After Soup Glorious Soup and Camping Cookbook, Annie Bell serves us The Picnic Cookbook (Kyle Books, June 2013).
If a picnic or backyard party is your Mother's Day choice, Annie Bell's Dip Recipes are a good place to start.
Let’s go:
dips
We love damning
convenience foods, but where would most of us be without those plastic tubs of
hummus, guacamole and the like. A lot of it isn’t bad at all, but that small
homemade touch injects an essential element of nurture. In pretty much every
case there are invariably one or two finishes that will bring out the best in
the dip. Or, you could go further, as it takes little longer to whizz up a
creamy dip using soured cream or Greek yogurt. Rustle up some crudités and
olives and you are well on your way to a respectable feast of a picnic.
Hummus
Stir
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin into a 300g tub of
hummus. Transfer this to a portable container
or
bowl, drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and a
squeeze of lemon juice and dust with a little
more
cumin.
For
4–6 people
Guacamole
Stir
2 teaspoons of finely chopped coriander leaves into
a 200g tub of guacamole. Transfer this to a
portable
container or bowl, drizzle over a little extra virgin
olive oil, dust with cayenne pepper and
scatter
over a little more coriander.
For
4 people
Taramasalata
Stir
1/2 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest and a tablespoon
of finely chopped parsley into a 200g
tub
of taramasalata. Transfer to a portable container
or bowl, drizzle over a little extra virgin olive
oil
and a squeeze of lemon juice and scatter over
some more parsley.
For
4 people
Tzatziki
Stir
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and 2
teaspoons of finely chopped mint into a 200g tub of
tzatziki. Transfer to a portable container or a bowl, drizzle
over some more oil and scatter over a few
tiny mint
leaves.
For
4 people
Cheat’s aioli
The
short cut to making an aioli uses soured cream
instead of mayonnaise. It makes for an elegant
dip,
as well as a sauce that can be slathered
over food from the grill or cold roast beef
(see
page 115).
Blend
300g soured cream, 2 peeled and crushed garlic
cloves, 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and a
little
sea salt in a bowl and spoon into a clean bowl
or container. Chill until required. Before you leave
the house, dust the top with Piment d’Espelette
or cayenne pepper.For
8–10 people
Creamed Goat’s Cheese
This
creamy dip can be tinkered with endlessly, using
different ingredients and flavourings depending
on
what you want to serve it with, but roasted
vegetables are always a good starting point,
as is a bowl of
feisty green leaves with a walnut
dressing.
Whizz
250g fresh young goat’s cheese with 100g Greek
yogurt or fromage blanc and 100g crème
fraîche
in a food-processor until creamy. It will probably
be slightly grainy, but that’s fine. Transfer
to
a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of finely snipped
chives. Chill until required. Before you leave
for the
picnic, dust with paprika.
For
6 people
(* Recipe excerpted from 'The Picnic Cookbook' by Annie Bell-Kyle Book, US Edition, June 2013, all rights reserved, photography by Jonathan Bell)