Anna Jones’s picnic recipes

A spiced lentil salad is a wonderful base for day-out dining, and these brightly coloured dips make for a striking spreadPicnic food is tricky. You have to choose food that improves as it sits – nothing that needs to be super-cold, and save the ice for the drinks. My picnics are almost always a happy pairing of some good shopping (good bread for tearing, some cheese, a nice jar of chutney, fruit or 99’s from the ice cream van for pudding) and a couple of homemade things that improve