The warm weather is coming, and in some places, the warm weather is here and that means picnics in the park. The good news about many picnic snacks is that they’re easy to create, healthy, and some don’t even need to be cooked. Here are eight foods that are just the thing to eat at a picnic table in the park.
Table of Contents
1. Mortadella Triangles
These picnic snacks are made from slices of mortadella, ricotta cheese, horseradish, chives, dill pickles, and herbs and spices. Basically, there’s a slice of mortadella covered with spread, then covered with another mortadella slice covered with spread, and finally topped with another circle of mortadella, wrapped in plastic and placed in the fridge. Just before serving, slice into eighths, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and enjoy with grape tomatoes at the picnic.
2. Sage Pinwheels
This simple but scrumptious picnic snack uses cream cheese at room temperature, 30 sage leaves, chopped scallions, black peppers, and crackers. Spread the cream cheese over a wax paper sheet into an 8-inch square, lay the sage leaves over them, and add the scallions. Sprinkle with pepper then refrigerate until the cream cheese is firm, which should take at least 20 minutes. Then, when the cream cheese is firm, use the wax paper to roll it up into a log. Refrigerate again until it is firm then cut them into 3/8 inch wheels, and serve on crackers.
3. Anchovy Beignets
This tasty treat is created by boiling flour in water, letting it cool, then adding eggs and a tin of mashed anchovies. Add slivered almonds then deep fry the mixture a spoonful at a time. Drain on paper towels and have them at the picnic.
4. Kale Caesar Salad
This variation on the Caesar salad is not only really healthy but fun to make. Shred the kale, place it in a large bowl, and massage it with your bare hands until it becomes soft. While it rests, fry up some croutons in garlicky olive oil, and toss these with a dressing of Parmigiano cheese, lemon juice and zest, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and anchovies.
5. Hawaiian Chicken Salad
This unbeatable salad has shredded chicken breasts tossed with chutney, curry powder, ground ginger, toasted coconuts, and sour cream served on lettuce and garnished with slices of papaya, honeydew melons, cantaloupes, and/or pineapple.
6. Greek Garlic Potatoes
This dish is as delicious as it’s easy to make. It’s potato wedges and minced garlic cloves tossed with lemon juice, water, oregano, and sea salt and pepper, then roasted for 40 minutes.
7. Blueberry Scones
No picnic is complete without something sweet, and blueberry scones are it. This treat calls for blueberries, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, cream, butter, and eggs. The resulting cookies are covered with sprinkling sugar and brushed with more egg, then baked for 15 minutes.
8. Fried Chicken
What would a picnic be without fried chicken? Everybody has their own recipe. Use grandma’s mix of herbs and spices, soak the chicken in buttermilk first, and fry it in an heirloom cast iron skillet or in a state-of-the-art pressure cooker. Nothing beats fried chicken for a picnic.
