London

DIY dishes
Clever tricks for smart picnics

Chilli Philly
Take a 250g tub of Philadelphia soft cheese (standard or Light version),
or ricotta, and press it into a small, lidded container. Cover generously with Thai sweet-chilli sauce and scatter with torn, fresh basil leaves. Serve as a dip with crudités and crackers.

Finger lickin’ chicken
Mix together 2 tbsp oyster sauce and 2 tbsp Thai sweet-chilli sauce and rub the mixture all over six to eight chicken drumsticks. Leave to marinate for as long as you can, then bake for an hour at 180°C.
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Savvy slice
Put a large mixing bowl on the scales and fill it with a 425g mixture of firm vegetables such as chopped asparagus, broccoli, spinach, sweetcorn and roasted butternut squash. Add a large, chopped onion, 225g grated cheese, 300g chopped ham or bacon, then stir in five beaten eggs, 120ml vegetable oil, 150g flour and 1 tsp baking powder. Pour into a greased tin and bake at 180°C for an hour, until set and golden. Eat warm or cold.

Wrapped up
Take a bunch of briefly steamed and cooled asparagus and a bunch of thick grissini bread sticks and trim them to a similar size. Wrap each one in a slice of air-dried ham, working diagonally along the length of the stick. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and olive oil.

Butternut squish
Peel a butternut squash and cut into cubes. Toss it in a baking dish with 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp ground cumin, a mild red chilli and 2 garlic cloves. Roast at 180°C until tender then allow to cool. Blitz in a processor, season to taste and serve as a dip.

Dunno kebab
Spread houmous, babaganoush, guacamole or butternut squish (above) thickly around the inside of a pitta or wrap bread. Fill with leftover sliced roast lamb, sliced cucumber and a handful of rocket or watercress.

Magic muffaletta
Cut the lid off a cob of bread and hollow out the middle, leaving 1cm of bread around the crust. Spread a thin layer of pesto around the inside and under the lid. Layer with well-seasoned grilled veg, basil, rocket, olives and soft Italian cheese such as bocconcini. Replace the lid and wrap in clingfilm. Place on a plate or tray, put another on top and weigh down with heavy cans. Leave overnight. Cut into thick slices at the picnic.

Fruit salad
Thin a carton of coconut cream to sauce consistency with lime juice, sweeten to taste, then chill. Mix cubes of honeydew melon with grapes and torn, fresh basil. Serve the coconut sauce with the fruit.