The Working Lunch #34
Fake burrata, classic sandwiches, and gorgeous mini savoury loaves - it's your weekly reminder to show your lunchbreak some love.
Hello!
It’s not Monday. What am I playing at?
I thought as it was a bank holiday, I’d send it a day later.
So, what are you having for lunch today?
I’m honestly not sure yet. This is surprising, as I’m usually thinking at least two meals ahead!
If you’re a regular reader, then I’m sure food isn’t far from your thoughts for long either. Maybe you’ve got lunch planned. Maybe you’ve got some leftovers from the weekend! Oohh, what you got? Maybe you’re not sure yet, like me.
In which case, read on.
Let’s see if any of these tickle your pickle…
Summer salad…
Fake burrata & garden tomato salad
If you love burrata, then this is definitely worth a try. Easy, quick, and makes a very average boule of supermarket mozzarella into something much more decadent for a fraction of the cost of burrata.
I’ve used this ‘homemade burrata hack’ from The Kitchn. I used sour cream, rather than regular cream, as I had some in the fridge for fajitas, and a basics ball of mozzarella.
This went perfectly with a simple tomato salad (thanks to my neighbour who dropped round with some homegrown tomatoes) drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and scattered with flaky salt and fresh basil.
Just a sandwich….
Classic egg mayonnaise
It’s easy to overlook the classic sandwich fillings. Many an egg mayo sandwich has been ruined by cling film and squashed into a satchel. But it’s tried and tested, and when made fresh on fluffy fresh bread (and not wrapped up and squashed into a pack up), they are so good.
For one sandwich, I’ve maxed out the filling with two hard-boiled eggs mashed up with mayonnaise, salt & pepper.
Buttered thick sliced white bread and some salad, which is cress of course, because you can’t mess with egg and cress. But I’ve gone for watercress salad with rocket & spinach, rather than dainty salad cress. I’m not cutting the crusts off these.
Crisp in?
Make ahead…
Courgette mini loaves
Courgette, sun-dried tomato, cheese and onion come together in a not-quite-a-muffin-or-a-scone mini loaf.
Eat these on their own as a snack or pair them up with some cheese and salad for a platter/ploughman’s style lunch.
Ingredients makes 6 mini loaves:
1 small courgette, grate and squeeze out the excess water
2 spring onions, finely sliced
90g sun-dried tomatoes, drain off the excess oil and chop up
30g Grana Padano cheese, grated, plus extra for sprinkling on top. Any hard cheese would do
175g self-raising flour
1 egg, beaten
60ml sunflower oil
140ml milk
To make:
Prepare the veg.
Weigh out all the dry ingredients
Measure out the wet ingredients in a jug, and mix well.
Combine everything and mix together
Grease/spray oil the mini loaf tin and divide the mixture into 6. You could use muffin cases instead
Bake at 190•c for approx. 25 mins.
Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
From the archives…
Just a sandwich... a good ol’ cheese roll
While we’re talking classics, let’s not forget the good old cheese roll.
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. 🍽️
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. Use up some leftovers. Eat the fake burrata two days in a row (it made a good creamed mozzarella and tomato bruschetta). Go for a picnic?
See you next week, lunch buddies.