The Working Lunch #26
Spiced aubergine flatbread; smushed broad beans on toast; cheese & ham deli-style sandwich; and antipasti panini. It's your weekly reminder to show your lunch break some love.
Morning!
It’s Monday again. I hope your morning's work has eased you in gently to the week.
But more importantly, what have you got planned for lunch?
As you’ve come to expect from TWL, I’m here with a selection of four lunch ideas. We can all get stuck in a rut with food, so if just one of these can put an idea in your head, a smile on your face or help fill your belly, then my work is done.
If you’re not feeling the lunchtime love with this week’s selection, don’t forget that you can tuck into the archives at any time. Each week’s preview will give you an idea of the dishes in that edition, so you can scroll down for some scran that might tickle your tastebuds.
Make ahead…
Spiced aubergine flatbread
More houmous. Sorry, not sorry. By cooking off some aubergine and making the crunchy topping ahead of time, you can feast on a delicious flatbread for lunch in no time at all.
The aubergines are cut into cubes and tossed in a little oil, garlic granules, ground cumin, chilli, fresh thyme and sea salt. Then baked in the oven for around 30 minutes.
The dukkah-style topping is made from crushed hazelnuts and sesame seeds mixed with ground cumin, chilli powder and salt, all lightly toasted in a dry non-stick pan. Allow cooling completely before storing in an airtight container.
To assemble, I’ve used Lebanese flatbread. Top that with a generous layer of houmous before tumbling on the cold aubergine chunks. Finish with a sprinkle of the nuts and seeds, some torn fresh mint and a drizzle of olive oil.
I’ve said ‘dukkah-style’ topping because I didn’t have everything to make a proper dukkah so I’ve improvised — use what you have 🙌🏻. Here’s a proper version of how to make dukkah.
Simple swaps: Don’t want to make the dukkah? Just add a sprinkling of seeds or nuts for a bit of crunch instead. Don’t have flatbreads? A naan or wrap would work well.
Something on toast…
Smushed broad beans & poached egg
Move over avo, the broad beans are in season. This one is going to be a favourite over the next few weeks.
Cook some double-podded broad beans until tender. Lightly blend them up with fresh mint, lemon juice, salt & pepper and a little rapeseed oil. Add a little of the cooking water if needed. I’ve gone for a chunky coarse texture rather than a purée.
Spread a good layer of the broad beans onto hot toasted sourdough. Top with a runny-yolk poached egg and grated Grana Padano. (I’ve added a few leaves over the top to make it look pretty as I had a friend over for lunch)
The broad bean mix also works cold as a dip or it could be stirred through pasta if you make a batch.
Simple swaps: Use frozen bread beans if podding fresh ones is too much faff. This would also be great without the poached egg.
Just a sandwich…
Ham, cheese & pickles
I don’t think I’ve done this one before. Apologies if I have — it’s a favourite. And if you’re going to make just a sandwich, make it a good one. No scrimping — good bread, no dry bites, and enough filling to make it feel like a meal.
To assemble the sandwich:
Two slices of toasted sourdough, buttered.
Mayonnaise on one slice, English mustard on the other.
Layer up mature cheddar cheese, ham, and sliced gherkin (pickles).
Simple swaps: Emmental, Gruyère or Gouda instead of the cheddar. Want to add in some salad? Sure, why not.
Just a sandwich…
Antipasti panini
Jars of roasted peppers and sun-dried tomatoes are super useful ingredients to have in as they can be eaten on their own and their instant amplified flavour is a great addition to pizza or pasta. Here, they’re the star of a sandwich.
To assemble the sandwich:
Take one toasted panini or ciabatta roll, sliced open.
Layer in sun-dried tomatoes and roasted peppers, draining off the excess oil first.
Some slices of cool fresh mozzarella.
Finish with a few torn basil leaves.
Sandwich confession time (as you know I’m all about the lunchtime honesty) I didn’t toast my bread 😱. Off the back of 4.5 hours on Zoom, I just wanted to make that sarnie and get it into my cake hole as quickly as possible. Please do take time to toast your bread. Your sandwich will be all the better for it; it does need that bit of texture.
Simple swaps: Use pesto for extra aromatic tang if you don’t have fresh basil.
Why only four meals?
I know, most people work 5 days a week, I do too. But it’s nice to wing it one day a week.
In case you’re interested, I had Marmite on toast on the other day last week.
See you next week, lunch buddies.