Eunice Power: Why picnics are the simple food tradition worth celebrating all year round

Eunice Power reflects on family traditions, post-swim feasts and why sharing simple food outdoors never goes out of style

Scotch Eggs recipe by Eunice Power, Picture Chani Anderson

This week, I’m going to discuss the very serious business of picnics.

Most people associate picnics with sunny summer afternoons, but I think that’s far too limiting.

I go swimming year-round, albeit sporadically, with a great gang of girls and, honestly, if it wasn’t for the picnic afterwards, I’m not entirely sure I’d always turn up for the swim. The promise of good food waiting on the shore is a powerful motivator.

There’s something about being outdoors that makes you genuinely hungry. Food tastes better somehow, and even the simplest things can feel like a feast.

Of course, I grew up in a picnic household. If we were going anywhere, mum would always rustle up the flask and sandwiches at the last minute.

The journey from Dungarvan to Dublin felt very long indeed, and we would always stop for a picnic en route. Imagine, there was a life before petrol stations and filling-station sandwiches.

I’m not going to tell you how to make sandwiches, because if I did, I could be here all day. In my kitchen alone, we have very heated discussions about sandwiches.

At our last food festival, one of my friends was preparing afternoon tea and was searching high and low for Japanese milk bread for her egg sandwiches. She hard-boiled the eggs, whipped the yolks until smooth, and folded in the chopped whites.

It was quite an eye-opener for me. I hadn’t realised quite how much thought, or indeed controversy, could go into a simple egg sandwich.

But perhaps that’s the point. Picnics are never really just about the food. They’re not really about the weather either.

They’re about taking a little time, sharing food with people you enjoy, and making an occasion out of an ordinary day. Whether it’s on a beach after a swim in January or under a tree in July, a good picnic is always worth looking forward to.

Eunice Power's Scotch Eggs

recipe by:Eunice Power

I was first introduced to these beauties in Britain when I was sowing my wild seeds in the 90s. I love them.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 45 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 8 medium eggs (small eggs are ideal but not always easy to find so I went for medium)

• 1 large egg, beaten (for the coating)

• 454g pack of sausage meat

• 1 teaspoon for smoked paprika

• Handful of picked flat parsley leaves, finely chopped

• 100g sundried tomatoes finely chopped

• For the seasoned flour

• 1 heaped tbsp plain flour

• 1 tsp fine salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• 100g panko breadcrumbs (Panko give a lovely crispy finish, stale sourdough blitzed into crumbs work well also)

• Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Method

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Gently lower in eight eggs and boil for exactly five minutes; the whites will be fully set but the yolk will be slightly soft and jammy in the centre.

2. Immediately transfer to a bowl of iced water and leave for five minutes.

3. Then gently peel the cooled eggs under cold running water. Pat dry with kitchen paper and set aside. Handle them carefully, medium-boiled eggs are a little more delicate than hard-boiled ones.

4. Combine the plain flour, salt, black pepper — the seasoned flour is key, it gives the sausage meat something to grip onto and stops it sliding off the egg.

5. Mix the sausage meat with the smoked paprika, sundried tomatoes, and parsley, and divide the pork sausage meat into eight equal portions. Flatten each portion into a thin patty in your palm. Roll each egg thoroughly in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess, then place it in the centre of a sausage meat patty.

6. Mould the meat up and around the egg, pressing firmly and making sure there are no gaps or thin spots. The flour coating is what helps the sausage meat stick to the egg.

7. Set up a coating station: Seasoned flour in one bowl, beaten one large egg, beaten in another, and panko or fine dried breadcrumbs in a third. Roll each sausage-wrapped egg in the flour, then dip in egg, then roll in breadcrumbs, pressing to coat evenly.

8. Cook the eggs at 170C in a deep fat fryer 2 for seven to eight minutes, turning occasionally, until deep golden brown all over and the sausage meat is cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

9. Leave to rest for two to three minutes before cutting in half to reveal that beautiful jammy yolk. Serve with a good chutney.

10. And yes, before you ask, even though I don’t have one, I am reliably informed that these can be cooked in an air fryer at 190C . Spray with oil and cook for 12-15 minutes until crispy.

Sausage meat is a great vehicle for flavour, so feel free to experiment by adding different ingredients and changing up the recipe a little — you could make a breakfast special with the addition of a little black pudding, mustard, and grated apple. Feel free to let your imagination run wild.

Spinach, Feta, Potato & Onion Cornish Pasties

recipe by:Eunice Power

A vegetarian twist on the Cornish classic, buttery shortcrust pastry filled with spinach, creamy feta, potato and onion.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 60 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 300g plain flour

• 150g cold butter, cubed

• 1 pinch salt 60 ml cold water (I pop the water in the fridge before I start to make sure its really cold)

• 250g baby spinach (frozen spinach works well here, but make sure all the water is squeezed out before adding)

• 200g feta cheese, crumbled

• 140g waxy potatoes, peeled and finely diced

• 1 medium onion, finely diced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• A glug of olive oil

• A good pinch of black pepper

• A good pinch of nutmeg (nice but not essential)

• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Method

1. Start by making the pastry.

2. Rub 150g cold cubed butter into the plain flour and a good pinch of salt until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Add 60ml cold water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing until the dough just comes together, wrap in cling film, and chill for 30 minutes.

4. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Soften the finely diced onion for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the baby spinach and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes.

5. Remove from heat, season with black pepper and nutmeg, and leave to cool completely. Once cool, squeeze out any excess moisture with your hands or pop it into a sieve and give it a press with back of a spoon; this is important to avoid a soggy pastry.

6. Stir 200g feta cheese, crumbled through the cooled spinach mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning, feta is salty so you more than likely won’t need extra salt.

7. Preheat your oven to 200C.

8. Roll the chilled pastry out on a floured surface to about 3mm thick. Cut out 4 circles roughly 20cm in diameter (use a plate as a guide).

9. Divide the raw diced waxy potatoes equally among the pastry circles, placing them on one half.

10. Spoon the spinach and fetamixture on top of the potato. Thepotato goes in raw; it will cook through in the oven.

11. Brush the edges of each circle with an egg, beaten (for egg wash). Fold the pastry over to form a half-moon.

12. Press the edges firmly together, then crimp by folding and twisting the edge or simply press with a fork. Place on a lined baking tray.

13. Brush the tops with a beaten egg. Cut a small steam hole in the top of each pasty.

14. Bake for 30-35 minutes until deep golden brown.

15. Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating — the filling will be very hot inside.

These are super for picnics as they are so self-contained. The thick crust works well as a casing, ensuring they are robust, travel well and eat well.