Sandwiches are the ultimate picnic food as they're portable and thousands of variations can be made to suit all tastes. For example, you could easily replace the usual white sandwich bread for tortillas, flatbreads, sourdough or a crusty baguette for a gourmet touch.
The warm sunny weather this summer just beckons for a picnic.
And that's just what I did (and have been doing since spring). Grab a picnic basket and stock it with some cheeses, Lavosh crackers, olives, and some fresh fruit then either pre-make the sandwiches, wrapping them individually, or pack the ingredients in separate containers and off you go! Remember, there's nothing worst than a soggy sandwich so keep the wet stuff like tomatoes, separate and whole until they're ready to be eaten.
Picnic at the beach
Here are a two of my favourite picnic sandwich variations:
Vietnamese-style chicken sandwich
Serves four
The flavours in this sandwich were inspired by my parent's quick and easy hunger solution every time they took us kids on a road trip. My Dad would either poach a chicken and shred it at home, or buy a box of takeaway roast pork from an Asian BBQ house. My Mum would box up her homemade pickled daikon and carrot, along with a few cucumbers, fresh coriander, shallots, chillis and the essential condiments of soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Then along the way, we would pick up a just baked baguette...
Shredded chicken, either from a whole poached chicken or a pre-bought charcoal chicken
8 - 12 sprigs of coriander, coarsely chopped
4 shallot sticks, halved and cut into strips
1 - 2 cucumbers, cut into strips
Pickled carrots and daikon
Fresh ground black pepper
Maggi Seasoning soy sauce
Sesame oil (optional)
Chilli (optional)
To make the sandwich, add a few splashes of the soya sauce, layer on some shredded chicken; then in no particular order, tuck in the remaining ingredients based on personal preference of texture and taste.
Gourmet ham sandwich with aioli and basil
Serves four
A luscious twist on the traditional ham and cheese sandwich.
8 - 12 slices of Smoked ham
1 Cucumber, sliced thinly
Handful of Basil, roughly torn
Jarlsberg cheese or Aioli
Salt & pepper
Spread aioli on one side of the bread (or replace with a slice of cheese), then put sandwich together by layering on remaining ingredients.
Vietnamese-style chicken sandwich and juice at the beach
At Wattamolla Lagoon in Royal National Park
i love packing my own food when i go out, been doin that lately cos i wanna save some money (and not eat out too much)
my latest craze is wraps!
have you seen the spinach wraps from woolies? so good, and are huge so you can fit more in without worrying if it will fall apart hehe
which reminds me - i have a picnic basket i got for xmas, i should put it into good use :O)
yup, i've tried the spinach wraps, but much prefer baguettes as it has a better bite... and i like my carbs, hahaha... i'm in love with my picnic basket! i'm sure you'll get plenty of good times with yours :)
oh yeah baguettes! how could i forget they are so good with just cheese, sundried tomatos mmmmm...
you forgot basil... cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and basil! delish!
I love the good old chicken and egg sandwich with heaps of mayo. Will remember about this Vietnamese chicken sandwich the next time.
Oh yes - Beef with mustard and pickle sandwich. YUm!
Oooh yes, the chicken and egg is an oldie which I haven't had in ages! Thanks for reminding me about it...hehe... I might add some diced celery or apple in it too, mmmm
Love a good picnic =) Have always enjoyed the romantic notion of relaxing with no particular plans in mind but just to laze about in the outdoors and enjoy some good weather.
And there are so many stunning hidden locations for a romantic picnic too!
Oh thanks for the recipe, will keep the Vietnamese chicken sandwich in mind. Reminds me of the Chicken rolls that you would get in Cabra! YUMMO!
I love having picnics at the Royal National Park, I love going canoeing afterwards or taking a nice snooze.. Which beach is that at? It looks secluded..
Glad you like it! It consists of such fresh flavours and is so easy to make.
That was Garie Beach in the Royal National Park - the middle of the beach is packed but I like to hide far to the side :)