Amanda Laird: The business of lunch

Marinated mozzarella with tuna, greens, capers and brioche crumbs salad. Photo / Babiche Martens

Monday - Roast pumpkin with baharat, ricotta, fresh figs and watercress

Serves 1

1 cup pumpkin, peeled and chopped
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp baharat seasoning (available from gourmet food stores)
Salt
Ricotta
2 fresh figs, halved
Watercress
Bread, optional

1 Preheat oven to 200C. Toss the pumpkin with the olive oil and baharat then sprinkle over salt to taste. Cook for 30 minutes or until soft then let cool.

2 Arrange the pumpkin in the lunch box and drizzle over any remaining oil.

3 Add a generous spoonful of ricotta, a handful of watercress and a couple of fresh figs, sliced in half.


Tuesday - Chicken, udon, macadamia and sorrel

Serves 1

100g cooked chicken thigh meat or use leftover roast chicken
100g cooked udon noodles
4 macadamia nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
4 stalks of sorrel or use spinach or rocket

Dressing

1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cider or wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbs light olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

1 Tear the chicken and put in a bowl.

2 Add the noodles, macadamias and torn sorrel.

3 Whisk the dressing ingredients together, adding enough pepper to taste.

4 Either pack the separate ingredients in the lunchbox and add the dressing before eating, or combine before work - and keep in the fridge - the noodles will soak up the dressing.


Wednesday - Marinated mozzarella with tuna, capers and brioche crumbs

Serves 1

1 ball of fresh mozzarella or 3 bocconcini
1 small red chilli
1 Tbs olive oil, plus extra
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 x 100g piece of tuna
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup brioche crumbs or two slices of brioche, pulsed in a food processor to make crumbs
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 Tbs capers
1 handful of salad greens

1 Put the mozzarella in a container. Slice the chilli - seeds optional - and scatter over. Add the olive oil, lemon and thyme, turn the cheese then leave to marinate in the fridge for up to one week.

2 Heat a pan, add 2 tsps of olive oil then cook the tuna for 3 minutes on each side. Season and let rest.

3 Wipe out the pan and reheat. Add another couple of teaspoons of olive oil then the crumbs with the garlic, toss then cook while stirring for 5 minutes or until golden and crisp.

4 Serve the salad greens with the sliced tuna, the torn mozzarella, capers and crispy brioche crumbs spooned over.


Thursday - Black-eyed beans with crispy bacon, coriander and yoghurt

Serves 1

50g black-eyed beans, either tinned and drained or soaked overnight then cooked for about 1 hour or until tender, and cooled.
½ Tbs olive oil
2 rashers of free range streaky bacon
¼ cup fresh coriander
2 vine-ripened tomatoes

Dressing

1 Tbs Greek-style yoghurt
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp lemon juice, or a small lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp coriander seeds, crushed

1 Put the beans in a bowl then either heat a pan and add oil to cook the bacon or, turn the grill to high, lay the bacon on a tray and grill until crispy, then cool and roughly crumble.

2 Chop the coriander leaves and stalks then add to the beans with the bacon. Core and chop the tomatoes and add.

3 To make the dressing, whisk the ingredients together, pour into a small jar then dress the salad before eating.


Friday - Baby turnips and beetroot with quinoa and sicilian olives

Serves 1

4 baby turnips
4 baby beetroot
1 Tbs olive oil, plus extra
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup cooked quinoa
6 green Sicilian olives
1 cup of spinach leaves
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Pinch caster sugar

1 Preheat oven to 200C. Put the turnips and beetroot in a baking dish and add olive oil and seasoning. Toss then roast for 30 minutes or until tender.

2 Put the vegetables into the lunchbox with the quinoa, olives and spinach leaves.

3 Whisk together 1 Tbs olive oil with the lemon juice, mustard, sugar and season to taste to create a dressing to take separately and dress the salad before eating.