I love picnic food: that you can eat with your fingers or cut with the side of a fork. Easy food that you pass around, that’s good on its own or with a simple salad (and wine – picnics need wine). This summer, I’m saving room in my basket for a colourful tomato quick bread that hints at sunny Nice, and a creamy courgette and goat’s cheese loaf that teeters between custard and cake. And if we’re rained out, we can always bring it indoors for a chic little lunch.
Provençal-ish picnic squares (pictured above)
Even though the base is a yeastless quick bread, these squares feel like members of the focaccia clan. Their toppings can be any mix of veg that looks pretty or whatever you’ve got on hand. My version nods to Nice – to come even closer to the city’s famous salad, you could add anchovies or cooked green beans and potatoes – but you can take the recipe anywhere in the world. Just remember to keep the vegetables thin, so that they cook through in the short bake-time, and to use enough of them so that every bite includes some.
Prep 20 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 6-8 (as a picnic grabber, a snack, an aperitif nibble or a go-along with soups or salads)
For the topping (mix and match)
2 large tomatoes, or a mix of large and cherry tomatoes
1-2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
A few marinated sun-dried tomatoes
A couple of slices of roasted pepper
A few pitted olives, black or green
A few thin slices onion, red or white
For the base
Butter, for greasing
180g plain flour
1 tbsp minced fresh herbs, such as thyme, oregano or rosemary, or 1 tsp herbes de Provence
1¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch red chilli flakes
3 large eggs (15og cracked weight), at room temperature
80ml olive oil
1½ tbsp honey
60g shredded low-moisture mozzarella
Olive oil, for brushing
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Grated parmesan, for sprinkling
Pesto, for serving (optional)
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and put a rack in the middle of it. Grease and line a 23cm square baking pan, leaving enough of a paper overhang that you can grab it to lift out the bread later.
If you’ve got large tomatoes, slice them and consider cutting the slices in half or quarters; halve any smaller tomatoes. Put the tomatoes and any other juicy ingredients between paper towels and let them sit for the few minutes it takes you to prepare the batter. Keep the remaining topping ingredients to hand.
For the base, whisk the flour, herbs, baking powder, salt, pepper and chilli in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and honey. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, grab a spatula and stir until mostly, but not completely, combined. Stir in the mozzarella, then scrape the batter into the lined pan and spread it out evenly. The batter is thick and the layer is thin, so you’ll have to poke and push it into the corners.
Arrange the tomatoes and the other topping ingredients on top in whatever pattern you like – try to keep them to a single layer – brush lightly with olive oil, season sparingly with salt and dust with parmesan.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the bread starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. The bread will be very pale, so if you’d like more colour – I always do – slide it under the grill for a minute or two. Transfer the bread pan to a rack, then wait five minutes before running a table knife around the edges. Lift out the bread, then peel off the paper. Return the bread to the rack and leave it to cool a bit before cutting it into squares. If you like, serve the squares with pesto for dipping or dabbing. The squares are best eaten on the day they’re made, but they can be wrapped, kept at room temperature overnight and given a quick warm-up in a hot oven.
Courgette and goat’s cheese loaf
The batter in this loaf disappears into the abundant courgette, and the hodgepodge of sliced squash lines up to make beautiful layers. The loaf is reminiscent of a crustless quiche, but wobblier and more puzzling: it looks rough and rustic, but somehow elegant, too. Make sure to slice the courgette into very thin rounds – a mandoline is perfect for the job.
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Serves 8
Butter, for greasing
500g courgettes, scrubbed
135g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs (100g cracked weight), at room temperature
80ml whole milk, at room temperature
4 tbsp olive oil
3-4 tbsp minced tarragon and/or chives
50g goat’s cheese (from a log), crumbled
Parmesan, finely grated, to finish (optional)
Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 and put a rack in the centre of it. Grease a 900g loaf tin with butter, flour it lightly, then line the base and two long sides with baking paper, leaving enough overhang to grab later. Put the tin on a baking sheet to catch possible drips during baking.
Slice the courgettes into rounds thin enough to bend, but not so thin that they break. If you’re using a mandoline or other slicer, wait to do this until the batter is mixed.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and pepper. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and olive oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and, using a spatula, stir to combine into a thick, pancake-like batter. Stir in the herbs and sliced courgettes – you’ll have so much that you might think it will impossible to coat the slices with batter – but you can! Keep stirring and, once you’ve succeeded, mix in the goat’s cheese. Scrape the unruly mix into the lined tin, plunging your spatula into the batter in several places to settle it and ensure that it fills the corners, then rap the tin against the counter. Dust the top with some parmesan, if you’d like.
Bake for 75 minutes, or until the cake is browned and evenly puffed; a skewer pushed into the centre should go through the courgette easily. You might see some bubbling around the edges, but that’s fine. Transfer the cake tin to a rack, wait 15 minutes – don’t be concerned when your cake settles and sinks a bit (that’s its nature) – then very carefully run a table knife around the sides to loosen it.
Leave the tin on the rack for two hours (the cake might still be warm) before using the overhanging paper to lift the cake out and on to a board. Leave the cake to cool room temperature before serving or refrigerating. Serve in thick slices. Wrapped well, it will keep in the fridge for up to two days.
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Dorie Greenspan is a multi-award-winning US food writer and baker.
