Our favourite picnic foods

Well it looks set for a glorious week of sunshine in our lovely British Isles. Whether you’re at work, retired or furloughed, we hope you get some time to sit outside and enjoy the weather.

Back at Willerby HQ we often talk about food. In fact, it’s one of our favourite topics! Here are our top 10 items that we would prepare ourselves for a picnic – or buy at the supermarket if we didn’t have much time!

Don’t forget to pack everything nicely and remember your picnic blanket and plenty of napkins.

1. Homemade Scotch eggs (our marketing director’s fave)

She uses the recipe on BBC Good Food. They are quite clearly not good for you, but who’s going to argue during lockdown! Get cooking!

2. Guacamole and veggie crudités

Our preference is to make your own. It’s just so fresh and zingy and an easy way of getting in your 5 a day if you use chunks of pepper, celery and carrots as your scooper.

3. The Great British sandwich

No picnic is complete without an array of sandwiches, but what would your filling be? Our faves are.egg & cress, ham & tomato, prawn mayo and roast beef & horseradish.

4. Potato salad

You could buy it, but it’s a doddle to make and you could whack in some grated cheese that’s lying around your fridge. And if you’re being posh, pop in some chopped celery, egg and onion too.

4. Chilli prawns

These take seconds - saute some fresh prawns and then throw in some chilli flakes, chopped onion and garlic. Delicious!

5. Chicken wings

Cut the wings into two parts and toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper then grill until crisp and golden. Whisk together some mustard, honey and lemon juice, and toss with the warm wings. Chill overnight. Or buy some if that’s too much effort…

6. Pasta salad

Really simple and cheap to make your own - and we are sure you have by now managed to get your hands on some dried varieties! Our fave is to combine chopped fresh tomatoes with some fresh mozzarella, some basil and a glug of olive oil. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper and you’re good to go.

7. Crisps

No picnic is complete without some crisps. One of our absolute favourites are the Co-op’s Irresistible Sea Salt Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps. They will blow your mind. Or try Pringles as they are useful to stuff all the used napkins in when you’ve finished them!

8. Dessert

Don’t forget the sweet stuff too! We love a little Gü pud or even a homemade cheesecake pot. Try this recipe for a strawberries and cream version. How can it be bad for you when it tastes so good? Ah well, the diet starts next week.

9. Refreshments

As restaurants and bars can’t open yet, you’ll have to take plenty of liquid with you - especially if it’s going to get hot. Water is a must but you can make it a lot more fun by adding watermelon chunks (remove the seeds) to your container. And if you’re not driving, loads of places sell plastic wine glasses with a foil lid. Now that is convenient…

We hope you enjoy your picnic wherever you are. If you want to share your pics we can put them on our Facebook page. Email marketing@whh.co.uk and tell us what you had and where. Bon appétit!