER AND MINT DIP
250g natural yogurt
1 medium cucumber
1 small clove garlic
sea salt
large handful fresh mint leaves
Slice the cucumber lengthways, then use a teaspoon to remove the seeds, by scooping out a channel. Grate it roughly, then put it in a sieve. Gently press the cucumber flesh against the sieve, to get rid of excess water. Crush the garlic well, then add the sea salt to make a paste. Stir it into the yogurt, then add the grated cucumber. Finally, chop the mint leaves finely and stir them in. Serve with carrot and celery sticks or on crackers or bread.