Happy Monday! I can’t wait til lunch. How about you? I skipped brekkie and I’m regretting it now.
It’s nearly time to down tools. Just as soon as I write and send this.
What have you planned for lunch today? Anything good?
Last week’s lunch breaks didn’t all go to plan. Breaking my own rules, the balance tipped just enough the wrong way that the lunchtime walks were shunned in place of catching up on other seemingly urgent things.
It was also been freezing down here in Kent, so my planned salad one day didn’t happen. It’s cunningly disguised as a fish finger sandwich instead. And my slow cooker decided that it had had enough.
For this week’s lunches, there’s a hands-free spicy vegetable stew, a quick bowl of veggie noodles, some not-sausage rolls, and of course, the fish finger sandwich. Get stuck in.
Cook while you work…
Harissa-spiced Veg Bowls
Hoping to get everything in the slow cooker and come back to it at lunch, I prepared a Moroccan-inspired vegetable stew. A little bit of light chopping and peeling and you’re rewarded with a warming bowl of spiced vegetable stew come lunchtime — perfect for these cold days.
2 onions, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsp harissa dry spice blend, some carrots, small butternut, a couple of potatoes, and a tin of tomatoes. Bung it all in the slow cooker and cook for approx 5 hours. (You’ll have to be a fairly early riser for this one)
I had to switch it over to the hob as my slow cooker gave up. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you could make it mid-morning and leave it blipping away while you get on with work, or pop it in the oven.
Just a sandwich…
Fish Finger Sandwich
This should’ve been salad. A salad to use up the weird Wensleydale with cranberries that snuck into the fridge over Christmas. Who puts fruit in cheese? But it was just too cold. I couldn’t face it.
Luckily I had some fish fingers.
A fish finger butty never lets you down. Unlike the photo (I’m committed to true lunchtime honesty here). Try this one instead, it’s much better. The bread is everything, and I only had some sliced white on standby.
Fish fingers, a bit of salad, mayonnaise, white bread, ketchup.
Simple swaps: You could go with salad cream, gherkins, tartare sauce, watercress, a squeeze of lemon..?
Make ahead…
Mushroom & Chestnut Fauxage Rolls
There’s a deli near me that sells mushroom and chestnut vegan sausage rolls. I’ve had my eye on them, but never tried them. I don’t know if these are anything like them, but that’s where the idea comes from.
The chunky bits of chestnut really crisp up at the edges as they cook, meaning they’re quite “meaty” even if they haven’t got any meat in.
I’ve used vegan puff pastry and oat milk to brush, making them totally plant-based. I’m obviously not vegan, but I try to reduce the amount of meat we eat.
To make the filling, sauté chopped onion, mushrooms and thyme in a little rapeseed oil.
Then add a smashed up pack of pre-cooked chestnuts.
Allow the mixture to cool.
Then arrange in a sausage shape along the middle of a sheet of puff pastry.
Form into a large sausage roll shape, folding the sides over and brushing with oat milk to seal the edges.
Cut into individual pieces. Brush with oat milk to glaze and bake for around 25 mins at 190.
Rustle up…
Soy & Garlic Any Veg Noodle Bowl
Straight-to-wok noodles are so quick which makes them perfect for lunch, when you want something hot.
Add in some vegetables (chopped small so they cook quickly), garlic, soy and fish sauce to create a bowlful of delicious noodles in no time.
I’ve used broccoli, sugar snaps, spring onions, bean sprouts, garlic, grated ginger, soy, vegetarian fish sauce, noodles, some crushed peanuts, stirred through a beaten egg, and finished it with a drizzle of sesame oil.
Simple swaps: Raid the fridge and use whatever veg you have. I had one last egg to use up, the remains of a bag of bean sprouts and some spring onions, leftover from stirfry rice the night before, and a handful of peanuts thrown in for good measure.
Why only four meals?
I know, most people work 5 days a week, but it’s nice to wing it one day a week—use up some leftovers, meet a friend for lunch, support your local coffee shop…
See you next week, lunch buddies