The Lunchbox #18
A Greek-Italian lovechild recipe and a handy guide to supermarket shopping
Hello and welcome to this fortnight’s The Lunchbox Newsletter. Having recovered from last week’s celebrations involving My Epic Lemon Curd & Mascarpone Cake, which so many of you also enjoyed making, it’s been a quiet few weeks. I’ve been doing plenty of recipe testing for other people as well as working on some of my own recipes. I’m sure we’re all feeling the effect of the increase in certain food prices, but I’m enjoying hunting out those few remaining bargains. It’s hard to know what items are worth investing it, so I’ve done a handy guide to sensible supermarket shopping in the Up On My Lunchbox section, below. I’m also sharing my favourite ultra-citrussy Orange, Almond & Pistachio Cake that involves a VERY NIFTY TRICK with the oranges so no oil or butter is required. It’s also gluten and dairy free so ideal for anyone with intolerances. A healthy cake? You better believe it!
x Georgia
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What I’m currently consuming
(*Nothing here is sponsored*)
The Olive oil: Honest Toil
If there’s one thing I could talk all day about, it’s olive oil. Following on from last week’s post about how to get the best value from your olive oil, this week I’m extolling the deliciousness of Honest Toil.
The number one most important thing to look out for when purchasing good quality extra-virgin olive oil is the harvest date. This can usually be found on the back of the bottle or tin and for the Mediterranean, you’re usually aiming for the November that’s just passed. A date guarantees you the freshest, greenest, most assertive flavours that haven’t been lingering in the bottle and losing their perkiness. I tend to swerve oils that aren’t transparent about this date as you have no idea of its age. Well, guess who’s wonderfully proud and vocal about their harvest dates? Yes, Honest Toil. I discovered them last year when I gave some to my parents who love it so much that they treat it like holy water.
It was set up by Tom and Juli who inherited a small olive grove in the town of Kyparissia in the Western Peloponnese in Greece. They started pressing in small batches and are now working with nearby small-scale farmers to produce enough to sell. And what’s more, it’s the most unadulterated, freshly-pressed olive juice you’ll get your hands on. Production is low-impact and harvesting methods are manual and non-invasive, with respect to the wildlife of the grove. And it comes at a very reasonable price point with bulk options available, a route I champion in my last newsletter. A 5L tin + a squeezy bottle: that’s what I prescribe to all olive oil lovers.
The Life Essential: Mugs
I don’t know about you, but when life feels uncertain, it’s all about finding pleasure in the everyday small things. There’s nothing more comforting than a hot drink from one of my favourite mug(s). I’m a passionate collector, with a different one for every mood, much like a favourite t-shirt. But for me it’s more than than that. The mug elevates its contents and the experience, much like drinking wine from a beautiful glass. It’s all about the weight, the feel, the texture that can make an ordinary moment more enjoyable. My beloved collection has been crafted based on four attributes:
Thickness of lip - must be fine and/ or tapered.
Handle - must accomodate a minimum of two fingers.
Volume - 350ml is the ideal capacity for tea, 275ml for coffee. Any less is deeply unsatisfying.
Appearance - shades of beige, cream, pink and grey. Maybe a little pop of colour. No gaudiness for me thanks, I save that for my socks.
Texture - surprisingly important. Smooth is nice, matt is marvellous, a little bit of texture is ideal, sandy roughness is a no-no.
My platonic ideal is this Stripe Breakfast Mug, above, made by South African brand Wonki Ware and sold at The Conran Shop (among others). At £21, it’s at the upper limit of what I like to spend - so very much gift territory - but it’s everything I look for in a mug. And such a beautiful object. I’m especially fond of the fact that because it’s handmade, each one is very slightly different and more often than not, a little imperfect.
The Muesli: Lidl’s £1.29 Premium Muesli
I think it’s about time I let you in on what the culinary cognoscenti have known for years: Lidl’s muesli is THE ONE. If you’re tired of that over-priced, over-packaged and underwhelming Dorset Cereal nonsense, then this is the answer. First of all it’s £1.29 for 750g (as opposed to D**** C*****’s £3.40 for 630g of sawdust) so you can’t argue with that. Second of all, it’s jam-packed with fruit, nuts, seeds, oats - all of which are fresh, un-dusty and whole. Life changing. As the kids say, don’t sleep on it, get down there and grab yourself a bag. And do let me know any other hot tips you have for shopping at Lidl.
Something to fill you up
Parmassaka
I couldn’t decide whether I felt like eating Aubergine Parmigiana or Lasagne or Moussaka, so I decided THEM ALL was the answer. Here I bring them together to make this beautiful lovechild. It’s meant to have just a delicate amount of pasta in order to let the aubergine shine, but do use more and bulk it up if you like. This recipe doesn’t involve faffing with bechamel; just grab a pot of ricotta and a ball of mozzarella and you’re good to go.
Serves 4-6
7 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1-2 tbsp harissa (amount depends on brand), ideally Belazu smoked chilli harissa
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar, optional
400g lamb mince
1 large round or 2 medium aubergine, sliced into 5mm rounds
2 tsp dried oregano
A small bunch of basil, leaves picked
125g ricotta
8-10 sheets of dried lasagne
1 ball of mozzarella
30g grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F. Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil over a medium heat and fry the onions and garlic with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until softened, then add the tomatoes, harissa, bay leaf, cinnamon and some seasoning and and simmer for 30 minutes until reduced.
Meanwhile, line a couple of baking trays with baking paper and rub with a tablespoon or so of oil. Spread out the aubergine slices, then drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil, the dried oregano and some seasoning. Place in the oven for 18-20 minutes, turning once, until golden and tender, then leave to cool. Keep the oven on.
Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat and warm up the final tablespoon of oil. Season the lamb and once the pan is nice and hot, add the mince and cook, stirring until golden but don’t let it dry out too much. Scoop into the tomato sauce, leaving behind any excess fat. Simmer for another 5 minutes to give it time to get to know the sauce. Check the seasoning and add more harissa or even a pinch of sugar if you feel it needs perking up.
To assemble, cover the bottom of a medium baking dish with a third of the lamb sauce, dot with a third of the ricotta, scatter with some basil leaves and cover in a layer of cooked aubergine, then a layer of lasagne sheets, then repeat twice more, foregoing the lasagne at the end and finishing with a layer of aubergine.
Rip the mozzarella into small pieces and scatter over the top, then sprinkle with the Parmesan. Drizzle with oil, then place in the oven for 40-45 minutes until deep golden and bubbling. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving with a green salad. Incredibly delicious cold, as you can imagine.
Something to finish you off
Blood Orange, Almond & Pistachio Cake
This is a very special recipe as you take the whole orange, boil it, whizz it up and use its flesh instead of butter/oil to produce the most moist, intensely citrussy cake.
It’s a brilliant way to celebrate the bitter, tangy flavours of oranges, which are at their greatest right now. If you can’t find blood oranges, then regular oranges are absolutely fine. Look for ones from Spain or Italy as they are the juiciest, most flavoursome ones.
It’s gluten and dairy-free AND it’s a one bowl-er too so is almost impossible to f*** up.
Adapted from Claudia Roden.
Serves 8-10
400g blood or regular oranges, scrubbed
6 eggs
250g caster sugar
125g ground almonds
125g ground pistachios (or more almonds)
1 tsp baking powder
Icing sugar, to dust
Pierce the oranges a few times, then place in a pan, cover with plenty of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45-60 minutes until the oranges are completely soft. Top up the water as needed. Alternatively, cover in water and place in the microwave and cook on high for 10 minutes.
Remove from the water, allow to cool slightly, then cut in half and remove as many seeds as you can find. Place in a food processor or blender and blitz to a fine puree.
Preheat the oven to 170/150C fan/gas 4 and line a 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin with oil and baking paper.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes, then whisk in the remaining ingredients, including the orange puree and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top, then place in the oven for 55-65 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Dust with icing sugar once cool.
Which food items should we invest in and which can we economise on?
It’s been another week of gloomy news concerning food costs, but while listening to Radio 4 this week, I particularly enjoyed a caller who said she’s been thriving during this period. She felt she’d taught herself all the clever little tricks of how to shop and cook and make the most of the situation. I think this is the way through. And it starts with wise shopping. Buying reduced items because we all know the dates are nonsense, but also knowing what to spend your money on - and what not to - is key. Here’s my brief guide. Do challenge me in the comments below if you don’t agree or if I’ve missed something.
🥫Tinned tomatoes: INVEST. As an avid consumer, this is one I talk about A LOT. Basic supermarket ones are often inferior fruit and packed unripe, so you often get hard yellow bits that don’t cook down and give an insipid flavour. Branded ones such as Mutti or Napolina taste significantly better. However they are expensive at the moment. Look out for supermarket sales on the 4 packs and bulk buy. Go on, fill your house with ‘em!
🌾Flour: ECONOMISE. For baking, you’re adding flavourings and usually lots of sugar so basic plain flour tastes the same to me as anything organic and fancier. Bread is the one thing I like to use the pricier stuff for as I think you can really taste what’s in there.
🧂Salt: INVEST. Please don’t let go of your Maldon just yet. I ran out a few weeks ago and the three days I spent seasoning my food with table salt were some of the worst of my life. Table salt is brilliant for seasoning your vegetable/pasta water, but you can begin to taste the chemicals when you season your food with it.
🍝Pasta: ECONOMISE. We all know the sauce is the star of the show, so I think we can get away with the cheaper brands and luckily I’m not seeing massive hikes in the price of this yet, THANK GOD. De Cecco, Napolina and Barilla are all still a reasonable price. I recently had a run-in with a supermarket brand of pasta that I wouldn’t want to repeat so I’m not quite ready to start with those but am open to trying more of them.
🥚Eggs: INVEST. I feel strongly that you can absolutely taste the difference between organic free-range and basic eggs. There is a significant price difference, however, particularly in supermarkets. I’m still recovering from seeing Burford Browns at £3.95 at my local Tesco. I have found that outside of supermarkets - in delis, farmers markets and farm shops - organic eggs are much more reasonable so a little shopping around might be the answer.
🥧Butter: ECONOMISE. For cooking, I challenge anyone to be able to recognise inferior butter in their food - it tastes and behaves the same. But when it comes to what you eat with your bread, you’ll most likely notice the difference. I can’t live without the French salty stuff, but it really depends how much your household consumes and if you’re covering it in Marmite?
🥗Olive oil: ECONOMISE. As I mentioned last week, I think the key here is bulk buying - 750ml bottles are a total waste. As I’m sure you already do, having a cheaper, mild basic one to use in your cooking, and a smarter extra virgin to make salad dressings and to finish dishes, is always sensible.
🥦Vegetables: INVEST. As you know by now, the solution here is to buy things in season, preferably grown in the UK. This means they taste better, are fresher, haven’t racked up air miles and are usually cheaper. At the moment, I find this to be particularly the case with leafy greens, salads, apples and pears.
Thank you for reading The Lunchbox. The next one will be with you on 24 March 2023.