A classic hand-made mayonnaise calls for raw egg yolks which carried on a hot summer’s day could lead to food poisoning. In Picnics, Claudia Roden offers a tasty alternative created from hard- boiled egg yolks that keeps far better on a hot day.

YOU WILL NEED The yolks of two hard-boiled eggs ¼ pt/150ml olive oil Juice of half a lemon or tablespoon or two of vinegar Salt and freshly-ground black peppercorns to season.

METHOD Boil the eggs until firm.

Peel away the egg white and place the yolks into a blender. (The whites can be chopped and used to garnish a salad) Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the blender and zap together until you have smooth mix. Season according to your taste. Note: if you add a clove of garlic (crushed) 2-4 anchovy fillets (pounded) and a good bunch of finely chopped parsley, this will give you a traditional Italian Salsa Verde.