With the majority of us working from home, it's easy to slip into the habit of just have a slice of toast or some instant noodles for lunch but you deserve better than that. Take the time you have and the opportunity to get in the kitchen, and treat yourself to a top-quality lunch to fuel you through the afternoon. Super quick but full of flavour, these are the perfect work from home lunch recipes to whip up during your break.
#1 Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Mak Kimchi
Image via Le Creuset
If you're in need of a super quick work from home lunch recipe, you can skip the kimchi and stick to the comforting grilled cheese. But once you've made a batch of kimchi, you'll be sorted for weeks.
What you'll need
For the Kimchi:
1 Chinese cabbage
1 large carrot
6 - 8 radishes, dependent on size
2 garlic cloves
1 thumb of ginger
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons chilli sauce like sriracha
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 heaped tablespoon caster sugar
For the Grilled Cheese Sandwich:
4 slices of crusty white bread
Butter, for spreading
100g strong mature Cheddar, grated
100g red Leicester, grated
Method
To make the Mak Kimchi, roughly chop the cabbage into large chunks and place in a microwaveable bowl. Add 4 tablespoons water to the bowl and place in the microwave to steam for 2 - 4 minutes. You want the cabbage to be tender. Drain and leave to cool fully.
In the meantime, grate the carrot, radishes, garlic and ginger into a large bowl. Add the cabbage when cooled. Pour in the fish and chilli sauce as well as the rice vinegar.
Sprinkle over the caster sugar and thoroughly stir all the ingredients together. Press into a sterilised Kilner jar and leave at room temperature for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight to ferment. When fermented, place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Heat a Signature Cast Iron Grillit empty over a medium heat for five minutes to get it hot. Take your sliced bread and butter each slice on one side. In a plate, turn the slice butter side down and fill two slices with cheese. Place the remaining two slices of bread on top, butter side up - the buttered side of the bread will be in contact with the grill.
Place the sandwich on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Once golden and perfect grill lines appear on the bread, flip and repeat on the other side.
Serve alongside a good helping of the kimchi.
#2 Vegetable Swirls with Pesto
A healthy but simple lunch recipe, this is a great way to get the veggies in without succumbing to the boring salad.
What you'll need
For the Pesto:
100g walnuts
1 garlic clove, crushed
100ml rapeseed oil
100g cheddar cheese, grated
60g parsley, roughly chopped
For the Swirls:
8 sun-dried tomatoes
2 carrots
1 large courgette
Red cabbage, separated into leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ Fan 160˚C/ Gas Mark 4.
First make the pesto. Put all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Season to taste and spoon a tablespoon of pesto into the bottom of each Stoneware Petite Casserole.
Using a mandolin or a Y-shaped peeler, make long strips of carrot and courgette. Take the red cabbage leaves and slice them into strips the same width as the courgette and carrot.
Lay two sun-dried tomatoes on top of the pesto in each casserole. Take the vegetable strips and roll them into a swirl, alternating between vegetables and tucking the start of the next strip into the last to overlap. Place the swirl on top of the sun-dried tomatoes.
Brush the swirl with a little oil and bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes until the vegetables have cooked through.
Serve immediately.
#3 Pumpkin & Herb Crispbreads
Once you've baked a batch of these, you'll be sorted for the week. Top with some halloumi and salad, or dip into hummus or soup for a simple work from home lunch.
What you'll need
130g wholemeal flour
50g plain flour
50ml water
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tbsp golden linseed seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried parsley
Method
Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix to form to a medium-firm dough.
Sprinkle the surface with a little flour and scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the counter.
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C, Gas Mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Roll the dough out to a thickness of around 2-3mm, then, using a pizza cutter or a biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rectangles.
Transfer onto the baking tray and bake in the middle of the oven 18-20 minutes. Let the crackers cool completely before serving.
Serve with a knob of butter and enjoy!
#4 Smoked Salmon and Parsley Waffles
Image via Denby
The best part of being at home all day? Brunch! Ditch the work from home lunch in favour of an 11 am brunch in the form of this smoked salmon waffle recipe.
What you'll need
Knob of butter
4 Baby shallots – Finely sliced and lightly fried
200g plain flour
2 Tsp Baking powder
375 ml full fat milk
2 Organic eggs – Whisked
200g Butter – Melted and cooled
2 Spring onions – Finely sliced
Small bunch of parsley leaves – Finely chopped
Generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
¼ Zest of lemon
50g Smoked salmon – Roughly diced.
For the lemon and basil sour cream:
½ Zest of lemon
Handful of basil leaves – Stems removed
Sprinkle of sea salt flakes
Good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
150g sour cream
150- 200g Smoked Salmon to serve
2 Avocados
Peel of half a lemon – Finely sliced.
Method
Melt a knob of butter in a pan and then add in the finely sliced shallots and cook until soft and sticky. Next, melt 200g of butter and set to one side to cool
In a mixing bowl combine the plain flour, baking powder, milk, eggs and the cooled melted butter. Mix until thoroughly combined but don’t over mix. Next, gently fold in the cooked shallots, spring onions, parsley and smoked salmon
Gently stir and turn your waffle maker on. Wait for it to reach optimum temperature and then brush with butter and spoon in around 2-3 tablespoons of the waffle mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden and crisp
For the lemon and basil sour cream, simply muddle the lemon zest, basil leaves and salt flakes and then add in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Gently stir into the sour cream leaving it marbled
Serve the waffles with half an avocado and a generous slice of smoked salmon and a dollop of basil sour cream. Sprinkle over your finely sliced lemon zest, add a little extra black pepper and serve.
#5 Tandoori Cauliflower & Chickpea Tacos
Enjoy this as a tasty work from home lunch, or on a hot day, serve the components in sharing bowls and head to the garden for an al fresco dining experience to build your own tacos.
What you'll need:
3 cup cauliflower florets
2 cup boiled and drained white chickpeas
3 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. tandoori masala
1 tbsp. kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin and coriander
1 tbsp. dry mango powder
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste
Tortilla wraps, warmed
1 avocado peeled and stone removed
4 tbsp. freshly chopped coriander
1 hot green chilli
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. lime juice
salt to taste
Method:
In a big bowl mix tandoori marinated ingredients.
Add cauliflower and chickpea and gently mix until everything coats well.
Transfer to the baking tray, do not overcrowd the baking tray.
Bake for 30-35 minutes. Keep checking after 15-20 minutes so it doesn’t get burnt.
Meanwhile, make the avocado chutney by placing all the ingredients in a blender and blend it until smooth, if it is too thick add little water or orange juice.
Once the cauliflower and chickpeas are baked, remove the tray from the oven.
Fill each tortilla with salad and top with the tandoori cauliflower and chickpeas and drizzle the avocado chutney on top.
Garnish it with freshly chopped coriander and serve with lime wedges.
Easy Vegetarian Recipes in Under 20 Minutes With Le Creuset
In need of some veggie inspiration? You've come to the right place. If you’re vegetarian or regularly have veggie guests over, we understand how tricky it can be to make something that's delicious but also on the table in under 20 minutes. So, together with Le Creuset we tried and tested these quick vegetarian recipes and we can confirm, they hit the spot.
