Whether you’re heading to the beach or having a picnic in the park, try out these easy recipes to impress your friends with a delicious al fresco feast.  

Grape ‘sangria’ (non-alcoholic)  

Serves 6–8 // Time 15 minutes 

Ingredients

1 bottle (750ml) white grape juice
1 bottle (750ml) sparkling water
¼ cup sugar
1 nectarine, thinly sliced
½ cucumber, shaved into thin strips using a vegetable peeler
1 cup green grapes, frozen
1 cup soda water
Handful fresh mint  

Method 

1. Mix grape juice, sparkling water and sugar together in a large serving jug.
2. Add nectarine, cucumber, frozen grapes and chilled soda water.
3. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve.

 

Chicken, corn and chive mini quiches 

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 Tbsp milk
2 sheets shortcrust pastry
125 g roast chicken, shredded
125 g can corn, drained
2 Tbsp finely chopped chives
¼ cup white Cheddar, grated  

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 12-hole mini muffin tin. 
2. Whisk together the eggs and milk in a jug and season.
3. Gently unroll the pastry and cut out 12 discs using a 7 cm round cookie cutter. Press the discs into pan holes. Divide the chicken, corn and chives between pastry cases. Top with the egg mixture and sprinkle over the cheese.
4. Bake for 25 min or until quiches are set and the pastry is browned lightly.

  

Summer salad in-a-jar 

Serves 6  

Ingredients

1 packet (500g) diced pumpkin
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and milled pepper
2 cups (500ml) risoni pasta (orzo), cooked
½ cup salad dressing
1 punnet (200g) baby tomatoes, halved
1 packet (200g) pitted olives, drained
2 packets (50g each) sliced beef biltong
1/3 cup feta or goat’s cheese, crumbled
½ packet (50g) cashew nuts, toasted
¼ cup toasted seeds of choice
½ packet (150g) spinach leaves 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 
2. Clean two 1L jars with screw-on lids. 
3. Toss pumpkin and oil in a roasting pan and season. Roast for 20-30 minutes until tender and caramelised. 
4. Toss pasta and dressing together and spoon into jars. 
5. Divide cooked pumpkin, tomatoes and olives between both jars. 
6. Layer biltong slices on top. Add feta, cashew nuts and seeds. 
7. Layer spinach leaves on top, allowing for a 10cm gap at the top. 
8. Screw on lids and refrigerate until needed. Shake before serving.

  

Falafel sliders with mango atchar-tahini sauce 

Serves 4 // Cooking time 1 hour 30 minutes 

 

Ingredients

For the mango atchar-tahini sauce 

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup mango atchar
1 Tbsp tahini
Zest and juice of 1 lemon 

For the falafel sliders 

2 × 400 g can chickpeas, drained
½ cup flour
¼ cup chopped coriander
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Salt and black pepper
Vegetable oil, to fry
8 mini pitas 

Method

For the mango atchar-tahini sauce 

1. Place all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth.

For the falafel sliders 

1. Place all ingredients, except the oil, in a food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together but still has a grainy texture. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
   2. Roll the mixture into balls and then flatten into patties the size of the pitas.
   3. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry patties in batches until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towel.
   4. Warm the pitas in the oven for 5 minutes.
   5. Fill pitas with mango atchar-tahini sauce, a falafel patty, red-onion pickle, and mint or coriander. 

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Samantha Pinto // HMimages.co.za 

 

Honey and paprika steak wraps 

Serves 2 // Total Time 10-15 min 

 

Ingredients 

For The Steak 

1 Tbsp olive oil 
Salt and black pepper
1 sirloin or porterhouse steak 
1 tsp smoked or regular paprika 
2 Tbsp honey or golden syrup
1 clove garlic, chopped 
2 Tbsp butter 
1 juiced lemon 

For Serving 

2 beetroot or regular wheat wraps 
2 Tbsp hummus, mayonnaise or pesto 
½ red, yellow or green pepper, sliced and cooked
Lettuce, shredded small handful
¼ red or green cabbage, shredded  

Method 

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
2. In a bowl, season the steak and add the paprika, garlic and half the honey. Toss to coat evenly.
3. For a medium-rare steak, fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side.
4. Add the butter to the pan a minute before the end of cooking. Allow it to melt and add the lemon juice.
5. Use a spoon to baste the steak with the melted butter. Set aside the steak to cool completely before slicing.
6. To assemble, spread hummus on the wraps and layer the peppers, lettuce and red cabbage.
7. Top it with sliced steak and fold wraps to enclose the ingredients. Serve hot or cold.

Top Tip
Always remove the steak from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. This allows it to come to room temperature. The muscle fibres will relax and as a result the steak will cook more evenly and be more tender. 

Also read: Steak and chimichurri salad