A Red Salad

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Salad: Halve the tomatoes and place on a lined baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cut the sweet chillies and capsicums in half and remove the seeds. Cut the onions into sixths through the root end.

Place them on another lined baking tray and toss with the oil, cumin seeds and garlic and season. Roast all the vegetables in the oven until tender but not falling apart. Set aside to cool.

Dressing: Whisk the oil and lemon juice together and stir in the remaining ingredients. Season.

To finish: Cut the watermelon into small chunks. Halve the cherry tomatoes and squeeze out the seeds. This stops the salad from being too wet. Rip the capsicums into long strips. Gently combine all the ingredients and place in a bowl. Pack the salad and the dressing separately and combine both at the picnic. 

Pantry Note: Sweet chillies are mildly hot. Look for them in specialty stores and good greengrocers. The variety commonly found is called New Mexican.

Menu: pack a summer picnic with Fillet of Beef Rolls with Black Olive and Currant Relish, Stilton, Spiced Walnut and Celery Pâté with Toasted Walnut Bread, Asian Noodles with Sesame Dressing and Barbecue Pork, and Sour Cherry and Chocolate Meringue Cookies.