Picnic season is finally upon us – hooray! There is something very special about a picnic, whether it’s a family gathering or a romantic picnic for two. Grazing on a summer’s afternoon, fresh crusty bread, baked ham, cheeses and chutney – delicious!
The origin of the word picnic is French (pique nique) – the word signifies an outing with food – similar to the word’s meaning in English. At these pique niques, the attendees would all bring food to the occasion. The outdoor concept of a picnic did not originate until the 19th Century.
Historians have found this French word in references outside of the French language as early as 1748 and into English by around 1800. Here are a couple of chutney recipes to give your picnic a bit of pizzazz.
For my lemon chutney you’ll need 6 large lemons (thinly sliced crosswise and deseeded), ½Ibs finely chopped onions, 1½tbls salt, 16floz cider vinegar, 8oz brown sugar, 4oz sultanas, 1½ tspn mustard seeds, 1tspn ground ginger, ½ tspn cayenne pepper.
Slice lemons and onions and sprinkle with salt, leave to stand for 24 hours. Place the lemons and onions in a pan, barely cover with water, heat until lemon peel is soft. Add vinegar, spices and brown sugar, increase the heat, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour until thick and brown. Store in air-tight containers for 1 month to mature.
To make my green tomato chutney, you’ll need 2 kgs green tomatoes, salt, 500g cooking apples, 550g shallots, 6 dried red chillies wrapped in muslin, 500 g brown sugar, 60 ml cider vinegar, 500g red tomatoes skinned and chopped, 2 green and red peppers peeled and thinly sliced.
Put the sliced green tomatoes in a colander, add salt and leave overnight.Add all ingredients into a pan – except red and green peppers and chopped ripe tomatoes. Simmer until all the liquid is reduced and add ripe tomatoes and peppers and reduce liquid. Cool and store in air-tight containers.
Chef’s tip: Chutneys are great for spicing up a picnic – the lemon one is very good with seafood, the green tomato chutney is great with gammon and baked ham.
