Picky Plate by the Sea
Serves: 2
Time: approx 15-20 mins
My husband works long hours, so when summer arrives, this is our way of helping him to see a little bit of the life outdoors. It also happens to be one of my all time favourite meal options. I Love love love deconstructed dinners that you pick at with your fingers. You can add anything you like to this board from meats and cheese to crackers and fruit there are no limits.
Leftovers
This is a pretty light dinner option and while it is delicious it doesn't work to have back to back for the hubby as it really is a crazing meal and not a substantial eat.
What you'll need
1/2 iceberg lettuce
2 carrots
1/2 cucumber
100g Sicilian olives
Use up those loose ends
You know all those partially used jars that pile up in the condiments section in the fridge and odd bits of left over feta or cheese? Clean up and add them to your picky plate. Same goes for the veggie drawer, anything from cabbage to cauliflower can be eaten raw, just chop it up into bite size pieces.
235g Mersey valley cheddar cheese
1/2 tub of hummus
From the pantry
pickled chillies
gherkins
a drizzle of balsamic glaze (optional)
Prep and Cook
Prep your veg
Peel and chop your carrots into sticks.
Cut cucumber to a similar size.
Wash and cut celery to a similar size.
Line all up neatly in a container for easy transporting.
Cut iceberg into 4 nice big wedges, then place back together and pop into a tight fitting container so they keep their shape.
Slice the avocado in half and remove the stone then slice each half into 3 pieces and pop into a small container.
What to pack
Gather the rest of your food components - the olives, cheese, hummus, pickled goods and any additional bits that you want to add to the picky plate.
I like to take little dishes for the olives etc
olive oil
sea salt
balsamic glaze
large board
cheese knife
picnic blanket
Find a great spot!
We are so lucky to live by the beach but a park or the back yard is also brilliant and hey if it’s raining we just sit on the floor inside, picnic blanket and all.
Assemble
Drizzle oil over the avocados and sprinkle with some salt.
Sprinkle salt over the lettuce wedges and drizzle with the balsamic glaze.
Cluster ingredients together and stack around the board.
Fill small dishes with olives and hummus and unwrap the cheese and chop into chunks.
Pick with your fingers.
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
Sandwiches are an easy option when you don’t have leftovers. Our go to is generally tuna mayo as that’s always in our pantry. Today I’m going to use up the leftover wraps from the falafels.