Pain Bagnat

Widely lauded as the best kind of picnic sandwich, everyone has a version and a preference. I've seen some spread inside with cream cheese (a little cloying), lined with procuitto (a little chewy) and doused in red wine vinegar (a little sour). The only thing you can't have too much of in a pain bagnat is roasted Mediterranean vegetables. No tomatoes though - they will make this lovely moist and crisp sandwich simply soggy.

It's good to experiment with bread for this recipe, a day old fresh white crusty loaf is standard but feel free to have a go with wholemeal, seeded or even sour dough. As the recipe is French you could use some lovely artisan Franch bread but why waste an expensive loaf by ripping out all the good stuff? Supermarket bread will do. It helps if you have need for breadcrumbs in a recipe in the next few days, just blitz the inside of the loaf in the food processor and then store in an airtight bag in the freezer.

Aubergines, courgettes and peppers are the star of this show but can be nicely complimented by some milky mozerella, a bland cheese will work well here, don't deploy goat's cheese or blue cheese, it will overpower the vegetables. Some chopped olives season cheerfully, as does a handful of fresh basil, originally calling for red wine vinegar, I've used white balsamic for an extra sweetness.

Pain Bagnat

1 courgette

1 aubergine

2 peppers (any colour but green)

Jar of pitted green olives

2 red onions

6 baby portobello mushrooms

150g mozzerella

2 large handfulls of fesh basil

Large french style loaf

Oilive oil

Salt and pepper

Slice all the vegetables other than the mushrooms in to thin strips, season and oil.

Roast or grill individually until just charing, turning half way through.

Meanwhile, cut the loaf horizontally about a third down so that you can scoop the bread out of the middle and the lid. Make sure there is about a half inch of bread left all the way around for soaking up the juices. You can reserve the breadcrumbs and freeze for later.

Mash the olives and drain a few times in a sieve to remove brine, line the bread with the olives

Leave the vegetables to cool and drain of oil on kitchen paper.

Layer the bread, starting with the mozzerella, then the basil, peppers, aubergine, courgette, mushrooms and onions.

Put the lid on, wrap a few times round with cling film and put some tins or a heavy book on top and leave somewhere cool, preferably overnight.

Slice with a bread knife and enjoy while lazing in the sun.

Garlic and Sea Salt Focaccia

Trial and error brought me to this recipe, one that I am particularly pleased with...

As Squirrelface is Italian, when i try an Italian recipe it is more important that i get it right, i generally aim for the Mamma standard. If it is as good (or even very-nearly-almost as good) as Squirrelface's Mamma I consider it a success. This recipe was bestowed with the 'as good as Mamma's' so I was very pleased and have to say it's really quite amazing just out of the oven but best consumed within 24 hours - if it lasts that long.

I decided to make it simple with garlic and sea salt as the main flavours but focaccia is so versatile you can add almost anything savoury to the top and it will yield tasty results. Other favourites are rosemary and caramelised red onion, roasted tomato and thyme or sinful cheese and bacon.

Garlic and Sea Salt Focaccia

500g strong white flour, sifted

350ml tepid water

100g olive oil

7g sachet dried fast-action yeast

2tsp table salt

1tsp wet sea salt

4 fat cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly

In a large bowl mix flour, table salt, yeast, 300ml water and 80ml olive oil with a knife. Scrape the sides and mix until you have a wet dough, add more water if needed. The dough should NOT be liquid - it should be just manageable.

Lightly oil a work surface and your hands, then knead for 5-10 minutes until stretchy and glossy.

Lightly flour a baking dish and add the focaccia dough, pushing it out to the sides evenly.

Set the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6 and put the baking tray on the hob above the oven with an oiled piece of cling-film over the top, oil side down and seal air tight.

Wait until dough has risen and doubled to around twice original size, then take cling-film off, oil your thumb and lightly make dents in the dough from outside to in. 

Push slivers of garlic in to the dents then scatter with sea salt and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

While baking, put remaining garlic and 20ml olive oil in a small heavy bottomed pan and warm through until garlic is golden. Separate garlic and oil with a sieve. 

When focaccia is done pour over the warm oil and scatter with the golden garlic and leave to warm in the tray.

Excellent cut in to wedges when hot and moreish, with antipasta or as an aid to soup.