Parisian pocket picnic
If the world were to need a picnic champion, I could easily be that champion. I am the picnic proponent in my circle and am quick to point out that there is virtually no situation where a picnic isn’t appropriate. For example, it is sunny out after 6 days of rain… sounds like the perfect time for a picnic. It’s your birthday… we should go on a picnic to celebrate. The work week is complete… picnic. Just want to relax a little… picnic. Wanna hang out with your friends but haven’t cleaned your house lately… picnic. See what I’m saying? You probably want to have a picnic right now don’t you? What about a winter picnic? That sounds like marvelous fun to me too and yes, I have thrown the “p” word around a few times already this year.
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I am sure that it isn’t a big surprise to you that picnics can be great fun. But, you might find yourself thinking “If picnics really are so wonderful, why do I have them so infrequently?”. I’ll tell you why, because you haven’t embraced the pocket picnic yet. When it comes to picnics it is easy to over complicate them, preparing 7 different salads, packing the BBQ, bring 4 coolers of drinks, 17 blankets, a volley ball net… and the list goes on. Not every picnics should be that complicated. Picnics can also be easy, relaxing and spontaneous.
A few years ago while Ginger and I were vacationing in Paris (yeah vacationing, we are fancy that way) all of my preconceived notions about picnics being complicated affairs changed. Some of my best memories are of the outdoor lunches that Ginger and I enjoyed together. We arrived in Paris in late september. Paris has the most beautiful falls, the weather is crisp and fresh in the morning, but warms by early afternoon. There were many an afternoon where Ginger and I found ourselves in the middle of some city square, famished after a morning spent in a museum. In those moments nothing was more inviting than the warmth of the afternoon sun and a park bench. This is how the Parisian pocket picnic came to be. Every Parisian street is not complete without a lovely bakery and the majority of those bakeries made wonderful baguette sandwiches and pastries (in my case I always went for the flan, big surprise). A sandwich and a small treat were easily stowed away in our pockets or perhaps even an oversized Longchamps tote while we headed off down the street in search of a patch of sun to enjoy a simple, yet tasty lunch in.
Adapted from The Kitchn | Serves 2
1/2 a bunch of thin asparagus spears (about 15-20 spears)
2 demi baguette
4 slices of cheese (go with something full fat like havarti, brie or chèvre)
2 eggs, hard boiled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons diced raw onion
2 tablespoons French tarragon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Hard boil eggs and set aside to cool. Prepare the asparagus by trimming off the tough ends, if you couldn’t manage to find thin spears cut them in half length-wise. Now for the quick pickle, dice the red onion and place it in a small bowl topping with red wine vinegar, set aside allowing the pickling magic to happen.
Bring a large skillet to high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Carefully add the asparagus to the pan searing for about 3-4 minutes per side. Only turn the asparagus once or twice as you want to spears to char a little.
Cut the baguettes in half and smear one side of the bread with mustard and the other with a little olive oil. Top each sandwich with two slices of cheese, half of the asparagus, a sliced egg, pickled onions and salt and pepper to taste.
