Food Friday ~ Picnic food ideas!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Hi everyone! I’m back again <as promised> with a yummy Food Friday post! ;o)

To me, the words ‘summer’ and ‘picnic’ pretty much go hand-in-hand! And while I’m bundled up indoors waiting out a cold winter, I do dream of being on the other side of the world with my northern hemisphere friends enjoying a lovely summer picnic. Now winter has its charms (and I really do love it, I do…) but when it comes to summer picnics… glorious! The sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day …time to get outdoors with a picnic blanket and a hamper full of goodies – fresh fruit, tasty salads, flavorsome pies/tarts/ terrines, simple sandwiches, yummy desserts and homemade lemonade! YUM! Oh… and a good book and a floppy sun hat! Nothing better!

One of my favorite finger food recipes – Smoked Salmon Tartlets – are perfect to pack for a picnic adventure. Today I’m sharing it with you, including a free 4×6 recipe card that you can download and use anytime…picnic or not. These little savory tartlets are quick and easy to make and can be eaten hot or cold – very versatile!

And if you’re not a big fan of salmon, capers, dill and seeded mustard you can mix and match with other ingredients. Why not try fresh-cut asparagus, lemon zest & dill, or sautéed mushrooms and red onion, or cherry tomato, olive and crumbled feta cheese, or whatever you want! The plain yogurt gives the tart a lovely tanginess and lightness – and at the moment I’m loving it as a substitute for cream or milk when whipping up a quick quiche.

For the base I like to use layers of filo pastry. For the tarts I made for today’s post I used 5 layers and brushed each with a little melted butter – I then cut them into rounds to fit my standard muffin pans. But feel free to make your favorite shortcrust pastry (savory not sweet!) or line your preferred pans/moulds/tart tins with store-bought frozen puff or shortcrust pastry. Or even quicker still, you can simply buy pre-made tart shells or cases that you can just fill with the tart mixture.

So here is the recipe…

Ingredients

• 100g (4oz) smoked salmon
• 200g (7oz) thick plain yogurt (Greek style preferably)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp seeded mustard
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped roughly
• 1 tbsp baby capers (optional)
• preferred pastry cases
• salt & pepper (remember the salmon is pretty salty so salt to taste!)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 180C (360F) – moderately hot.
• Tear smoked salmon slices and share between pastry cases. Sprinkle capers over salmon.
• Whisk eggs, yogurt, flour and seeded mustard in a bowl until combined. Stir in chopped dill and seasoning. 
• Pour egg and yogurt mixture over salmon and capers.
• Bake in oven until set and golden brown, about 20mins.

This recipe makes 8 muffin size tartlets. If you choose to make one large tart then increase the cooking time to approximately 25 to 30mins. And if you go smaller, then 15mins should do the trick.

Now here is the recipe card I created as a FREE download. I used a Shabby Shoppe Muffin Man recipe card template and a collection of Shabby Princess digital kits (see the TOU in your download for more details). Please feel free to add this latest card to your home recipe collection, and ENJOY!! :o) You can CLICK HERE to download it, or simply click the preview below!

But wait there’s more! LOL!… here are two more of my picnic faves! I love to layer up when it comes to sandwiches. The one in the pics is my antipasto special – a baguette sliced and hollowed slightly and then spread with basil pesto on one side and olive tapenade on the other. Then I like to fill it with layers of deli items – roasted red capsicum (red pepper), grilled eggplant (aubergine), cheese (this time I used an Italian provolone but you can use fresh mozzarella or bocconcini etc), salami, and baby spinach. And for my salads I love to use plastic (food safe) noodle boxes – they’re a bit different, have cute little handles and stack well. Picnics are loads of fun and when it comes to food you can dress it up or dress it down – anything goes!

Hope you’ve enjoyed today’s picnic post! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here… same time, same place… on Monday morning with the Layout of the Week! :o)

KylieFood Stuff, Free (not desktops), Uncategorized 7 Comments