How to make the perfect commemorative picnic to honour the Queen

Total time to make: 40 minutes

Time to prep: 10 minutes

Time to roast: 30 minutes

Servings: Two as a main, four as a side

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges (skin on)
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1tsp salt
• 1/2 pack of halloumi (112g), cut into strips
• 1/2 large avocado, sliced
• 2 large handfuls of salad leaves, I used spinach and rocket
• 30g pecans
• Fresh herbs

Dressing:

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp honey
• 1tsp fresh thyme leaves
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat a fan oven to 220C.
2. Place the sweet potato wedges in a baking tray and cover with 1tbsp olive oil and 1tsp good quality salt. 
3. Use your hands to toss the sweet potatoes in the oil and salt, then space them out on the baking tray so they can evenly roast for about 30 minutes in the oven.

Dressing:

1. Put all the ingredients in a small bowl, mug or jar and whisk or shake to combine. Set to one side.
2. Toast the pecans over high heat in a dry non-stick frying pan, making sure they don’t burn. Leave to one side and wipe any crumbs from the pan. We’ll use this to fry the halloumi.

Assembling: 

1. When the sweet potatoes are ready, remove them from the oven and let them slightly cool whilst you fry the halloumi on high heat. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side so that the halloumi is golden and crispy.
2. To assemble the salad, mix the salad leaves and any fresh herbs together and then layer on the avocado, sweet potato and halloumi. 
3. Crumble over the toasted pecans, pour the dressing on top and top with any additional fresh herbs.

Herby roasted potato salad 

Total time to make: 50 minutes

Time to prep: 5 minutes

Time to roast: 45 minutes

Servings: 3 

Ingredients:

• 900g new potatoes (or jersey royals)
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 1 can (~390g) of cooked lentils
• 250g spinach
• A handful of parsley, leaves finely chopped
• A handful of dill, leaves finely chopped

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat a fan oven to 200C.
2. Cut the larger potatoes in half, so they’re all relatively similar in size and place them in a roasting tray with 2 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch of salt.
3. Shake the tin so that they’re evenly covered and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.
4. Whilst the potatoes are roasting, prepare and chop the rest of the ingredients.
5. To make the dressing combine all the ingredients into a small jam jar and give it a good shake to mix.
6. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
7. Drain and rinse the lentils in a fine mesh sieve and leave to one side whilst your potatoes roast in the oven.
8. To test if the potatoes are cooked, you can pierce them with a metal fork, and they should be soft but still hold their bite. Their skins will be a golden brown colour. 
9. Once cooked, remove from the oven and whilst the potatoes are still in their roasting tray and still hot, tip in the lentils and the spinach (which will start to steam and wilt in the heat).
10. Mix it together.
11. Finally, pour over the dressing and sprinkle over the parsley and dill.

Tips:

• Enjoy as a meal by itself or serve, still warm, with goat cheese on top or with a flaked salmon fillet.
• Swap out the honey for maple syrup to make it vegan.

Pork, sage and wholegrain mustard sausage rolls 

Total time to make: 30 minutes

Time to prep: 10 minutes

Time to bake: 20 minutes

Servings: 24

Ingredients:

• 2 x sheets all butter ready rolled puff pastry (Lucy used 2 x 215g)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 200g streaky bacon (about 12 rashers), finely chopped
• 450g minced pork or sausage meat
• 60g panko breadcrumbs (or regular)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp sage, finely chopped (about 16 leaves)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• Nigella seeds
• Sage leaves (optional)

Method:

1. Defrost the puff pastry sheets overnight in the fridge (preferred) – or at room temperature for about an hour – don’t unroll them until you’re ready to assemble the sausage rolls.
2. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the garlic, onion and a pinch of salt. 
3. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. We’re not looking to brown them off. 
4. Add in the bacon and stir through until cooked. Again, we’re not looking for crispy bacon bits here, just cooked through. 
5. Remove from the heat and leave to cool down.
6. In a large bowl, mix all of the other filling ingredients together. Use clean hands to make sure everything is well mixed through.
7. Add in the cooked garlic, onion and bacon mix, wiping the frying pan clean (we’ll use this again in a little bit). Mix through with clean hands or using food-safe gloves.
8. Heat the wiped frying pan over medium-high heat and pinch a small ball of mixture off. Fry off for a few minutes until cooked. Taste for seasoning. 
9. Prepare your egg wash by beating one egg in a separate bowl. 
10. Unroll your pastry sheets – keeping them on the greaseproof paper – and use a sharp knife to cut each in half, lengthways (so you end up with four long strips in total).
11. Use your hands to scoop out the mixture and lay it in the centre of each strip. 
12. Egg wash one long side of each pastry strip and then fold over the other side. 
13. Fold over the egg side if they don’t meet, and use your hands to gently squeeze and encompass the sausage. The egg wash should help the pastry stick together. Use fingers to pinch together at the seal. We want to try and get the meat packed in tightly. 
14. Repeat this until all four strips have been done. 
15. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, saving the remaining egg wash for later.
16. When you’re ready to bake them, preheat a fan oven to 180C and remove the sausage rolls from the fridge. 
17. Use your hands to firmly squeeze along the sausage rolls, so they’re nice and tight. 
18. Flip them over – seal side down – and use the remaining egg wash to brush all over. 
19. Top with nigella seeds and sage leaves, and use a sharp knife to slice into ~1.5″ pieces.
20. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until golden. 
21. Serve with fresh watercress salad and tomato dipping sauce.

Chocolate cake

‘The Queen was well known to have a sweet tooth, and a chocolate cake was her go-to dessert,’ says Lucy.

Total time to make: 4 hours (including bake, ganache and cooling)

Time to prepare: 20 minutes

Time to bake: 1hr 15 minutes

Servings: 12 large slices

Ingredients:

• 260g butter, room temperature
• 200g good quality dark chocolate (I like Lindt 70%)
• 250g caster sugar
• 125ml freshly made coffee
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 240g self-raising flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 225ml sour cream

Ganache:

• 300g dark baking chocolate, very finely chopped
• 300ml double cream 

Method:

1. Preheat a fan oven to 170C and grease and line with baking paper a loose bottom baking tin(s). Lucy used 1 x deep 8″ cake tin. 
2. In a small saucepan or in the microwave, gently melt the dark chocolate until it’s 75% melted.
3. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until it’s smooth and glossy. Leave it to cool slightly.
4. Make a fresh coffee and leave it on the side to cool slightly.
5. In a bowl weigh out the butter and pour the melted but slightly cooled chocolate in. 
6. Use a whisk to gently beat together. 
7. Add in the sugar and mix until combined. 
8. Pour in the fresh, slightly cooled coffee and whisk again. 
9. Gently whisk in each egg, one at a time. 
10. Add in the vanilla.
11. Sieve in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, using the back of a metal spoon to push any clumps through the sieve holes. 
12. Mix gently with the whisk until just combined. 
13. Add in the sour cream and fold through until evenly mixed. It doesn’t matter if there are still a few lighter streaks in the batter.
14. Pour the cake batter into the cake tin(s) and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes (if using the deep tin) or about 35 – 40 minutes for 2 x sandwich tins. 
15. The sponges are ready when they don’t jiggle anymore, have a soft spring back when pushed with fingertips, and a knife or skewer comes out with no raw batter – it’s OK if there are wet chocolate crumbs, but no wet, streaky batter.
16. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in its tin whilst you make the ganache. 
17. Once the cake tin is cool enough to touch, remove the tin (place the cake on something sturdy like a pint glass or NutriBullet cup, so you can push the cake tin collar down and off), then gently slip the sponge off the base and place on a cooling rack.

The ganache:

1.  Finely chop the baking chocolate and place it in a large clean bowl. 
2. In a small saucepan over low – medium heat, warm the cream until steaming but not to simmer or boil – or the cream might split. 
3. Pour the warmed cream over the chopped chocolate and leave for 10 minutes.
4. Mix the ganache with a spoon, and the chocolate should be mostly melted from the warm cream. Continue to stir until the ganache is glossy. Try not to whip it, and don’t use a whisk, as this will create air bubbles. 
5. Leave the ganache to cool for another 30 minutes at room temperature. 
6. For a thick and spreadable ganache, cover with cling film to stop it from forming a skin, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until you’re ready to decorate the sponge.