Location ideas and recipes to help you stage an al fresco feast to remember this summer
Perfect picnic spots
1. Mill Pond
Always good fun, the grassy area by the Mill Pond tends to attract crowds of Prosecco-drinking picnickers in the warm weather. Framed by weeping willows and overlooking the River Cam, it’s a postcard perfect setting to while away an afternoon – for goodness’ sake, just watch out for the cowpats.
2. Jesus Green Lido
Pass through the leafy canopy of towering London plane trees and step onto Jesus Green, a beautifully peaceful green space in the city centre. Fancy a dip? This park is also home to our city’s lido, perfect for cooling off on a sunny afternoon.
3. Grantchester Meadows
Immortalised by Pink Floyd and the muse of poet Rupert Brooke, Grantchester Meadows has been little disturbed by the centuries. Rolling meadows, glistening river, a hidden tea room in an orchard and ample opportunities for wild swimming make this space a countryside paradise.
4. Botanic Gardens 
If you want to picnic surrounded by beautiful fragrant blooms, there’s nowhere more perfect than the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens (CUBG), which welcomes picnickers on their pristine lawns and in various other allocated areas. If you’re in a group of more than ten then you’ll need to book via the downloadable form on the CUBG website.
Some recipes to take with you
Smoked paprika popcorn
Alex Rushmer, chef patron at the Hole in the Wall in Little Wilbraham shares this crowd-pleaser of a popcorn recipe. It’s so light that it’s perfect for transporting for picnics, and can be spiced according to your own taste when cooking.
www.holeinthewallcambridge.com
Ingredients
- popping corn kernels
- sunflower oil – enough to lightly coat the corn kernels
- sweet smoked paprika (about a teaspoon for every 100g of corn), plus a little extra
- hot paprika
- onion salt
- table salt
- caster sugar
- Aromat seasoning powder (optional)
- a lime
Method
- Add the popping corn to a saucepan so it covers the base of the pan in a single layer and coat with the sunflower oil.
- Season with salt and cover the pan with a lid and place over a medium heat.
- Shake the pan regularly to ensure all the corn is popped.
- Pour into a large bowl and add the sugar and spices, mixing well and regularly tweaking the flavours to your taste.
- Finish with a squeeze of lime.
Sweet potato salad
Developed by the kitchen team at The Gog, this salad is full of flavour and super easy to prepare. It makes a delicious addition to a picnic or the perfect accompaniment to barbecue food. All the ingredients are available at The Gog’s grocery, deli and larder.
Ingredients 
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 red onions
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 1 bunch chives
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- 1tbsp honey
- 1tbsp sherry vinegar
Method
- Peel and dice the sweet potatoes then toss them in a generous splash of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the sweet potatoes out on a baking tray and roast at 180°C/gas mark 4 for 15-20 minutes or until they are tender and slightly coloured.
- Peel and finely dice the red onions.
- Snip the chives and spring onions and mix with the red onions in a bowl.
- Whisk the honey, sherry vinegar and 1tbsp olive oil together with some salt and pepper.
- When the potatoes are almost cool, mix them with the onions and chives then gently fold through the dressing.
Jewelled tostata salad
This salad is perfect for an impromptu picnic: easy to put together after a store cupboard rummage and a herb garden raid. It’s vegan and it’s versatile meaning you can interchange the ingredients exponentially. Also the base is adaptable (giant couscous or bulgar wheat work just as well) and mix up the rainbow of roasted vegetables or the fresh herbs depending on what you have. Salty feta and pieces of orange flesh are also delicious additions.
Ingredients
- 250g fregola tostata (a slightly toasted pasta)
- 500g roasted summer veg
(red onion, red pepper, courgettes, banana shallots) - 1 bulb garlic
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 5 radishes
- 2 spring onions
- vegetable stock or water
- ½ pomegranate
- 1tsp rose harissa
- a small lemon
- a generous handful of parsley
or coriander - olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- a handful of herbs
Method
- Start by chopping the veg into bite-sized chunks, cut the onions into wedges, break apart the bulb of garlic, leaving the cloves in their skins. Pop them in a large baking tray and toss with some olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.
- Roast at 160°/gas mark 3 for about 25 minutes, turning occasionally, until soft and starting to caramelise.
- Meanwhile, cook the tostata according to the instructions. For greater depth of flavour, use home-made veg stock rather than water. Whilst still warm add the zest and juice of the lemon, the harissa, a handful of finely chopped herbs and then some salt and pepper.
- Thinly slice the radishes and spring onions and remove the pomegranate seeds from the fruit.
- When the veggies are done stir the whole mix together. Serve on a large platter – scattered with the radish, spring onions and pomegranate and garnish with some organically grown coriander or parsley. Maybe try some edible flowers (we like nasturtiums, violas or sweet williams with their gentle clove flavour).
This salad will keep refrigerated for three days in an airtight container. To order salads from The Linton Kitchen, visit their website: www.lintonkitchen.co.uk.
