The longest days of summer are upon us this week, which means we're eating outside every chance we get. Give us your best savory or sweet seasonal dishes that travel well (preferably in a basket alongside a bottle of wine). Bonus points for food that can take a little sunshine and not go to the dark side.
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The ingredients: honey, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled egg, lemon, parsley, haricots verts, tarragon (we used fresh, as we didn't have tarragon vinegar), anise seed, Persian cucumbers, shallot, roasted garlic and Dijon mustard.
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Amanda cheerily tops and tails some haricots verts.
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We mixed some fresh tarragon in with minced shallot and some white wine vinegar. If you don't have tarragon vinegar, we recommend you do the same!
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Some of the first cherry tomatoes of the season.
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A quick blanch is all these babies need -- you want a crisp salad, not a limp one.
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An ice bath helps with this too.
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Check out the steam rising in the background!
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Swaddled beans.
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Instead of using raw egg yolk, AJ calls for a hard-boiled egg yolk -- perfect for a picnic dish that may sit out for a bit!
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We roasted two garlic cloves in a little olive oil in a pan on the stove -- only took about 10 minutes!
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The roasted garlic and the anise seed make a fragrant paste.
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We noticed that it looked a little like anchovy paste going into the dressing.
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Teamwork!
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Look at that perfect dice! (That's Amanda's handiwork right there.)
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Is it us, or does it look like that rooster is trying to escape? Maybe it saw the remnants of the hard-boiled egg!
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Bring out the picnic blanket!
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All you need to make this lively salad: sweet melon (we used honeydew), Kirby cucumbers, prosciutto or feta, salt, pepper and sugar.
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For this dish, you want a melon that's ripe, but not super-soft.
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Amanda sneak a little nibble of feta!
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Peelin' the Kirbys.
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Lovely, aren't they?
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We discovered that cubing melon is more of a challenge than slicing cukes. But a good challenge.
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We tossed the cucumbers and melon in sugar and salt, left them for a bit to release their liquid, and then drained them.
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When slicing prosciutto into ribbons, start with it nice and cold -- it will make your life a lot easier!
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Assembly.
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And there you have it: a great picnic dish!
