Excerpted from Marnie Hanel, Andrea Slonecker, and Jen Stevenson’s The Picnic: Recipes and Inspiration from Basket to Blanket (Artisan).
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We’ve deconstructed six classic salads, from Caprese to Cobb, and rearranged them on toothpicks (4-inch bamboo knot skewers work beautifully) to craft these one-bite wonders.
Salads on a Stick
Each recipe makes 12.
Waldorf
Mix 1 teaspoon lemon zest into 4 ounces room-temperature chèvre. Cut 2 celery ribs into 1-inch lengths and chop 2 tablespoons of walnuts. Cut half a green apple into ⅛-inch-thick slices and soak them in lemon juice to prevent browning. Press 1 teaspoon of the chèvre mixture into each piece of celery and dip into walnuts. Spear an apple slice and a Concord grape, then anchor with celery.
Caprese
Slice 6 cherry tomatoes in half and remove seeds and pulp. Roll a mini mozzarella ball (ciliegine) in salt and pepper and nestle it inside a tomato cup. Trim 12-inch wooden skewers to varied lengths. Insert the wooden skewers so the mozzarella is on top, and skewer a basil leaf atop each to garnish. Transport the skewers flat in a plastic container and arrange in a bouquet at the picnic, using a tall, heavy jar as a vase.
Cobb
Ask the butcher for a ½-inch-thick slice of ham or turkey. Cut it into ¾-inch squares. Skewer each square with half of a hard-cooked quail egg, a cherry tomato, a ½-inch segment of cooked bacon, and a cube of blue cheese.
Potato
Boil 6 baby potatoes (the smallest you can find) until fork-tender, about 7 minutes. Slice in half crosswise, place in a bowl, and toss the hot potatoes with ¼ cup shallot vinaigrette. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel for 5 minutes. Skewer, flat side down, with a wedge of hard-cooked egg and a cornichon.
Melonpoleon
Cut a pineapple, watermelon, and several kiwis into ½-inch-thick slices. Cut out rounds from each fruit slice using a 1½-inch biscuit cutter, twisting as you push down to create clean layers. Stack the fruit, top with a mint leaf and a raspberry, and skewer.
Greek
Slice three ½-inch-thick rounds from the widest part of an English cucumber and quarter them into four equal sections. Skewer a cherry tomato, a ½-inch square of feta, a pitted Kalamata olive, and a sliver of red onion, then anchor with the cucumber wedge.
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