Midweek meals: Five quick and tasty lunches to bring to the office this week
Lunch time ideas
Homemade Chicken Burrito
The secret to this burrito recipe is the spice rub for the chicken
Servings
5Preparation Time
20 minsCooking Time
1 hours 30 minsTotal Time
1 hours 50 minsCourse
MainCuisine
IrishIngredients
1 medium chicken
1 tsp each of salt, dried cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, white pepper
400g cooked rice
Cherry vine tomatoes, chopped
1 tin blackbeans, drained
1 red pepper, sliced
4 scallions, chopped
Sour cream
Baby leaf salad
Tortilla wraps
Fresh lime or lemon juice
Fresh coriander
Method
- Preheat a fan oven to 170°C. Combine the dried herbs and spices in a small bowl. Place the chicken into a large oven proof dish. Press the spice mixture onto the chicken and rub well so that it coats all the skin. Cover the dish with tin foil (or a lid if you have one).
Bake the chicken in the oven for 90 minutes. Take off the tin foil lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oven and serve with rice, tortilla and all the fresh ingredients. Squeeze a little lime or lemon juice on top before eating.
Cheesy pasta bake
This pasta bake reheats beautifully for an office lunch.
Servings
6Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
50 minsTotal Time
60 minsCourse
MainIngredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dried Italian herbs
2 x 400g tins cherry tomatoes
500g penne or pasta shape of your choice
200g grated cheese
Method
In a pan, fry the onion and celery in the olive oil for five minutes before stirring in the garlic and balsamic vinegar and herbs. Bubble for a minute or two until the vinegar has reduced. Add in the tins of cherry tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Cook the pasta in lots of boiling water with salt for seven minutes. Add the pasta into the sauce along with half a cup of pasta water and stir to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper. Top with cheese and pop in the oven for 40 minutes until the pasta is cooked through and the top is crispy and delicious.
If portioning your pasta for lunch, wait until it has cooled down, as it is easier to cut.
Drunken chicken noodles recipe
A perfect recovery dish for the day after the night before
Servings
2Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
25 minsTotal Time
35 minsCourse
MainCuisine
ChineseIngredients
400g fresh flat rice noodles (ho fun)
2tbsp vegetable oil
350g boneless skin-on chicken thighs, cut into 2.5cm pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
3 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths, whites and greens separated
300g choy sum, cut into 5cm lengths, stalks and leaves separated
3tbsp oyster sauce
2tbsp light soy sauce
1tbsp dark soy sauce
2tsp chicken powder
125ml red wine
1tbsp cornflour mixed with 2tbsp water
1tsp sesame oil
Method
Place the noodles in a colander or sieve (strainer) and loosen under hot water, drain and set to one side.
Heat a wok with the oil over a medium-high heat, then add the chicken thighs and cook for about 12–18 minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown and cooked through.
Now add the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant, then add the spring onion whites and choy sum stalks along with the oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauces, chicken powder and red wine.
Bring to the boil, then add the softened noodles, spring onion greens and choy sum leaves and combine.
Give the cornflour mixture a stir and pour into the noodle sauce, mixing continuously until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
Turn off the heat and drizzle with the sesame oil.
Quiche lorraine
This is my mother's recipe, and the one I use as a basis for all quiches
Servings
12Preparation Time
20 minsCooking Time
60 minsTotal Time
1 hours 20 minsCourse
MainIngredients
For the shortcrust pastry:
175g (6oz) plain white flour
75g (3oz) butter
1 egg yolk, preferably free-range
2 tsp cold water, approx
For the filling:
1 tbsp olive oil
175g 6oz) streaky bacon cut into 1cm (1/2 inch) lardons
100g (4oz) chopped onions
3 eggs and 2 egg yolks
300ml (½ pint) double cream
1 scant tbsp chopped parsley
1 scant tbsp chopped chives
110g (4oz) Gruyère cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
For the pastry, sieve the flour and salt into a large bowl.
Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour and then rub in with your fingertips. Keep everything as cool as possible; if the fat is allowed to melt, the finished pastry may be tough. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, stop.
Whisk the egg or egg yolk and add some water. Using a fork to stir, add just enough liquid to bring the pastry together, then discard the fork and collect it into a ball with your hands, this way you can judge more accurately if you need a few more drops of liquid. Although rather damp pastry is easier to handle and roll out, the resulting crust can be tough and may well shrink out of shape as the water evaporates in the oven. The drier and more difficult-to-handle pastry will give a crisper, shorter crust. This will make the pastry much less elastic and easier to roll.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured worktop and line the 23cm (9 inch) diameter baking tin, the pastry should come up just above the top of the tin. Line with kitchen paper and fill to the top with dried beans. Rest for 15 minutes in the fridge.
Blind bake the tart shell for 25 minutes. Remove the beans and paper. The base should be almost fully cooked. Remove the parchment paper and beans, brush the base with a little beaten egg white and replace in the oven for 3-4 minutes. This will seal the base and avoid the “soggy bottom” effect.
Brush the prebaked tart shell with a little beaten egg and pop back into the oven for 3-4 minutes or until almost cooked. Cool.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan and cook the bacon over a medium heat until crisp. Remove to a plate and cool. Add the chopped onions to the pan and sweat gently on a low heat in the same oil for a further 10 minutes - covered.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a medium-sized bowl, add the cream, herbs, cheese and cool bacon and onions. Mix well and add seasoning. Taste or otherwise, heat a frying pan, cook a teaspoon of the mixture on a gentle heat for 2 or 3 minutes until it coagulates – taste and if necessary correct the seasoning.
Pour the filling into the pastry base and return to the oven for 30–40 minutes or until the centre has just set. Serve warm with a green salad and relish.
Pork and fennel meatball soup
With a little preparation, this freezer-friendly pork and fennel meatball soup is perfect for a weeknight dinner
Servings
6Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
50 minsTotal Time
60 minsCourse
MainIngredients
For the soup:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped 1 large celery stalk, chopped (see note)
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp sugar
200ml cream (regular or double)
400–600ml chicken stock
150g spaghetti, broken into little bits
For the meatballs:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, crushed or finely grated
2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and ground
450g minced pork
15g butter
To serve:
a couple of handfuls of finely grated Parmesan
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Method
First, make the tomato soup. Place the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the chopped onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, cover with a butter wrapper or a piece of parchment paper, and the saucepan lid, then turn the heat down to low and cook for about 10–12 minutes, until the vegetables are tender, stirring every few minutes to prevent them sticking.
Add the tomatoes and sugar, season with more salt and pepper, and cook over a medium to high heat, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes are melted through the sauce. Add the cream and boil for 3 minutes, then take off the heat.
Blend the sauce until completely smooth, then put back into the saucepan and add the stock to thin it out to the required consistency – you may want the soup a bit thicker, in which case just add 400–500ml of stock. Season to taste and set aside.
To make the meatballs, place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan and add the finely chopped onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, then cook over a low heat, covered with a butter wrapper or a piece of parchment paper and the saucepan lid, until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Take off the heat, tip the onions into a mixing bowl and allow to cool (see note overleaf).
While the onions are cooling, toast the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium to high heat. Crush them well, then add to the onions. Add the minced pork and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, then pick off ½ a teaspoonful of the mixture and cook it in a frying pan with a little olive oil and taste to check for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper or ground fennel if necessary, then, when you’re happy with the flavour, shape the meatballs. Make each one about 25g in weight (like a large walnut in its shell) – you should get about 20. Set them aside.
When you’re ready to cook the meatballs, place a large frying pan on a medium heat and add the remaining olive oil and the butter (the butter helps the meatballs to brown really nicely). Once the butter has melted and foamed, add the meatballs and cook, tossing regularly, for about 8–10 minutes, until they are cooked through. Turn the heat down to low once they start to take on a golden hue.
While the meatballs are cooking, cook the spaghetti. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt, then add the broken pasta. Stir and allow to cook for 6–8 minutes, until al dente, then drain.
To serve, bring the tomato soup to steaming point and stir in the cooked pasta. Divide among bowls, then top with the meatballs and scatter finely grated Parmesan and chopped parsley over the top.
'Soup Broth Bread’ by Rachel Allen is published by Michael Joseph and is available in shops and online now.
