1. The perfect
parkland picnicWith its late summer date and idyllic
setting, many Land Rover Burghley Horse
Trials visitors enjoy bringing a picnic.
Three seasoned cooks recommend
something suitable

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Burghley Life
About Claire
Macdonald
Lady Claire is a
widely published
cookery writer,
and, with her
husband Godfrey,
owns Kinloch
Lodge hotel (www.
kinloch-lodge.
co.uk) on the Isle of
Skye, which has a
Michelin-starred
restaurant.
Watercress and Smoked Salmon
Roulade
Serves eight
For the flavoured milk: (and please don’t
be tempted to just not do this, because it
makes ALL the difference to the end result!)
• 600ml / 1 pint milk
• 1 onion, skinned and halved
• 1 stick celery, washed and broken in half
• A small handful of parsley stalks,
bashed, to release their flavour
• A blade of fennel
• 1 teaspoon salt
For the roulade:
• 2 handfuls of watercress
• 50g butter
• 50g flour
• About 15 grinds of black pepper
• 1 large egg plus 4 large eggs, the yolks
separated from the whites – put the whites
into a large bowl with a pinch of salt.
For the filling:
• 2 tubs of full fat crème fraiche
• 200g smoked salmon cut into fine dice
– you can either use cold-smoked salmon,
or hot-smoked salmon, in which case
flake the salmon, discarding any skin.
Method: Put all the flavoured milk
ingredients into a saucepan on a moderate
heat. Heat until a skin forms. Take the pan
off the heat and leave until the milk is cold.
It will become infused with the tastes from
the onion, celery etc. Strain into a jug, and
discard the contents of the sieve.
Line a swiss roll tin measuring 25-30cm
by 30-35cm with a sheet of baking
parchment, anchoring it in each corner
with a dab of butter.
Liquidise the watercress with the
flavoured milk.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir
in the flour. Let this cook for a couple of
minutes before gradually stirring in the
watercress milk, stirring until the sauce
bubbles gently. Stir in the pepper – there
should be enough salt in the flavoured
milk for most palates. Let the sauce
simmer for a minute, then take the pan off
the heat. Cool for five minutes, then beat
in the yolks, one at a time, and lastly, the
whole egg, breaking it into the sauce and
mixing very thoroughly.
Whisk up the whites with the pinch of salt
till stiff and glossy. Fold the whisked whites
thoroughly through the watercress sauce.
Pour this into the lined tin, smooth it even,
and bake in a moderate heat, 350°F 180°C
gas 4 for about 25 minutes – the centre
should feel firm. Take it out of the oven,
cover with a dry cloth, and leave to cool.
Mix together the crème fraiche and
diced or flaked smoked salmon.
To assemble the roulade, lay a
sheet of baking parchment on a work
surface. Remove the cloth from the
cold roulade and tip it face down onto
the fresh parchment. Carefully peel the
parchment from the roulade, tearing it
in strips parallel with the roulade. Spread
the crème fraiche and smoked salmon
evenly over the entire surface, and carefully
roll up the roulade lengthways, rolling away
from you then towards you – it is so much
easier actually doing this than it sounds!
Transport the roulade still wrapped in
its parchment, and slice it into thick slices
to serve.
Scotch Quails’ Eggs in Sesame Seeds
Makes 12
• 12 quails’ eggs – feed the shells to your
dogs if you have them. They love eating
them, and they are very nutritious for
dogs, apparently
• 450g best quality pork sausagemeat
• 75g sesame seeds mixed with
• ½ teaspoon salt, on a plate
• Sunflower oil – for frying
F
ood for picnics ranges
from the simplest, cold
sausages and buttered
buns, to the other end
of the spectrum, more
elaborate food. But
whatever you aim for, the food must
be transportable and easy to eat.
Here are some recipes which fit
those categories. My recipes below are
for savoury food – anything sweet is so
easy, a box of lusciously rich dark
chocolate slightly undercooked
brownies, for example, and I now
scatter a small amount of flaky salt
over them when I take them out of
the oven. Plus a large bowl or basket
of strawberries or cherries.
watercress and
salmon roulade
AngusBlackburn

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Method: Cook the quails’ eggs by putting
them in cold water, bringing it to the boil
and simmering for five minutes. Drain off
the boiling water and run cold water
through the little eggs in the pan. When
cold, drain off the water and shell each egg.
Break off a small piece of pork
sausagemeat and wrap it around a shelled
egg, pinching it together at the edges. Roll
each wrapped egg in the sesame seeds.
To cook, heat some sunflower oil in a
non-stick sauté pan and put the eggs into
the pan. Do not be tempted to move them
around: leave for two minutes in the pan,
and only then turn them over to cook for
another couple of minutes, before turning
them again. This way, the sausagemeat
turns a golden brown under the browned
sesame seeds – beware, the seeds can pop
slightly alarmingly, but their flavour is so
worth the occasional pop! As they cook, lift
them on to a wide dish lined with a double
thickness of kitchen paper.
Aubergine and Butternut Squash
Salad
Serves four (assuming you are eating other
things with it)
• 1 small Butternut squash, peeled and cut
into 2.5cm cubes
• 1 large aubergine, cut into cubes a little
larger than the squash
• 2 courgettes, thickly sliced
• Extra virgin olive oil
To finish
• 2 pinches saffron threads
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 4 tablespoons plain yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
• 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method: Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F,
gas mark 6.
Put the squash into an ovenproof tray
with the aubergine and courgettes. Drizzle
with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper,
stir to coat with the oil and bake for 30
minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Grind
the saffron lightly, put into a small bowl and
pour over the boiling water and leave to
stand for 10 minutes. Add the ‘saffron tea’
to the yoghurt.
When the vegetables are cooked remove
from the oven and pile into an airtight
plastic container. Whilst the vegetables are
still warm, drizzle the yoghurt dressing over
them and sprinkle with the pomegranate,
pumpkin and nigella seeds.
Foccacia
This is so easy and really quite delicious,
and almost a meal in itself served with good
quality olive oil to dip it in, or any of your
favourite dips.
• 500g strong white bread flour
• 5g fine salt
• 7g powdered dried yeast
• 240mls warm water
• 120mls olive oil
To finish
• Rosemary sprigs, soaked in olive oil
• A generous drizzle of olive oil
• Coarse sea salt
Method: Sift the flour with the salt into a
large bowl. Make a well in the centre and
add the yeast, water and olive oil. Quickly
mix the ingredients together to form a soft
dough. Turn on to a floured surface and
knead for 5 minutes.
Roll it into a rough oval about 2cm thick,
lightly oil a shallow baking tray and slip the
About
Caroline
Waldegrave
OBE
Caroline was the
founding Principal,
Managing Director
and co-owner of
Leith’s School of
Food and Wine,
and has co-written
many cookery
books. She now
runs a cookery
school from her
home in the Mendip
Hills, at Dudwell.
Visit www.
dudwellschool.com
Aubergine salad
CharlieBroad
FOCCACIA
CharlieBroad

4. About Alex
Haldanee
Alex is a self-
taught cook and
food enthusiast
who loves to create
new recipes and
share them on
his blog www.
alexcooks.co.uk.
rolled dough onto the baking sheet. Leave
to prove, covered with greased clingfilm,
in a warm place, for about an hour.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to its highest
setting. When the dough looks soft and
pillowy make about 12 indentations in the
dough with your finger. Place a sprig of
rosemary in each dent. Bake for 10 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 200°C/400°F, gas
mark 6.
Bake for a further 10-15 minutes. Remove
from the oven and place on a wire rack.
Drizzle generously with olive oil and coarse
sea salt. Cover with a clean tea towel.
Note: This mixture can be made in a
heavy electric mixer using a dough hook.
Knead for two minutes in the machine and
then lightly knead on a floured surface
until smooth.
Spinach, Pea and Feta Salad
Serves four
• 200g fresh or frozen peas
• 75g spinach
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 handful mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice and zest of half a lemon
• 50g feta cheese, crumbled
• Salt and pepper
Method: First prepare the dressing:
combine the olive oil, ground coriander,
lemon juice and zest in a small bowl and
mix well. Get a large bowl filled with water
and ice ready for refreshing your
vegetables. Next bring a pan of water
to the boil before dropping in your peas.
Cook for around three minutes (this may
depend on whether your peas are fresh or
frozen) before adding your spinach to wilt
for a maximum of 30 seconds. Drain and
put into the bowl of iced water to stop the
cooking process and retain the colour of
the vegetables. Once cooled, drain again.
Combine with the mint, feta and dressing
and store in a sealed container. It is best
dressed on the morning of your picnic,
but will happily last for longer if you
reserve the lemon for the last minute.
Chorizo, Pepper and Caramelised
Onion Frittata
Serves four
• 100g chorizo (skin removed)
• 1 medium white onion
• 1 red pepper
• 100g cooked potatoes
• 1 handful curled leaf parsley, finely
chopped
• 4 eggs
• 50g ricotta
• Salt and pepper
Method: Dice the chorizo into 1cm cubes
and put in a small to medium sized frying
pan on medium heat, to allow the chorizo
to release its oil. Slice the onions finely
and do the same with the pepper. Cut the
potatoes into rough chunks. Add these to
FRITTATA AND SPINACH,
PEA FETA SALAD

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the pan with the chorizo to soften and
cook slowly.
In the meantime, finely chop the parsley
and combine it with the eggs and ricotta
to create the mix for the frittata, season
well. Once the chorizo and vegetables
have softened, add the egg mixture –
keeping the heat at medium.
Preheat the grill to a medium/high heat.
Leave the frittata to cook for around eight
minutes, before putting under the grill for
a further three – or until the egg is cooked.
Allow to cool before wrapping for the road.
Plum and Vanilla Cranachan
Serves four
• 300g Greek yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or the seeds of
a pod)
• 100g pinhead oatmeal (or, if unavailable,
rolled oats)
• 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
• 6 plums
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 tablespoon kirsch (optional)
Method: Firstly, prepare the plums.
Preheat an oven to 180°C. Halve them and
remove their stones before placing on a
baking tray with the tablespoon of honey
and the thyme leaves. Allow to roast for 10
minutes before splashing on the kirsch
and allowing to cool. Now turn the oven
to grill, mix the pinhead oats and the
dark brown sugar so that they are well
combined. Lay them evenly on a tray
(easiest if lined with aluminium foil)
and place under the grill until the sugar
begins to caramelise and the oats to toast.
Finally mix the Greek yoghurt with the
vanilla extract.
To assemble: layer plums, yoghurt and
oats alternately until you have six layers,
with oats at the top. This can easily be
done in picnic tumblers, or in glass ones
covered with cling film and kept upright
for the journey.
CRANACHAN