Ideas for a cold, vegetarian winter picnic

[Glitterbiscuits]

I am going to a community event which will be held indoors. I need to take a picnic tea. My criteria – will have to be eaten cold, must be vegetarian.

Other than vegetarian sausage rolls, sandwiches, quiche what could I take? Meat eaters at the event are catered for! So they will get a knife and fork meal. There is no alternative or option or chance to heat anything up for the vegetarians.
The last time this happened I bought a load of premade vegetarian sushi.

Does anyone have any inspiration?

As well as the quiches etc you've mentioned, could you do a nice potato salad and another one like broccoli/hazelnut, something fairly filling? 100cookbooks.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/broccoli-tomato-feta-and-hazelnut-salad-avoca-cafe-cookbook/

That's really shit, to be honest.

How is the meat stuff getting heated up? How many vegetarians are being catered for? Surely if meat can be served hot and with a knife and fork, there's a chance to at the very least warm up a big pan of soup or chilli or something for the veggies?

Otherwise, a big slice of quiche plated up with a side salad and some nice potato salad would imo be preferable to a whole load of random beige picnic stuff.

A picnic loaf? Google it. A hollowed out loaf layered up with all sorts of cheese, peppers, olives etc.

How many veggies are there? Take flasks of hot leek & pot soup and some crusty rolls.

I’d rather a cheese butty than veggie sushi tbh. Cold rice is not appealing at all, let alone on a cold day.

soft cheese with sweet chilli dip and crackers

Homemade hummus

Or if you want to do a stuffed loaf, look up sourdough spinach dip.

Can you warm the non sausage rolls? Cook, wrap in foil and put in a coolbox with a hot water bottle?

Flasks are a great idea. Or a couple of plug in slow cookers, if hob/oven space is limited.

Last event was in the summer so the sushi was ok.

It's committee members in the kitchen, I'm not on the committee!
Typical village affair, we have always done it like this etc. They can't contemplate vegetarian food.
I think I'm known as the hippy.

So slow cookers are out. Quite like the flask and soup idea though.

I'll only need to cater for my little group, 6 to 10.

I would do:
Cold pizza (homemade pizza is nice cold IMO)
Quiche
Pie of some type
Houmous
Bread
Olives
Cheese and crackers
Salads

I think I would be so ANGRY about this approach to vegetarians that I would make a massive effort so the meat eaters' meal looked shit in comparison!

A slow cooker doesn't need a kitchen - just a plug.

I still think this is total shit!

I like the idea of upstaging the meat eaters though -

How about Greek spinach and feta pie (Waitrose do delicious frozen ones which you could cook in advance)

A couple of lovely salads - a Greek one minus the feta (as in the pie) plus a cous cous one perhaps

Some nice bread and olives

Paper plates

A big fuck off cake which is strictly for the vegetarians

Perhaps your group could each take a flask of soup, then at least you would all get something warm.
Salads that would make the quiche & vegetable sausage rolls into more of a meal...
Cous-cous perhaps Moroccan flavours with added pine nuts, apricots & pomegranate seeds.
Waldorf salad with apple, cabbage, celery, walnuts and black grapes.
Mixed bean salad.
Carotte râpée

Maybe do a cheese course as that would travel easily.

Mince pies and brandy butter to finish, as again they would travel easily.

I'd do a lovely veggie chilli in a flask.

Take nachos, guacamole, salsa etc.

What time of year is this?

What about making a couple of big puff pastry tarts (e.g. cheddar and leek, or roasted red pepper and goats cheese) and then just slice them to be eaten cold with some nice potato salad and couscous.

Vegetable samosa

Naan breads

Fancy daahl

Vegetarian bombay biryaani

Chick pea curry
Chickpea curry

Posted too soon & forgot to link the recipes but check out bbc good food for the recipes.

Each member of your group can bring one of these dishes in a flask & the aromas will make everyone jealous!

Can you not take a camping gas stove? Then you could have something like a veggie stew in one big pot, with some crusty bread.

falafels onion bhaji or potato bhaji
My husbands favourite is french bread or wraps filled with falafels with either a dash of mint yogurt or humous and salad
olives or the mix of olives peppers and feta
cold beetroot soup with cream

and go to town on puddings or cakes! lots of little ones...(mouth waters)

savoury rice salad cold pizzas with or without cheese

and savoury scones either cheese or herby ones aka rosemary or thyme or lavender (I had these once at a lavender farm they are really lovely I think)

I'm liking the hot ideas. If you aren't even allowed access to a plug for a slow cooker, can you borrow a wonderbag, Ecopot, wide necked food flask or even a couple of bean bags?? Then warm food can be enjoyed by the veggie's too. Tagine and cous cous would be my go to.

vegetable samosas, cheese and onion pasties, rainbow colslaw, falafels, dips and veggies, hummus, carrot and orange salad with roasted pine nuts, rice salad, roasted vegtable tarts with feta or goats cheese.

Cold pizza is disgusting imo. Please don’t do that!