Worktime lunch is frequently a source of frustration for me. Sandwiches are OK for a while, but then I start to go stir crazy at the mundanity of them. Occasionally I’ll have a salad but there’s a lot of faff trying to keep the dressing separate until lunchtime.
Recently I was sent a compartmented lunchbox by Sistema. It’s genius: there are layers to keep different parts in, and a little pot for dressing, yet the whole thing slots back into a neat normal-sized lunchbox. In Heston Blumenthal at Home Heston clears up what destroys the salad leaves: surprisingly it’s not the vinegar component of the dressing but the oil. It seeps into tiny cracks on the leaves’ surface, and its for this reason you shouldn’t dress a salad until the last possible minute. With the separate pot for salad dressing this means you can dress the salad when you’re ready. This recipe shows it off really well: spiced chicken flavours with an Asian-style dressing. Nice and simple yet perfect for an office lunch.
Cumin chicken salad (serves 2):
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ cucumber, cut into matchsticks
½ iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
For the dressing:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon tomato ketchup
Dash of soy
Few drops of sesame oil
Toss the chicken in the cumin and fry for a few minutes until cooked through. Toss in sesame seeds and leave to cool.
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients together and season to taste.
To serve, put the chicken with the lettuce and cucumber and toss with the dressing.
Unusually for me, I’m using someone else’s photo. I completely forgot to take a picture of lunch, but it looked a lot like this! Thanks Flyingroc.
I got in from work the other day and Mrs. RP beseeched me with a desperate look in her eyes: “make this. MAKE THIS NOW!” So here’s 30 minute beef hash.
She was gesturing at the TV; Jamie Oliver had just made ‘super-fast beef hash, jacket potatoes, goddess salad, lovely butter beans & bacon’ on 30 Minute Meals. I admit it looked the business. 1 PVR and a flick through the book later, and I was ready. Not quite so manic as previous 30 minute recipes, this one also isn’t too harsh on the washing up. How long did it take? 31 minutes. I’ll take that – I had to stop briefly and try and calm my daughter down, distraught at the distinct lack of Mr. Tumble on the TV. I’m certain I could get it under 25 minutes next time having been through the motions once.
It’s real comfort food; nice big carbs and large flavours. The Worcestershire sauce is particularly satisfying, packing lots of gutsy savouriness. I also felt really nourished eating it – I think it was the amount of carrots and celery in the mince mix.
Get the grill on screaming hot and stick a baking tray under it to get nuclear. Stab the potatoes all over, pop in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Microwave for 14 minutes.
Get a pan on to quite a high heat, chuck in the mince along with a dash of olive oil and seasoning. Fry and stir, browning all over. Meanwhile get some bacon frying gently in another pan.
When the mince has browned, coat with the Worcestershire sauce and add the garlic, thyme and half the rosemary. Whack the onion, celery and carrot into a food processor and get them sliced up, then add those to the beef too.
When the bacon is golden add the beans and tomatoes to that pan and simmer away.
The potatoes are probably done now; prod with a knife to check they're soft in the middle. If they are, slather with olive oil, the rest of the rosemary and some salt and pepper. Toss to coat then pop under the grill to crisp up.
Turn to the salad now: whizz up half the avocado with half the sour cream, lemon juice and a little seasoning to make a lurid green dressing. Chop up the other half of the avocado and mix with the lettuces.
The beef should be done by now, all crispy and craggy. Add most of the parsley and check for seasoning. Check the beans for seasoning - dash of vinegar perhaps? Rescue the potatoes, cut them open and dollop over the rest of the sour cream and parsley. Toss the salad with the dressing and serve the lot to hungry, lucky people.
Jamie Oliver’s latest turn is to ratchet up the speed and get us making 30 Minute Meals. It’s always great fun watching Jamie when he’s enthusiastic, and there’s a real purpose to what he’s doing.
The one that caught my eye was the roast beef dinner. After much pleading from a pregnant Jools after a late finish, he worked up a method that captures the essence of a roast dinner. So I gave it a go.
How long did it take? 34 minutes. I did mess up a couple of things though: I didn’t fetch enough herbs for some reason, so that meant dashing off to the garden mid-meal to hack off some more rosemary and thyme; I used an attachment on my food processor I’ve not used before and it kind of mushed stuff a bit instead of chopping so had to do it by hand; and I forgot to add flour to the gravy so had to dig out the cornflour to work that in. I think it’s doable in 30 minutes, though it is a mad-crazy rush. Someone did ask me if it was possible even if you didn’t do much cooking. I think it is because there’s not a lot of skills involved, just a cool head and keeping an eye on everything.
getting ready
The downsides? For it to work properly you need to get everything ready and set up beforehand. That said it’s great advice regardless of what you’re cooking. And it leaves a heck of a mess. And it must be said it’s not quite a roast dinner – very tasty – but not quite a roast dinner. I also don’t really see the point of the salad, it feels tacked on the side.
However accurate or inaccurate the 30 minute meal claim is for most people, Jamie’s trying to raise our expectations and make mealtimes great. Even if you end up a little over half an hour, it’s still great food in a respectable time.
TO START Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Fill and boil the kettle. Turn the oven on to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7, and place a 12 hole shallow bun tin on the top shelf. Put 1 large saucepan and 2 large frying pans on a medium heat. Put the fine slicer disc attachment into the food processor.
POTATOES Wash the potatoes, leaving the skins on. Chop into 2cm chunks and throw into one of the large frying pans. Cover with boiling water, season with salt and cover with a lid. Turn the heat right up, and boil for 8minutes, or until just cooked. Fill and reboil the kettle.
BEEF Quickly pick and finely chop the rosemary, sage and thyme leaves. Turn the heat under the empty frying pan up to full whack. Mix the herbs together and spread them around the chopping board with a good pinch of salt & pepper. Cut the fillet in half lengthways, then roll each piece back and forth so they are completely coated in herbs. Add the meat to the hot empty frying pan with a few good lugs of olive oil. You must turn it every minute while you get on with other jobs. Don’t forget to seal the ends.
CARROTS Tip the carrots into the saucepan and just cover with boiling water. Add 2 sprigs of thyme, a couple of bay leaves, a good pinch of salt, a splash of olive oil and 1 heaped tablespoon of sugar. Cook with a lid on until tender.
YORKIES Put the flour, milk and egg into the liquidizer with a pinch of salt. Blitz, then quickly and confidently remove the bun tin from the oven and close the door. In one quick movement, back and forth, drizzle a little olive oil in each compartment, then do the same with the batter until each one is half full (any remaining batter can be used for pancakes another day). Place in the top of the oven, close the door and do not open for 14 minutes, until golden and risen.
POTATOES Check that the potatoes are cooked through, then drain and return to the same frying pan. Leave on a high heat and drizzle over some olive oil. Add a pinch of salt & pepper, speed-peel in strips of lemon zest and add 4 sprigs of thyme or rosemary. Halve the bulb of garlic widthways, squash each half with the back of a knife and add to the pan. Toss everything together, then roughly squash down with a masher. Toss every 3 minutes or so, until golden and crisp.
GRAVY Reduce the heat under the beef a little. Peel the red onion half. Finely slice in the food processor. Add half the onion to the beef pan with a splash of olive oil, the other half to a salad bowl. Rinse the mushrooms in a colander and slice in the processor, then add to the beef pan. Stir everything around and remember to keep turning the beef regularly for 5 minutes.
WATERCRESS SALAD Add 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and a good pinch of salt & pepper to the onion bowl. Scrunch with one hand. Add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Empty the watercress on top and take to the table, but don’t mix until serving.
GRAVY Remove the beef to a plate. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then cover with foil. Stir 1 heaped tablespoon of flour into the pan. Add a small glass of red wine and turn the heat up. Boil down to nearly nothing, then stir in 300ml of chicken stock and simmer until thick and shiny.
TO SERVE Drain the carrots, return to the pan, toss with butter and take to the table. Turn the potatoes out on to a platter. Smear 2 spoonfuls of horseradish sauce and 1 teaspoon of English mustard on to another platter. Quickly slice the beef 1cm thick, using long carving motions. Sprinkle over a pinch of salt & pepper from a height, then pile the beef on top of the horseradish sauce and mustard. Add any resting juices to the gravy and serve in a jug. Toss and dress the salad quickly, then get the Yorkies out of the oven, and take them to the table and tuck in with a glass of wine.
With the advent of shallots in my garden, I wanted something to really show them off. And with some lamb mince in the freezer, this recipe from Jamie at Home seemed perfect. So Summery too. I agreed with Alex over at JustCookIt that lamb and bread are destined to be together, especially if both are barbecued. A kebab with a crisp outside, a soft middle and plenty of spicy flavours is absolutely perfect. The onions? Crunchy and sweet, the perfect compliment.
A good handful of shelled pistachio nuts bashed up a bit
2 large cos, shredded
Small bunch fresh mint, chopped
Handful of chopped shallots
Bunch of fresh parsley
Splash of white wine vinegar
4 tortillas
4 tablespoons creme fraiche
Mix the lamb with thyme, chilli, cumin, grated lemon zest and pistachios, seasoning well. Grab some skewers and squish handfuls of the meat around a skewer, really clamping to form sausage shapes. Chill until needed.
Cover the onion and parsley with vinegar and a pinch of salt and leave while you get on with everything else.
Brush the kebabs with a little oil and grill (or barbecue, preferably) on all sides until browned. Leave to rest a couple of minutes while you get on with the salad.
Combine the cos and mint and dress with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, adding salt and pepper as necessary.
Chuck the tortillas on the BBQ for about a minute, then turn over and grill until puffed up. Slap the tortilla on the plate, pile on some salad and top with the lamb. Scrunch the onions in your hand to remove the excess juice and throw over the kebabs. Devour in the sunshine.
