The Working Lunch #10
Welcome back to your weekly reminder to show your lunch break some love. This week: mince on toast; roasted beetroot soup; halloumi & tzatziki wrap; and baked potato & coleslaw.
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Oh hey! It’s Monday again.
Last week was Food Waste Action week.
Apparently in the UK, an average family wastes the equivalent of 8 perfectly good meals each week. That’s like throwing £60 a month straight in the bin. I didn’t realise the scale of it.
70% of all food that's thrown away in the UK comes from our homes.
Not restaurants and food manufacturers. Us.
Did you know that…
global food waste produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all commercial flights?
I was gobsmacked by this. We can all do more. I know I can.
Buy ingredients not meals. Plan meals. Only buy what we need. Freeze it, don’t throw it.
Now I like to think that I’m pretty good at avoiding unnecessary food waste, but I’ve been really scrutinising it this week.
Something on toast…
Mince on toast
Leftover bolognaise sauce?
Get that reheated ragu onto a round of toast. Add cheese if you like.
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Like so many slow-cooked meat dishes (or meat and lentils, as this one is), the sauce develops even more of its flavour when it’s left and then reheated. Just make sure it’s reheated properly. Leftover cottage pie/shepherd’s pie mince works well too.
Make ahead…
Roasted beetroot soup
In a freezer forage, I found some roasted beetroot, so I’ve whipped them up into a smooth soup.
They’d been roasted with thyme and oil.
To make the soup, I made a base from diced carrot, potato, onion, garlic and stock.
Then added the roasted beets to heat through, before blending until smooth. A swirl of greek yoghurt to serve.
Really delicious and put to good use the previously roasted beetroot from a Too Good To Waste veg box.
Just a sandwich…
Chilli-glazed halloumi and tzatziki flatbread
It was such fun cooking together with some other freelance folk last week with Freelancer Magazine.
If you didn’t make it and would still like the recipe, you can find it here.
We made a simple homemade flatbread, some fresh tzatziki with cucumber and mint, and some quick pickled red onions to go with chilli-glazed halloumi and cooked red peppers.
That might sound a bit much for lunchtime, but even with all the chatting, we made it in under 50 minutes.
You could of course simplify it by using shop-bought wraps, tzatziki and roasted peppers from a jar, which would make it much quicker.
Let me know if you make it.
Any leftover tzatziki and red onions? Read on.
Cook while you work…
Baked potatoes with cheese & coleslaw
Jacket potatoes make such a good cook while you work lunch.
Scrub and prick the spuds. Rub with a little oil and sea salt. Chuck them in the oven for 45 mins-1 hour while you get back to work.
I’ve served mine with some grated cheddar and a slaw-style salad made from shredded red cabbage and carrots mixed with the leftover tzatziki and a few of the pickled red onions from the flatbreads.
There is no place for a microwaved baked potato, in my opinion. However, starting it off in the microwave is a good shout if you want to cut down on the cooking time.
Why only four meals?
Most people work five days. I do too. But it’s nice to wing it one day a week. Grab lunch with a friend, use up some leftovers, order in, eat out…
See you next week, lunch buddies.
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