Before going back to school, there might be some good picnic days. In recent years, September has been good – which would make the chicken salad and tasty lemon curd tarts ideal for a day out.

The salad originates in Bulgaria and is named after the Shoppi, or natives of Sofia. It’s perfect in the summertime when the tomatoes are at their most flavoursome. It is to accompany tasty chicken pieces, which are always such good value in the supermarket. Mileeven honey is very good and I love the ginger taste in this glaze.

I remember my mum making a version of these lemon curd tarts when I was first learning to cook. The lemon curd and cream make a wonderful filling for the crisp pastry bases. They are definitely best if you eat them on the day that they are made.

Happy cooking.

Honey and coriander glazed

chicken with Shopska salad

Serves four to six

5 tbsp clear honey

4 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely ground

4 tsp fennel seeds

2 tbsp freshly grated root ginger

4 chicken thighs

4 chicken drumsticks

Shopska salad:

1 cucumber, cut into cubes

6 spring onions, roughly chopped

1 green pepper, cut into cubes

3 large tomatoes, cut into cubes

3 tbsp Donegal Rapeseed oil

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

150g (5oz) feta cheese

10 black olives

Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves stripped and finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200oC, (400oF/gas mark six) and heat a heavy-based frying pan until very hot .To make the glaze for the chicken, mix together the honey, coriander, fennel and ginger in a small bowl.

2. Season the chicken and place skin-side down in the heated frying pan. Cook for about two to three minutes until browned. Turn over and brush with the glaze. Transfer to the oven and cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

3. Meanwhile, make the Shopska salad. Mix together the cucumber, spring onions, pepper and tomatoes in a large bowl. Pile up the mixture in a salad dish. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar. Grate over the feta cheese to form a “snow cap”. Then scatter over the olives and parsley.

4. If taking on a picnic, allow the chicken to cool to room temperature and then pack into a parcel using tin foil and parchment paper and put the salad into a suitable rigid container with a lid. Once you are ready to eat, arrange the chicken on plates and serve with the Shopska salad.

Lemon and vanilla curd tarts with blueberry compote

Serves four to six

375g (13oz) sweet shortcrust pastry (homemade or shop-bought and thawed if frozen)

A little plain flour, for dusting

150g (5oz) lemon curd

100g (4oz) thick Greek yoghurt

150 ml (1/4 pint) cream

1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways and seeds scraped out

2 tbsp icing sugar

Compote:

1 tsp arrowroot or cornflour

Juice of 1 lemon

250g (9oz) blueberries

3 tbsp icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC, (350oF/gas mark four). Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line four to six individual tartlet tins, depending on the size you chose. Prick the pastry bases several times with a fork and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2. Sit the chilled pastry cases on a large baking sheet and line each one with non-stick parchment paper and some baking beans or rice.

3. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes and then remove the beans and bake for a further five minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

4. To make the blueberry compote, stir the arrowroot or cornflour into the lemon juice in a small pan. Add the blueberries and icing sugar and place over a low-medium heat. Cook until the blueberries are just beginning to burst and their juices run, giving you a rich purple sauce. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

5. To make the filling for the tarts, mix together the lemon curd and Greek yoghurt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, vanilla seeds and icing sugar until it just thickens to form soft peaks. Gently fold in the lemon curd mixture.

6. Pack up the tart cases and the filling in separate suitable containers and keep in a cool bag until you are ready to eat. To serve, turn the pastry cases out on to plates and spoon the filling into each one, then spoon over or around the blueberry compote. CL