The Working Lunch #42
A warm winter salad, bake-ahead potatoes, flatbreads in a flash, and an aubergine sandwich - it's your weekly reminder to show your lunchbreak some love.
Hello hello
It’s Monday again, how did that happen?
I’ve worked from home for a long time now. I’m good at getting up and ready for work and having a solid, albeit seasonally shifting, schedule for my working day and week.
I even have some loose self-imposed rules about getting dressed and putting on minimal make-up (eyebrows and mascara are the essentials), and then I feel I’m ready to go to work.
For some reason, very occasionally I forget about that. I wander into the office for just a moment early in the morning and lean over my desk to check my emails (as I don’t have work emails on my phone). Before I know it, I’ve lowered myself into the chair and started work. Hours later I’m still sitting there in my PJs🙈 (I can’t be the only one that does this?)
Work still works. But then I never really know when to stop work during the morning to have my getting-ready reset. It’s usually lunchtime.
Lunchtime is always a good time to stop.
Make ahead…
Warm sweet potato & chickpea salad
I still love a salad in the cooler months (actually it’s still very mild here). Most of the heavy lifting can be done ahead here by roasting the main ingredients in advance - when the oven’s on for your Sunday roast.
Scrub and cube the sweet potato and place them on a roasting tray along with a tin of drained chickpeas and diced peppers (yellow or red). Toss through some olive oil, paprika, chilli flakes and salt & pepper. This will take around 35 minutes at 190c to cook, or until the sweet potato is tender.
Reheat the next day to create a warm salad served on a mixed leaf base dressed with a dash of vinaigrette. Make a simple tahini dressing by mixing tahini with lemon juice, salt and some water to thin it down and drizzle generously over the top.
This is a delicious and substantial salad. The roasted chickpeas have a chewy bite to them, and leaving the skins on the sweet potato gives it more texture too. I’ve thrown on some toasted sesame seeds for even more texture.
Make ahead…
Bake-ahead baked potatoes
While I firmly maintain that there is no place for a microwaved baked potato, pre-baking in the oven (yes, while it’s on for a roast) and then reheating in the microwavé is definitely passable. A few minutes to reheat, sure it’s not as crispy, but it’s only lunch, so it’ll do.
Cheese & beans is a classic. This is a slightly pimped-up version, adding bbq sauce and sriracha to the beans to make instant bbq beans. I’ve topped that with grated cheddar cheese, coleslaw and sliced spring onions.
Simple swaps: It’s all about the fillings. Cheese and coleslaw has featured on TWL before. How about tuna mayo & sweetcorn, bean chilli, or blue cheese & bacon?
The microwave is having its day again while we all look for ways to reduce our oven use. Or maybe you have an air fryer, can you do a baked potato in there? Let me know; I’m still undecided about whether I want/need one.
Rustle up…
Fast, filled flatbreads
After catching this on Jamie’s One Pan Wonders, I’ve tried it out for a quick rustle-up lunch. I love homemade flatbread, but even the unleavened flatbreads still need some kneading and resting time. This one is just measured out, mixed together and cooked.
It creates a bread batter that you pour into a pan to cook. Then it’s just a case of adding the fillings while it’s in the pan.
Full recipe and video here (Jamie Oliver | Speedy folded flatbreads). I forgot the yoghurt!
In my flatbread, I’ve gone for cheese, tomato, olive and spring onions, with some tomato & herb seasoning.
Verdict: It’s bread that’s not bread but a solid stand-in if you’re out. Warm bready-thing and melting cheese, you can’t really go wrong with that combo, can you?
Just a sandwich…
Aubergine bánh mì
Last Thursday, I hosted the second freelancers cook-together event with Freelancer Magazine and this time we cooked aubergine bánh mì.
Obviously, as the whole reason for this one is the cooking together, there are quite a few steps and ingredients, so I’ve put together a separate recipe card if you fancy having a go (or if you joined us and you want a recap! Thank you for coming along, by the way).
This sandwich is all about the extra bits - the sesame seeds, the maple-miso glaze, the sriracha mayo, the fresh herbs and chilli - that give it the crunch, sweetness and vibrancy. Let me know if you make it.
Why only four meals?
I know, most people work 5 days a week, I do too. It’s nice to wing it one day a week.
It’s nice to wing it one day a week. What takes your fancy? What’s in the fridge? Why not meet up with a friend for brunch?
See you next week, lunch buddies
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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.
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