This doesn’t of course have to be a picnic but it is a lovely light dish to enjoy outside in the sunshine. Clean, vibrant flavours and colours that could be accompanied with crusty bread and a glass of crisp white wine. Take along a cheese board too and bowls of local strawberries and enjoy a meal of stunning simplicity.

Aioli, for the uninitiated, is pungent garlic mayonnaise that the French typically serve up with fish soup but it is equally at home with chicken. Made with fresh basil it becomes a vivid green colour and is somewhere between aioli and pesto. Because the chicken is poached and fat free you can warrant a good dollop of this aioli to make up the calories.

Ingredients - serves 4

basil aioli:
250g good mayonnaise
25g fresh basil
2 cloves of garlic

chicken:
1.8kg chicken
1 carrot, 1 medium onion, celery trimmings, 1 leek
6 peppercorns
water to cover

and vegetables:
4 carrots, cut into batons
4 sticks of celery, cut into 5cm lengths
1 head of fennel. sliced
4 young leeks, cut into 5cm lengths (or left whole if they're very young leeks)

Method

Wash and trim the picnic vegetables and set aside. The trimmings from the fennel. leeks and celery can go in the pot for the initial stage of the
poaching.

Place the whole chicken, onion, carrot, leek, celery and assorted vegetable trimmings into a deep pan (chosen to accommodate the chicken neatly) together with sufficient water to cover. Bring to the boil and skim the surface of any scum that turns up on the surface. Top up with water if the chicken becomes exposed. Now lower to a gentle simmer for 40 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the stock vegetables and discard. Add the picnic vegetables to the pot and return to a simmer for a further 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Lift the chicken and vegetables from the stock and allow to cool. Keep the stock for future use - it will last a limited time in the fridge and freezes well. Remove the skin from the chicken and discard before carving the bird. Refrigerate both chicken and vegetables.

In a processor, blend the basil, garlic and mayonnaise to a brilliant green sauce. Scrape into a bowl, cover with cling film and chill.

Pack the picnic bag and away you go! Allow the chicken and vegetables return to room temperature before tucking in.