The RSPCA are encouraging people to have the perfect ‘well-being picnic’
With the celebrations ready to kick off for the Olympic closing ceremony this weekend (12.07.12), there’s no better time to get out into the great British outdoors to enjoy a good old-fashioned picnic (weather permitting, of course).
But before you go rushing out with your blanket tucked under your arm, spare a thought for who your picnic might affect.
It might seem a strange request, but the RSPCA are doing just that – encouraging people to have the perfect ‘well-being picnic’. That means a picnic that is good for you, your family and friends and the planet.
The RSPCA knows that most people care about animal welfare, but admit that it can be pretty confusing to try and find higher welfare meat in supermarkets.
With this in mind, the charity has put together three recipes, perfect for picnics, and delicious when cooked with Freedom Food meat.
The only way to tell whether meat has higher welfare standards is to look out for the blue Freedom Food logo. This shows that the supplier has been approved by the RSPCA. It’s usually not that hard to find Freedom Food products in your supermarket, especially if you ask someone there for help.
One great tip for feeding kids is to pick up extra thinly sliced Freedom Food labelled ham from the deli. Kids usually prefer wafer thin ham, but this is often not higher welfare.
Buying ethical meat and animal products doesn’t have to be expensive, either. Cage-free and free-range eggs are available in all supermarkets’ own brands, so there’s no need to splash out on a more famous brand.
Check out the recipes below:
Mustard Sausage Rolls
A special recipe courtesy of Richard Johnson for the RSPCA
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 6 Freedom Food labelled sausages
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 tsp. whole grain mustard
- 320g ready-rolled puff pastry
- Plain flour, for dusting
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- Thyme leaves
How to make:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/fan oven 180C, Gas 6.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for about 5 minutes or until soft but not coloured. Tip into a large bowl and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Split the sausages skin and ease the sausage meat out of the skin and into the bowl with the cooled onion. Add the thyme leaves and seasoning and mix well.
- Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a rectangle of about 35x25cm rectangle, with the long side facing you. Cut the pastry in half horizontally. Then each half in half again lengthways.
- Brush the pastry with the mustard. Make the sausage meat into a sausage shape and place along the middle of each pastry rectangle. Brush the long edge of the pastry with the beaten egg and roll the sausage up in the pastry to enclose, pressing the seam along the side to seal. Repeat until all the pastry and sausage meat has been used.
- Put the sausage rolls in the fridge for 20 minutes. Cut into bite size pieces about 4-5 cm. Brush with a little beaten egg and score with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with a little black pepper.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry has turned golden-brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving.
Tip: Replace the fried onion with fried leeks or if you are a great mustard fan use English mustard for additional heat.
Bacon and Cheese Quiche
A special recipe courtesy of Richard Johnson for the RSPCA
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- Plain flour for dusting
- 1 x 375g pack ready-rolled short crust pastry
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 100g Freedom Food labelled unsmoked bacon, cut into strips
- ½ onion peeled and finely sliced
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 1 x 284ml carton double cream
- 200g English cheddar, grated
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and black pepper
How to make:
You will need a 23cm fluted-edge tart tin, about 4cm deep with a removable base.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6.
- On a lightly floured board roll out the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin and use to line the tart tin, pushing it into the edges firmly, then trim off the overhanging pastry and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the pastry is slightly colouring, remove beans and parchment and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
- Remove the pastry case from the oven & reduce the oven temperature to 170C/150C fan/325F/gas 3.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the bacon until the bacon starts to colour just slightly but don’t get too crisp. Add the onion and cook until softened.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cream, half the cheese and nutmeg with a good grinding of pepper and a pinch of salt.
- Sprinkle the bacon and onion in the bottom of the pastry case and pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes – the pastry should be golden and the filling should still have a little movement; remove from the oven and leave to continue cooking for about 10 minutes.
Tip: For added colour add a layer of sliced tomatoes or mushrooms. If time is really short use a readymade pastry case.