Our favorite picnic recipes

06 Jun 2024

It's almost summer, time to go outside. We prefer to do this in combination with a picnic and good company! On a sunny day we grab our alpaca picnic blankets and Panama hats and walk, cycle or drive to our favorite spots in the area. A good picnic naturally includes a snack and a drink, which is why we have listed our favorite picnic recipes here!

Before the picnic you can be found us in the kitchen to prepare the tastiest snacks. Our favorite recipes for a successful picnic are 1) sweet potato salad, 2) a cheese bread, 3) the rice salad from Ottholengi and 4) homemade lemonade. All these dishes can also be found online, but for the sake of convenience we write them out for you here.

1. Sweet potato salad

This dish provides color and is also super tasty & healthy! Sweet but fresh and delicious both hot and cold. You need an oven to make this salad, so it's smart to prepare this dish in advance.

Ingredients for 4 people:
  • 800 gr sweet potato cubes
  • 200 gr snack tomatoes
  • 1 avocado
  • 100 g feta
  • 12 spring onions
  • 1 lime
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • baking paper
  • pinch of salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 50 gr walnuts
Directions:
  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mix the sweet potato cubes with the olive oil and the herbs, divide over the baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  • Cut the snack tomatoes into quarters. Halve the avocado, remove the pit and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Then cut the flesh into cubes. Crumble the feta, roughly chop the walnuts and cut the spring onions into thin rings.
  • Mix the tomato, avocado, feta and spring onions with the potato cubes. And sprinkle with the walnuts.
  • Squeeze the lime and mix the juice with the mayonnaise. Serve this as a dressing with the salad.

A cheese bread is perfect for any occasion and is also very easy to make. You need: a large round bread such as a 'Pain de Campagne', cheese of your choice (this can be camembert, mozzarella, brie or grated cheese), butter, garlic and parsley. Also delicious with dried chili flakes and finish with salt and pepper. You also need an oven for this dish, but you can of course also choose to get some different types of cheese and dips that you can eat immediately with a baguette!

Ingredients for 1 bread:
  • 1 bread of your choice
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 100 gr unsalted butter
  • 1 ball of mozzarella
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 100 gr grated mature cheese
  • Sea salt

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut the bread along the top every 3 cm in length and width to create a diamond pattern. PLEASE NOTE: do not cut the bread all the way through because then you will have all separate pieces and we want to keep 1 whole.
  • Finely chop the garlic. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the garlic and let it cool slightly.
  • Cut the mozzarella (or other cheese) into small cubes of about half a centimeter and finely chop the parsley. Mix the mozzarella and finely chopped parsley with the grated cheese. Fill the bread with this mixture and then pour the garlic butter over the filled bread and sprinkle with salt, pepper (and chili flakes) to taste.
  • Bake the bread in the middle of the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. The bread is done when the cheese has melted.

3. Rice salad from Ottholengi

This delicious Mediterranean rice salad is perfect for summer. The rice is prepared in the oven with mint and when ready it is mixed with a salsa of green olives, feta, walnuts and pomegranate seeds. A salad full of flavor with a sweet and a sour which is very tasty on a hot summer day.



Ingredients for 4 people:

  • 300 gr basmati rice
  • 40 gr butter
  • 600 ml boiling water
  • 35 gr mint
  • 120 g feta
  • pepper

Salsa

  • 40 gr pitted olives
  • 90 gr pomegranate seeds
  • 40 gr walnuts
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 pomegranate
  • 1 garlic clove

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 230 degrees. Place the rice in an oven dish. Add salt and pepper to taste. Melt the butter, boil the water and pour both over the rice. Place the sprigs of mint on top but save about 10 grams of mint for the salsa. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and all the water has been absorbed.

Tip: If you do not want or cannot use an oven, you can also cook the rice in a pan with the mint.

  • Cut the olives into rings, press the garlic, chop the nuts and finely chop the remaining mint. Mix everything together in a bowl and set aside.
  • Remove the bowl of rice from the oven and remove the foil. Remove the leaves from the mint sprigs and mix them with the rice. Then spoon the salsa over the rice and sprinkle with crumbled feta. E voila!

In addition to all the tasty snacks, there should also be something to drink and nothing is better than a cold glass of lemonade. You can make this lemonade yourself and it contains no less than 3 ingredients.

Ingredients for 1 litre:

  • 600 ml water
  • 100 ml sugar
  • 180 ml lemon juice

Directions:

  • Put 100 ml of water in a saucepan and put it on the stove. Then add 100 ml of sugar and make sure, while stirring, that the sugar dissolves completely in the water.
  • Then let the sugar water cool completely.
  • Take a large carafe or sealable bottle and add the sugar water, the rest of the water and the lemon juice. Mix this together and cool the lemonade in the fridge.
  • Serve to taste with extra lemon slices and ice cubes. Cheers!

Do you prefer something that is ready even faster?! Then fill a bottle of cold water with seasonings such as: mint, lemon, lime, cucumber, orange or something else. Super simple and very tasty!

Don't forget

A picnic is not complete without a beautiful alpaca blanket from EcuaFina. The South American prints immediately give you a holiday feeling. Plus the blankets are so soft you won't want to get rid of them. But don't forget the handy things like: plates, cutlery, glasses or cups and napkins.

Who knows, you may already have a favorite picnic spot, but there may be many more beautiful spots in your area. Think of the park, the beach, a lake or in the forest. Explore your neighborhood and who knows, you might discover new beautiful places.

In this blog you can read how to organize the best picnic.

Daniëlle Zandbergen
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