This summer I’ve been doing a lot of picnics for clients and I’ve concluded that the criteria for good picnic food is a little different to other events. You need to ensure that everything is easy to eat alfresco and offers plenty of variety for guests to choose from. However, while things like cocktail sausages, scotch eggs and pork pies are perennial picnic favourites, if you rely too heavily on these delicious porky pleasures you’ll end up serving a sea of “brown” food and risk leaving your vegetarian guests feeling sadly neglected.
An answer to this catering conundrum lies in the stuffed picnic loaf – basically a hollowed out loaf of bread stuffed with lots of good things. The idea originates in Nice where “pan bagnat” (which literally translates as “bathed bread”) is essentially salad niçoise in sandwich form. It typically contains tuna, anchovies, tomato, olives, boiled egg, oil and vinegar, served in hollowed out day-old bread which soaks up all the juices on the inside, while maintaining a firm crust on the outside.
My version is play on this, with a hollowed out round sourdough loaf stuffed with roasted vegetables, pesto, and mozzarella. Once stuffed, the loaf is wrapped and weighted so all the flavours meld together. You can also easily modify the loaf for vegans – replace the mozzarella with houmous, and the pesto with either a vegan pesto or a vegan black olive tapenade. Another great thing about this loaf is you can make it well in advance – most recipes advise eating within 2 days, but I left one in the fridge for 5 days and it still tasted great.
So here’s how to do it:
Mediterranean Stuffed Picnic Loaf:
1 loaf serves 8-10 people as part of a picnic
- 1 Day old sourdough “boule” (round loaf)
- 1 Red pepper
- 1 Yellow pepper
- 2 Courgettes
- 2 Large field or portobella mushrooms
- 1 Aubergine
- 50g Basil leaves, roughly chopped
- Olive oil
- 6 tbsp Basil pesto (good quality store bought, or make your own using the recipe below)
- 2 125g Balls of mozzarella
METHOD:
- Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan
- Cut the peppers into quarters, remove the seeds and place on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the skins have blackened. Remove from the oven, put the peppers in a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to cool (the steam will loosen the skins), and when cold, remove the skins. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, cut the aubergines lengthways into 3-4mm slices. Brush with olive oil seasoned well with salt and pepper.
- Cut the courgettes into 4-5mm diagonal slices and brush with seasoned oil.
- Heat a griddle pan and when hot, grill the aubergine and courgette slices – you want to get good char lines on both sides, and cook them until they are softened but still retain a little bite. Set aside to cool
- Slice the mushrooms into 3-4mm slices, toss in seasoned oil and place in a roasting tin. Cook in the oven for around 30 minutes until cooked through and most of the liquid they release has evaporated. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Drain the mozzarella and pat dry. Cut into 3-4mm slices.
- Take your loaf and slice off the top, about one third of the way down. Set this lid aside, and then carefully scoop out the inside of the loaf, leaving a 2-3cm shell of bread inside the crust (you can whizz the scooped out bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs – freeze in a bag until you need them).
- Spread the pesto all over the interior of the loaf, and on the underside of the lid, then start layering the vegetables, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go and scattering basil between each layer.
- Start with a layer of aubergine, followed by courgette, peppers and mushrooms. Top with a layer of mozzarella, then repeat, pressing the filling down firmly as you go, until all the vegetables have been used up.
- Put the lid back on top of the loaf, then wrap tightly with cling film. Transfer to a baking tray, roasting tin or similar, and place another tray on top. Weigh down with something heavy – 4 full cans or jars are ideal – and put in the fridge to set up.
- When ready to serve, unwrap the loaf and cut into 8-10 wedges to serve. (Re-form and re-wrap the loaf to transport to your picnic destination)
- Enjoy!
Basil Pesto
Makes about 250ml
- 80g Parmesan cheese, cut in 2cm pieces
- 1 Garlic clove
- 30g Pine nuts, toasted
- 80g Fresh basil leaves (include the non-woody bits of the stems)
- 150g Extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp Salt
METHOD:
- Place the parmesan in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Add the garlic, pine nuts, basil and salt and turn the processor on.
- With the food processor on, slowly pour in the olive oil until it has all been combined and you have a lovely green pesto!
- Serve immediately, or transfer to a lidded container. Leave a 5mm gap at the top and cover in extra oil to prevent oxidation and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.