WINNIPEG — When the summer season hits in Winnipeg a lot of people want to spend as much time as possible outdoors.
Global’s Shannon Cuciz spoke with Chef Eraj on how to pack the perfect picnic for outdoor dining.
Here are the recipes:
Muffuletta Sandwich
Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup mixed olives, pitted
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1/4 c. roasted red peppers, chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1/2 cup giardiniera (Italian-style pickled vegetables)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 round loaf French or Italian-style bread
• 1/2 lb. soppressata, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb. capicola, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb mortadella, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb. provolone, thinly sliced
Method:
1. Combine olive, capers, peppers, parsley, giardiniera, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl, add vinegar and olive oil and stir to combine. This tastes best if you make it the night before.
2. Use a serrated knife to cut bread in half horizontally. With fingers, remove most of center of bread, leaving 1 inch of bread all around crust. Reserve center of bread for another use
3. Spread each half generously with olive salad (you will probably have some leftover). Layer half of soppressata on bottom half of bread, followed by half of capicola, half of mortadella, and half of provolone. Repeat. Cover with top half of bread, pressing top down.
4. For the best flavor, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, use serrated knife to cut sandwich into 4 wedges.
Perfect Salad in a Jar
Makes 1 salad
What You Need
Ingredients
1 to 4 tablespoons salad dressing
Mix of raw and cooked vegetables, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, cheese, and other salad ingredients
Salad greens
Equipment
Wide-mouth canning jars with tight-fitting lids:
pint jars for side salads, quart jars for individual meal-sized salads, 2-quart jars (or larger) for multiple servings
Large bowl, to serve
Instructions
1. Salad dressing: Pour 1 to 4 tablespoons of your favorite salad dressing in the bottom of the jar. Adjust the amount of dressing depending on the size of the salad you are making and your personal preference.
2. Hard vegetables: Next, add any hard chopped vegetables you’re including in your salad, like carrots, cucumbers, red and green peppers, cooked beets, and fennel.
3. Beans, grains, and pasta: Next, add any beans, grains, and/or pasta, like chickpeas, black beans, cooked barley, cooked rice, and pasta corkscrews.
4. Cheese and proteins (optional): If you’ll be eating the salad within the day, add a layer of diced or crumbled cheese and proteins like tuna fish, diced (cooked) chicken, hard-boiled eggs, or cubed tofu. If you’re making salads ahead to eat throughout the week, wait to add these ingredients until the day you’re planning to eat the salad and add them on top of the jar.
5. Softer vegetables and fruits (optional): Next, add any soft vegetables or fruits, like avocados, tomatoes, diced strawberries, or dried apricots. If you’re making salads ahead to eat throughout the week, wait to add these ingredients until the day you’re planning to eat the salad and add them to the top of the jar.
6. Nuts, seeds, and lighter grains: Next, add any nuts or seeds, like almonds, walnuts, and sunflower seeds. If you’re making a salad with lighter, more absorbent grains like quinoa or millet, add them in this layer instead of with the beans.
7. Salad greens: Last but not least, fill the rest of the jar with salad greens. Use your hands to tear them into bite-sized pieces. It’s fine to pack them into the jar fairly compactly.
8. Storing the salad: Screw the lid on the jar and refrigerate for up to 5 days. If you’re including any cheese, proteins, or soft fruits and vegetables, add these to the top of the jar the morning you plan to eat your salad.
9. Tossing and eating the salad: When ready to eat, unscrew the lid and shake the salad into the bowl. The action of shaking the salad into the bowl is usually enough to mix the salad with the dressing. If not, toss gently with a fork until coated.
10. Or just shake in the jar and enjoy.
Mason Jar cocktails
Pimms Cup
Ingredients
2 oranges, cut into half-moons
2 lemons, cut into half-moons
1 Persian cucumber (see Notes) or one 3-in.-long piece English cucumber, washed and sliced
2 cups Pimm’s No. 1 (see Notes)
4 cups Sprite or other lemon-lime soda
6 to 8 large sprigs mint, crushed gently, plus a few loose leaves
Method:
Fill mason jars with a layer of orange slices, a few lemon slices, and a layer of cucumber slices. Repeat the layering. Pour in the Pimm’s poke mint sprigs and leaves down into jar and top with a few slices of fruit and cucumber. Once you get to your destination add ice and sprite and enjoy
Mojito
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) fresh lime juice
2 heaping teaspoons superfine sugar
1 cup crushed ice
12 fresh mint leaves, plus 5 small sprigs for garnish
1/4 cup (2 ounces) white rum
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) club soda
Method:
In a mason jar stir together lime juice and sugar until sugar dissolves, then tear mint leaves in half and add to jar. Gently stir for 15 seconds, then add rum. Once you get to your location add ice and club soda and stir and enjoy.
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