A perfect picnic from The Good Vibes Cookbook

Inspired by their love of travel, surfing and a healthy outdoors lifestyle, the Good Vibes Cookbook is the latest publication from Myles and Jane Lamberth of Shells Cafe in Strandhill, Co Sligo. Here, they share some of their favourite recipes for a perfect summer picnic.

Pork, Apple And Fennel Sausage Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

Shop-bought, mass-produced sausage rolls are a cheap treat. Homemade sausage rolls are awesome.

Splash of olive oil

3 cloves garlic, diced

4 rashers bacon, diced

1 bulb fennel, diced

1 apple, peeled and diced

10 sage leaves, sliced

2 tbsp parsley or thyme, chopped

1 tbsp fennel seed, toasted and ground in the pestle and mortar

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

alt and pepper

500g pork mince

100g fresh breadcrumbs

2 eggs

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

500g ready made puff pastry

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 egg, beaten with 2 tbsp of milk (egg wash)

Flour to sprinkle

1 Put a frying pan on medium heat, add a slug of olive oil, the garlic and diced bacon and fry it up a little.

2 Next add the fennel, the apple and green herbs. Stir in the fennel seeds, a little grating of nutmeg, salt and lots of black pepper.

3 Gently fry for around five minutes until everything is evenly cooked and aromatic. Set aside to cool.

4 In a large bowl, mix the pork mince, fresh breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, mustard and the cooked apple fennel mix. Roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty and mix it really well. You are looking for a marvellously meaty, sticky mix

5 Cut your pastry into four even sections.

6 On a slightly floured surface, roll out each piece to form a rectangular shape (about 5mm in thickness) and brush with egg wash mix.

7 Place the meat on one side of the pastry and roll over the pastry to form the sausage shape. Keep it nice and tight and overlap the ends and pinch the pastry to seal in the meat- you should have a nice sausage shape.

8 Repeat the process with the three remaining pieces of pastry.

9 Transfer to a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let things firm up.

10 Once chilled, place on a chopping board and slice in to three (or more if you want).

11 Line two trays with baking paper and heat oven to 180°C (350°F).

12 Brush the egg wash on top of your sausage rolls and sprinkle with a few sesame seeds or fennels seeds, then bake for around 25 minutes until golden and all puffed up.

13 A top tip is to turn the trays halfway round for an even cooking.

14 Uncooked sausage rolls can be frozen in sealed freezer bags for up to three months. There is no need to defrost these before cooking, but allow an extra 10 minutes to cook through.

Coconut Macaroons

Makes 12-15

These are a great little treat that have some health benefits and actually aren’t too fattening!

190g egg whites (4 or 5 eggs, yolks removed)

250g sugar

250g desiccated coconut

50g plain flour

50g crushed raspberries

1 lime, zest

Dark chocolate to garnish

1 Combine all the dry ingredients

2 In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become frothy (it doesn’t need to be stiff), then combine the egg whites with the dry ingredients.

3 Add your flavour of choice – we love lime and raspberry, as above.

4 With wet hands, form egg-shaped balls and place onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

5 Bake in the oven at 160°C (340°F) for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

6 Garnish with melted dark chocolate.

Other awesome flavours to try include: lime zest and mint; candied ginger and dried pear; dried cranberry and orange zest; dried apricot and lemon zest; and strawberry and basil.

Simply Sensational Salmon

Tart With Fennel Slaw

Smoked salmon is an expensive treat and there never seems to be enough in the oversized packaging. Make it stretch out by making a beautiful tart. I really recommend you make your own pastry, but shop-bought is fine too.

For the filling:

400g pastry, homemade is preferable

280ml single cream

3 eggs

1 lemon, zest only

Salt and pepper

450g new potatoes, cooked

150g good quality smoked salmon

3 scallions, trimmed to finger length

1 tbsp capers, chopped

For the pastry:

300g cold, salted butter

450g plain flour

2 eggs

1 tbsp cold water

Tart case or cake ring

500g dry and cooked rice/dried beans/pulses/baking beads

Baking parchment

Pastry is easy to make, so we’re including how to make your own in this recipe. If you’re using shop-bought pastry, start on step six.

1 Dice the cold butter and, using your fingers, work it into the flour to form a sand-like texture. Keep a few lumps of butter; that makes for nice flakey bits.

2 Beat the two eggs and water in a teacup and add it to the flour and butter mix.

3 Work the mixture by hand until it forms a dough.

4 Toss onto a floured surface, bringing everything together and kneading it once or twice. The secret here is not to overwork the dough.

5 Form it into a flat ball, wrap in cling film and chill it in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

6 Grab your cake ring or tart case and rub a little butter onto the surface.

7 Roll out your pastry slightly bigger than your tin, to the thickness of your ear lobes. Pop it in the tin, pressing in the edges and forming a one-inch lip to your tart.

8 Line baking parchment over the pastry and spread out baking beads or dry chickpeas to blind bake your pastry at 170°C (360°F) for around 15 minutes. This prevents your crust going soggy when adding wet ingredients.

9 Take out just before the edges go golden and remove the paper and beads carefully.

10 Beat together the cream, eggs, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

11 Slice the cooked potatoes and arrange half of them on the pastry, then scatter the smoked salmon, pour on half of the egg mix, add the rest of the potatoes, scatter the capers, then pour on the remaining mix.

12 Give the tin a bit of a wobble and a tap so the mix fills in the gaps.

13 Arrange the scallions on top and bake for around 25-30 minutes at 170°C (360°F) until firm to the touch with a little colour.

14 Once cooked, let it cool for around 15 minutes before trying to remove it from the tin.

15 The tart is best served at room temperature

Fennel Slaw

2 bulbs fennel, sliced as thinly as possible (I like to use a mandolin)

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 tbsp creme fraiche

1 tbsp horseradish sauce

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp golden raisins (optional)

1 Mix all of the above in a large bowl.

Read More:

https://www.farmersjournal.ie/riding-the-crest-of-a-wave-at-shells-cafe-in-strandhill-284107

https://www.farmersjournal.ie/real-food-for-real-life-with-sinead-delahunty-365401