It's the LDL Publication Day Issue
And I'm giving YOU my favourite recipe, straight from its pages
What I’m currently consuming
The Book: Let’s do Lunch with 30% off!
My publishers, HarperCollins are offering a super-duper EXCLUSIVE offer to YOU, my ravishing readers. Click here to go straight to their site and get the discount added automatically. It’s that easy. A good gift opportunity, no?!
The Breadstick: Seggiano Classic Grissini
Just like our mate Proust, I can vividly remember the first time I crunched down on one of these. That rough texture, that snap, that tiny hit of salt, truly these are the breadsticks of all breadsticks. And you can trust me, I’m a connoisseur of this category of snacks. I love ‘em all, even the cheap ones. Dip ‘em, wrap ‘em, balance your cheese on them. They’re the best snack out there and I’m willing to fight anyone who disagrees. And do you want to know the best bit? I CAN HELP YOU TO WIN SOME.
The lovely people at Seggiano and I have come up with a Let’s do Lunch x Seggiano hamper with my essentials for happy lunch cooking. This includes: a bottle of 2022 harvest Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on my Super Greens Pasta; grilled peppers in olive oil for my Muhammara; an organic, bronze-cut version of my favourite pasta shape, fusilli to make Super-Quick Sausage & Cream Pasta; and Sicilian tomato passata to make my Cauliflower alla Puttanesca. AND a copy of the book. See my Instagram to enter.
You can also get 10% off all Seggiano products in their website with the code lunch10.
The T-shirt: Cookin’ Garms x Let’s do Lunch
Oh what’s this? A silly slogan t-shirt? Sign me up! Cookin’ Garms has made this epic t-shirt to accompany the book. Get yours here to show you prefer to eat breakfast AND lunch and that Eggs Benedict is a CRIME.
AND the first 20 people to order get 20% off!!
Here’s how:
- Go to Cookin’ Garms Instagram
- Send a direct message saying ‘discount code for LDL t-shirt’
- You’ll be sent a discount code to use for the link here and below
- Send me your pics of you wearing them pleeeeeaaase!
Something to fill you up
Dumpling Salad with Sweet & Spicy Rainbow Slaw
God, I love dumplings (who doesn’t?) and am always looking for excuses to get them on my plate. This is one of those excuses. You can use any frozen dumpling you wish, just follow the packet instructions for cooking them.
This makes quite a lot of dressing so you can have extra to dip the dumplings in. Please forgive me for asking you to only use a quarter of these cabbage, but there’s a perfect Red Cabbage & Carrot Kraut recipe in my book to use them up if you need help.
See my how-to video here
Serves 4
Dumplings
2–4 tbsp vegetable oil
28 (or more!) of your favourite frozen dumpling pot stickers or Japanese Gyoza
Hoisin, sriracha and/or chilli oil, to serve
Salad
¼ red cabbage, about 120g
¼ white cabbage, about 120g
2 carrots, peeled and julienned or coarsely grated
½ yellow or orange pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
A large handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
A large handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
3 spring onions, sliced
4 tbsp crispy fried onions, optional, to serve
Dressing
1 garlic clove, peeled
A small thumb of ginger, peeled
4 tsp soft brown sugar
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
5 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp rice vinegar
2½ tbsp sesame oil
Hoisin, sriracha or chilli oil, to serve
Get the dumplings going first. You may need to cook them in batches or use two pans. Heat enough vegetable oil to generously cover the bottom of a large frying pan (with a lid) over a medium-high heat. Add the dumplings on their flat side and fry for 2–3 minutes until dark golden.
Carefully add enough water to come halfway up the sides of the dumplings, cover with the lidd and steam for about 10 minutes (check the packet for exact timings) before removing the lid and cooking until all the water has evaporated.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Grate the garlic and ginger into a mixing bowl and add the other ingredients, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Spoon 4 tablespoons into a small dipping bowl and put to one side.
Using your sharpest knife or a mandolin, or the slicing attachment of a food processor shred the cabbages as finely as you can (the finer you can get, the less chewing you need to do) and transfer to a bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the crispy onions, pour in the remaining dressing and toss with your hands. Have a taste to check you’re happy with the flavours: it should be sweet, salty and a little acidic – all the good stuff. Share between plates or bowls and sprinkle over a layer of crispy onions, if you like.
Once the dumplings are cooked, sit on top of each portion. Serve with the extra dressing for dipping and drizzle over some hoisin, sriracha or chilli oil (or all three!) It’s also delicious cold.
Something to finish you off
The Single Serve Cookie. I encountered this last week and have no idea where it’s been all my life. Need a quick cookie fix but don’t want to make a whole batch? This nifty little recipe gives two medium cookies in under 15 minutes flat, even quicker than nipping to the shops.
Six principles for quick & easy lunches every day (and how my book can help)
1. Accessorise. Having a few things in your store-cupboard that’ll add pizazz to any lunch is your secret weapon. Sprinkle on your salad for extra crunch and a salty kick, or scatter over your soup for texture and interest. Maybe it’s crunchy, maybe it’s a little salty, or maybe it’s packed with nuts and seeds. I have a few solutions in my book, such as Savoury Granola, my marmite-vibes Soy Seeds, Five-Seed Crispbread and Za’atar Pitta Chips.
2. Dips are your friend. Yeah, you can buy them, but we all know that making your own is far better. You know exactly what’s in them and you’re going to save yourself a lot of cash. AND you can make them just how you like them. It really is just a case of unscrewing a few lids, chopping a little garlic, glugging in a little oil and turning on your food processor or blender. They will keep for a week in your fridge and can be used in so many ways than merely a destination for your carrot stick:
Make banging sandwiches: try my Muhammara in a pitta with a handful of rocket and some grilled halloumi.
Use to transform dull salad: spoon some of my Watercress Tzatziki over some chopped cucumber, tomato and feta and you’ll be transported to a Greek island.
Eat alongside grilled meat, fish or veg as a sauce: I once ate grilled purple sprouting and my Green Goddess with feta every day for six days after making a big batch with some ageing avocados last winter (I even included a pic of it in the book in loving memory of that strange, repetitive week).
Use it to layer up: my favourite way of eating hummus at the moment is spreading it over a plate and chopping up every single bit of salad-sensible veg, fruit or lettuce in my fridge and smothering it on top. Finish with salt, lemon and olive oil and you’ve got yourself a badass plate of food.
3. Embrace the pickle. Ever feel like your plate of food is missing something? Well it may be that you just need a pop of acidity. Pink Pickled Onion is definitely having a moment in London restaurants and for good reason. It adds colour, crunch and perkiness. And takes three minutes start to finish. If you want to raise your pickle game, then the Italian-American classic, Giadiniera, is your guy (which you can of course find in MY BOOK!) It’s pickled veg, but marinated in olive oil and fragrant dried herbs and spices. Pop in your ham or sandwich, throw in your salads or eat with a cheese board and thank me later. Kraut is also a great alternative and ridiculously good for you. I still have a massive jar of leftover Red Cabbage & Carrot Kraut leftover from my book shoot in October 2021 that is still going strong.
4. Get Roasted. Pull out your baking tray, chop that veg, cover it in oil and herbs and throw it in the oven until golden. I like to do this with: courgette, peppers and tomatoes in the summer; pumpkin and fennel in the autumn; carrots and beetroot in the winter; and asparagus and artichokes in the spring. You can then use it throughout the week in all manner of ways - stir through some pesto, add to soups or pile on top of cooked grains (see, below) and spoon over some dip (see, above).
5. Get your Fingers on the Pulse (and grains) Simmer yourself a few portions of quinoa, lentils or something fancy like freekeh for the week and you’ve got yourself the start of a very delicious meal. These can then stirred through a salad, added to soups or eaten alongside some grilled meat, fish or veg.
6. Just Get dressed! Having a few little jars of amusing dressings at your fingertips will make lunchtimes a breeze. Some Tahini sauce is always hanging around my fridge as is a big jar of Mustard Dressing, which I’m constantly topping up each time I use it.