Sandwiches for lunch every day drives me mad. Coming up with interesting things to eat for a work day lunch can be taxing, especially if all you have is a microwave and a kettle. True torture for someone into food is having to make a dull ham sandwich. Don’t get me wrong – a ham sandwich can be a great thing, when piled with crunchy lettuce, sweet tomatoes, a slice of gherkin, a slick of mustard-flecked mayo and a hint of toasting on the outside. But a sweaty Mother’s Pride with 1mm ham is depressing.
Lékué have a range of microwave-safe containers which open up the possibilities.
The containers are all silicone. This means a couple of things: they can squish into a tight space easy, they don’t get nuclear hot to the touch in the microwave, and they can be cleaned up dead easy. They all have neat little handles so they’re easy to carry in and out of the microwave. They also come with charming little recipe books you can be inspired by.
Salmon and pesto courgetti has fast become a standby lunch for me. I use a shredded or spiralised courgette topped with a skinless salmon fillet microwaved for two minutes. Once done I stir through a teaspoon of pesto and lunch is served. It’s a brilliantly simple yet nourishing lunch that feels like a real treat. I’ve also done the same thing with cooked chicken: the image below is of chicken, courgetti and salsa.
Microwave omelettes have become another favourite. 2 beaten eggs are seasoned and put in the Lékué. After 1 minute in the microwave I turn it over and repeat. After two minutes total you get a brilliant omelette! I’ve tweaked it in all sorts of ways: soften half a chopped red onion for 20 secs first, cooked a rasher of diced bacon in there first for a minute, added a sprinkle of grated cheese… it’s easy to keep yourself interested. It’s an absolute revelation.
Red onion omelette made with the #lekue microwave container. Really tasty!
A photo posted by Gary Fenn (@thebigspud) on
The biggest head-turner was cooking a whole chicken in the microwave.
Yes, a whole chicken.
It takes around 18 minutes to cook completely in the microwave. I mixed some olive oil with vegetable stock powder and rubbed it all over the bird (that got some strange looks in the communal office kitchen). Added a dash of boiling water and set it off. Halfway through cooking I flipped it over – this was the hardest bit – and let it finish.
It’s surprising just how good it tastes. About 12 people said “is it cooked?” which just to be clear, it was. It was just like poached chicken: that moist, tender meat that pulls apart easily. You don’t get crispy skin obviously but it’s the only downside. Packed with flavour, I would defy anyone to figure out how it was cooked in a blind test. An amazing bit of kit and great fun for my team to try.
It’s no small thing to say I love these things. They’re now an essential part of my lunch options. They’re excellent for students, and perfect for the smaller kitchen that only has access to a microwave. Never have a dull lunch again!
