Michelle Darmody: Handy lunchtime bakes for the days you just need to be looked after
Michelle Darmody says this week's lunch recipes might prove a helpful change from a sandwich.
A great many of us are still working from home. This means we tend to be making our own lunch more often. If you are anything like me you swing from taking on this task with enthusiasm and gusto one day, to it being a drag the next. On those enthusiastic days, I might bake something savoury in the evening to have ready for the next afternoon. I am finding it handy to make a few extra for those less exuberant days, and either store them in an airtight container in the fridge or pop a few pieces into the freezer.
The sweet potato bake can be made with pumpkin if you prefer. I roast the sweet potatoes whole in the oven for about 35 minutes, skin on. You can also utilise leftover ones from dinner the night before. Once they are soft, remove the skin and mash the orange flesh with a little salt, and they are ready to add to your mixture.
You can add a bunch of chopped herbs to the seed muffins to pep them up — a sprig or two of parsley, thyme, and rosemary work well. Chutneys or piccalilli are both delicious on the side of any of these bakes.
The cafes and restaurants that served office workers are struggling and would still appreciate the custom if you are out for a lunchtime stroll, but, if not, these options might prove a helpful change from a sandwich.
- 50g melted butter
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 240mls milk
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 275g self-raising flour
- 100g feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 large handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 75g mixed seeds and a little more for sprinkling on top
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and pop 12 paper cases into a 12-hole bun tin.
Stir the melted butter, egg, and milk together.
Mix the flour, nutmeg, black pepper, and feta and then combine the two mixtures. Stir in the chopped spinach and seeds.
Scoop the mixture into your 12 paper cases and then sprinkle some more seeds on top. You can press them down slightly.
Bake for about 20 minutes until they are baked through. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
- 3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, roasted in their skins and the flesh scooped out and mashed
- 50g of chorizo, diced - optional. If you prefer it without meat you can substitute it with 1 tsp of sweet smoked paprika
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 50g sweetcorn kernels
- 6 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tbs plain flour, sieved
- 100g feta cheese, crumbled
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees and lightly grease a cast-iron pan or oven-proof dish that will snugly hold your ingredients.
Mix all of the ingredients together until well combined and then scoop them into your prepared dish. Add a sprinkle of ground black pepper and some sea salt.
Bake for about 30 minutes until cooked through. Once cool enough, cut into slices.
- 3 medium-sized courgettes, grated
- 1/2 tsp of sea salt
- 1 small red onion, diced
- a spring of thyme removed from the stalk
- 4 rashers, chopped — optional
- 1 tbs of flour, sieved
- 100g light cheddar cheese, grated
- 30g feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- a small handful of baby spinach, roughly chopped
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees and lightly grease a cast-iron pan or oven-proof dish that will hold all of your ingredients.
Toss the grated courgette in some sea salt and place into a sieve over a large bowl. Set aside for five minutes — it will remove any excess water. Not all courgettes will contain a lot of water but some do, and this can make the final bake a bit mushy.
Mix the rest of the ingredients and some ground black pepper. Then add in the courgettes.
Scoop into your prepared dish and bake for about 45 minutes, until cooked through. Once cool, cut into slices.
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