As soon as the sunshine decides to come back, we’ll be grabbing the picnic blanket and heading outdoors to enjoy some tasty treats and a tipple or two! June’s Gin of the Month box has all the ingredients in it for a ginny picnic, including the KETTLE® & Beetroot Slices with Goats Cheese & Caramelised Onion Seasoning!

Goats’ cheese, beetroot and caramelised onion are a quintessential summer flavour combination – especially when they’re baked into the picnic-perfect tart below.

The bag of KETTLE® Chips in our June Gin of the Month box look a little different to the regular chips. This beautiful bag has slices of real beetroot mixed in with KETTLE®’s famously delicious crisps.

Just one of three amazing new flavours, these crisps are the brainchild of Phil Hovey, Innovation Chef at KETTLE®.

As he explains: “Introducing different elements like real slices of sweet potato, earthy beetroot and sweet, acidic apple has given a really different experience. Every mouthful is something new.”

From smoked chipotle and crème fraîche with sweet potato slices to Norfolk pork sausage with real apple, each flavour in KETTLE®’s new range is inspired by perfect and well-loved flavour pairings. Phil says: “I looked into which fruits and vegetables would complement our chips, then created a list of concepts. After that, the hard work begins! I can go through more than 30 recipes before a flavour is complete.”

But the flavour combination in our June Gin of the Month box, inspired by a summer picnic classic, also happens to pair perfectly with our favourite spirit.

“To me, beetroot, goats’ cheese and caramelised onion are quintessential summer ingredients, and so often found as part of a summer spread,” says Phil. “To top it off, the rich goats’ cheese, sweet onions and earthy beetroot pair splendidly with a dry G&T. What more could you want on a sunny summer’s evening?”

Summer Picnic Tart

Ingredients

450g puff pastry
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, sliced into rounds
100g beetroot, sliced (is this ready to eat or raw?)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soft brown sugar
150g crumbly goat cheese
30g walnuts, roughly chopped
Small handful of basil, to scatter

Method

Heat your oven to 220C/200 Fan/ Gas 7 and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Roll your puff pastry to a rectangle roughly 23x30cm and transfer to the baking tray. Prick your pastry with a fork and set aside.

To make your topping, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, beetroot, vinegar and brown sugar. Cook over a medium heat until the veg has softened and the onions have browned slightly. Season with salt and pepper, then spread evenly over the pastry. Crumble over your goat cheese and scatter your walnuts over the tart.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until your tart’s edges are golden brown. Slice and pack up for the perfect picnic main.