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Day three’s recipe is chef Galton Blackiston’s British twist on a Niçoise salad – replacing Tuna with some delicious fillet of beef.
This is a really good salad, with a classic vinaigrette that can all be prepared well in advance – the vinaigrette will keep for several days in an airtight jar in the fridge.
Galton tells The Big Lunch “I like to serve the beef still warm but you can just as well serve it cold if you prefer.”
Serves 6
Ingredients:
For the salad
For the vinaigrette dressing
Method:
Big Lunch food can be as simply or as elaborate as you like – just ask everyone to bring a dish and you’ll be surprised with the variety! It doesn’t have to be cold either. Hot dishes can still be easy to make and lots of recipes can be prepared in advance! We have loads of delicious recipe ideas of hot food to share from tarts and samosas, to pies and paella!
Great news for Big Jubilee Lunch organisers everywhere… Carling has signed up as the official beer of The Big Jubilee Lunch 2012. To celebrate they’ll be providing 300,000 free bottles of Carling to Big Lunches so we can raise a glass to Her Majesty The Queen on Sunday 3rd June.
All you need to do is visit the Carling website to claim a free bottle of Carling for each adult attendee at your Big Jubilee Lunch and Carling will deliver the bottles to your registered address in time for your party (as usual, terms and conditions apply see the Carling website to view the full list of T&Cs, or ‘like’ Carling at Facebook for more information). Please drink responsibly.
Jeremy Gibson, Carling Brand Director said: “Sunday June 3rd promises to be a great celebration for Britain and, as the nation’s number one lager, Carling is proud to be a part of The Big Jubilee Lunch. On such a momentous day for Britain we are pleased to be providing 300,000 free bottles so Brits will be able to say ‘Cheers’ to The Queen from Carling.”
Sign up now and let Carling help your street celebrate this special occasion.
Community Secretary Eric Pickles has announced extra funding to help 20 communities get involved in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations this summer and organise their own street parties and events.
The Big Lunch team are working closely with community volunteers and leaders in the selected areas, from St Blazey in the south to Gateshead in the north, to help boost their confidence and encourage community relations. We’ve also created special toolkits for local residents to help them run Big Lunches and other community events in the future. Jeni Lewitt, an experienced community worker at the Eden Project, is actively supporting each area with their plans, from connecting people and groups, to sourcing materials for bunting and salad seeds for planting.
Eric Pickles said he was “delighted that the Eden Project is helping the Government ensure that these communities aren’t left out when it comes to the biggest celebration of the year.”
Our own Peter Stewart the Director of Campaigns for the Eden Project said “this is a really exciting opportunity to support communities across England and help them to create their own, unique Big Jubilee Lunch.”
And plans are definitely under way. In Peckham, London, one huge street party covering three streets on the Livesey estate will include bunting making workshops and music performances from local young people, whilst in St Blazey, Cornwall, the Big Lunch will include a 1950’s style sports day, a range of local stall holders and hot food. Lots of local community groups are getting involved in each area and we can’t wait to see how these Big Lunches go on the day.
Find out more here
Today’s recipe of the day is one of my favourite lunch time treats – Summer Veg Pie! This pie recipe has been shared with us by Big Lunch supporters, Love Food Hate Waste and is perfect for serving up in slices alongside a fresh summer salad at a Big Lunch.
The best thing about this recipe is that you can be flexible with the ingredients. If you don’t have all these vegetables already, simply substitute using whatever vegetables you can find at home!
By Wendy Barrie, food writer
Ingredients:
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 7.
In a wok or good-sized saucepan, heat oil and sauté onion. Add carrot, parsnip and pepper and
stir-fry over a high heat to colour edges. Transfer to an ovenware dish.
Add seasoning, herbs, capers, juice and water. Stir.
Meanwhile peel the three potatoes and cut into small chunks. Cook in boiling water for approx.
10mins until soft . The smaller the pieces the shorter the cooking time. Drain and mash together.
Spread mash over vegetables. Fluff with a fork, bake in oven for 10 minutes and serve.
Love Food Hate Waste aims to raise awareness of the economic and environmental impact of food and drink waste, and help UK households waste less and save more.
Not sure on quantities to feed your Big Lunches. Just use the amazing Love Food Hate Waste online/ phone app to get the right quantities for many, or just a few!
Don’t forget: We have even more delicious recipes for sharing at your Big Lunch on our food ideas pages on The Big Lunch website
It’s now less than 2 weeks to go until the Big Lunch on Sunday 3rd June, and planning for the day is really getting started! To get the taste buds tingling with yummy food ideas, everyday this week we are inspiring Big Lunchers with our favourite dishes to share with friends, family and neighbours.
To kick start the week, we thought we would start with these scrummy
Hazlnut Coffee Meringues from The Big Lunch supporters Douwe Egberts – although you may just find them too delicious to share…
Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: Over 2 hrs
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
50g toasted ground hazelnuts
1 tbsp Douwe Egberts Instant coffee (Pure Smooth), ground finely in pestle and mortar
2 egg whites
220g caster sugar
1 jar chocolate and hazelnut spread
Method:
Oven temperatures in 150 ºC/300ºF/Gas Mark 2
If you’re keen to support local charities through your Big Lunch but don’t want to ask for money you could encourage your friends, neighbours and community to ‘Bring a Tin’ with them to your Big Lunch. This year we’ve teamed up with two UK charities, FareShare and The Trussell Trust , to encourage Big Lunchers to donate a tin at their Big Lunch. By donating a tin or other food items at your Big Lunch you can help raise awareness of food poverty and food waste issues.
We look forward to your updates and pictures!
With less than 20 days to go until The Big Lunch, it may feel like there’s still plenty more planning left to do. There may be bunting to make, table and chairs to find or even invites left to send out!
But lucky for us our wonderful friends at Start have produced a fantastic Big Lunch checklist to help Big Lunchers in their last minute plans; from pre event planning and what to do on the day, to great ideas for after your Big Lunch. The checklist also includes some really simple tips for making your Big Lunch sustainable and eco-friendly; not only saving money but also reducing waste!
Start’s checklist is just one of the handy free resources we have available for Big Lunchers, making planning a street party, picnic or BBQ Big Lunch as easy peasy as can be! Our downloadable resources page on The Big Lunch website is packed full of goodies; from invitations and bunting templates to risk assessment forms and road closure posters. We have even included The Big Lunch and Big Jubilee Lunch logos, just in case you fancy getting creative and making your own!
But don’t forget, we have also included plenty of resources, tips and advice for after The Big Lunch too! Setting up a community gardening or allotment scheme, for example, is a great way of continuing the community spirit created from the day; and is a perfect excuse to grow some veggies and share with your new friends!
Seed Pantry has created two fantastically easy to follow resources on urban vegetable growing and veggie pot growing so eventhe most inexperienced gardener will have some home-grown goodies to share at their next community gathering!
Love our downloadable resources? We also have free posters, stickers and leaflets to order for last minute promoting of your Big Lunch.
Just email info@thebiglunch.com telling us what you need, along with your name and full postal address.
Asda, one of our official partners for 2012, is offering shoppers the chance to celebrate their Big Jubilee Lunch in style with their official, limited edition Big Jubilee Lunch t-shirts!! The fitted white t-shirt, with a fun and bold Union Jack heart design, is designed by George and made in Britain. It has hit the shops this week just in time for the big day, and is set to raise thousands of pounds for Jubilee charities.
The eye-catching t-shirts are perfect for celebrating with friends and family over the Jubilee weekend, or simply adding a patriotic touch to an everyday wardrobe. We can’t get enough of them, especially at the bargain price of £8!
£2.50 from the sale of each t-shirt will be split between two charities; The Big Lunch and the Eden Project, and also our friends at Fields in Trust, helping to protect playing fields and outdoor recreational spaces, providing a place for future generations to enjoy.
Make sure you look royally festive this summer by adding the limited-edition t-shirt to your shopping list, in Asda stores this week.
Dozens of celebrities from all over the UK have expressed their support for The Big Lunch this year by revealing what they would bring along to a lunch with their neighbours. The different answers ranged from food; like pork pies and a homemade Big Nutty Mango Salad to ideas; like optimism and hope, happiness and laughter, generosity and care.
For long-standing Big Lunch ambassador Barbara Windsor, it’s essential that ‘we all have fun and get to know each other…’ and chef Rick Stein said that going to a Big Lunch in the street is one of those things you have to do before you die. BBC Radio 1 presenter Scott Mills said ‘I can’t cook, but hopefully the sun will shine down on us that day and I will bring to the table the best barbecue ever using my expert skills with my tongs, inviting those close to me to eat, drink and celebrate this huge occasion.’
Peter Stewart, our Campaigns Director, stated that: ‘It just goes to show the beauty of The Big Lunch is that everyone brings something different – it doesn’t matter what it is as they all add to a fun lunch!’
To find out what other celebrities’ contribution for The Big Lunch would be, follow the link to: www.thebiglunch.com/60-for-60 or have a look at the Metro: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/898994-stars-reveal-plans-for-their-big-lunch-to-celebrate-queens-diamond-jubilee
And what will you bring to the table for this year’s Big Lunch? Tell us on Twitter @thebiglunch, using the hashtag #biglunch, on Facebook or email us at yourstories@thebiglunch.com. We’d love to hear how you’re getting involved and what you have planned for your Big Lunch.
Here at The Big Lunch, we’re excited to have created an advert to drum up even more support in these last few weeks before the big day. The film, which you can watch here on our YouTube channel, focuses on The Big Lunch’s theme for 2012: What will you bring to the table?
A few of our celebrity friends were on hand to help us out, so keep your eyes peeled for chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, rugby ace Phil Vickery, and of course our London Street Party Ambassador, Barbara Windsor, to tell us what they are bringing to this year’s Big Lunch.
The advert is now being shown on BBC Live screens up and down the country at the following locations – why not find your nearest one and take a look!
• Belfast – Donegall Square
• Birmingham – Victoria Square
• Bradford – Centenary Square
• Bristol – Millennium Square
• Cardiff – The Hayes
• Coventry – Millennium Place
• Derby – The Market Place
• Derry – Waterloo Place
• Dover – Market Square
• Edinburgh – Festival Square
• Leeds – Millennium Square
• Leicester – Humberstone Gate
• Liverpool – Clayton Square
• Manchester – Exchange Square
• Middlesbrough – Centre Square
• Norwich – Chapelfield Plain
• Plymouth – Armada Way
• Portsmouth – Guildhall Square
• Swansea – Castle Square
• Swindon – Wharf Green
• Waltham Forest, London – Walthamstow Town Square
• Woolwich – General Gordon Square
And now we’re calling on our beloved Big Lunchers to help us make the advert go viral by circulating it to friends, colleagues and family, and supporting us to make The Big Lunch 2012 the biggest and best yet!
Don’t forget it’s not too late to organise your own Big Lunch – find our handy 10-Step guide here, or sign up for your FREE pack here.
Big Jubilee Lunch 2012, an Eden Project
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