THOUGHT packed lunches were just for the kids?
Not these days.
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Tesco Meal Deals and Pret salads are being shunned amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Market research firm Kantar has revealed 86million packed lunches were brought into the workplace last year, a whopping 57million more than in 2022.
But your lunchbox doesn’t have to be boring and it can be a real cost cutter.
Here, Miguel Barclay, author of the One Pound Meal cookbooks, shares a working week’s worth of his favourite recipes that are easy to make and each one will only cost a quid.
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Monday
Tomato tart tatin
Serves one
6
You need:
- Handful of cherry tomatoes
- Handful of black olives
- 1 circle of puff pastry
- Olive oil
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Method: Preheat your oven to 190°C/gas mark 5.
Grab a circular ovenproof dish, about 10cm in diameter, and squeeze in a tightly fitting single layer of tomatoes.
Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil, season with salt and pepper then roast in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
In the meantime, finely chop the olives and cut the circle of puff pastry slightly larger than the diameter of the dish.
Next, apply a bit of gentle pressure to the tomatoes so that they squash on to the bottom of the dish a little, then sprinkle over the chopped olives.
Now grab your pastry, lay it over the top and, using a tablespoon, tuck the pastry in around the side so it is pushed in between the tomatoes and the edge of the dish.
Use a knife to prick the pastry twice in the middle (to let the steam out and stop it rising in the oven) before returning the dish to the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before flipping it over carefully into your lunchbox.
Tuesday
Greek salad orzo
Serves four
You need:
- 150g orzo pasta
- ½ cucumber, roughly diced
- Handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
- Handful of black olives
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- Handful of feta cheese
- Lemon wedge
- Oregano
Method: Boil the orzo in salted water according to the instructions on the packet, then drain, drizzle with a little olive oil and allow to cool.
Next, mix with the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, onion, feta and a pinch of oregano, then season with salt and pepper.
Dress with a squeeze of lemon and olive oil.
Finish with a final pinch of oregano.
Wednesday
Sweet potato falafel wrap
Serves one
6
You need:
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- Olive oil
- 40g plain flour
- 25ml cold water
- Handful of sliced red cabbage
- A few tomatoes, chopped
- Handful of sliced white onion
Method: Preheat your oven to 190°C/gas mark 5.
Pierce the sweet potato several times with a fork and bake it in the oven for 30 minutes, or cook it in the microwave for 10 minutes, until soft.
Once it is cool enough to handle, cut it in half, scoop the flesh into a bowl, season it with salt and pepper and mix in the cumin and half the spring onion.
Wet your hands to stop the mixture sticking to them, then roll it into balls about the same size as a ping-pong ball.
Roll the balls in the sesame seeds, place them on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the flatbread wrap. Mix the flour and water in a bowl with a pinch of salt to form a dough.
Knead on the worktop for a few minutes until the dough is smooth, then roll it out into a 20cm diameter circle.
Cook in a dry preheated pan over a high heat for about 2 minutes on each side until nicely toasted.
Assemble the wrap by topping the flatbread with the falafel and adding the red cabbage, chopped tomatoes, sliced onion and remaining spring onion.
Thursday
Lemon broccoli couscous bowl
Serves one
6
You need:
- A few pieces of Tenderstem broccoli, halved lengthways
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes
- Small handful of pine nuts
- ¼ mug of couscous
- Lemon wedge and zest
- Handful of crumbled feta
Method: Pan-fry the broccoli in a splash of oil over a high heat with the chilli flakes, pine nuts and some salt and pepper.
After 8 minutes, once the broccoli is charred and cooked (but still has some bite to it), remove it from the pan and set aside.
With the pan off the heat, add the couscous and water, along with a squeeze of lemon.
Mix together so the couscous mops up all the flavours in the pan and leave for a few minutes to plump up.
Fluff the couscous with a fork and spoon into your lunchbox.
Top with the broccoli, grate over some lemon zest and finish with feta.
Friday
Bacon & asparagus tagliatelle
Serves one
6
You need:
- A few asparagus spears
- A few rashers of smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
- Handful of dried tagliatelle
- Olive oil
Method: Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.
Cut the top 4cm off each asparagus spear, set the tops to one side and finely dice the rest.
Pan-fry the diced asparagus and bacon in a splash of olive oil over a medium heat with a pinch of salt and pepper for about 5 minutes, until the asparagus has softened.
Roughly mash the asparagus in the pan with the back of a fork, add the asparagus tips and continue to fry for a few more minutes until the bacon is nicely coloured, adding a splash more olive oil.
Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle in the salted boiling water until al dente.
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Add the cooked pasta straight from the boiling water into the pan with the asparagus and bacon using tongs, adding a splash of the starchy pasta cooking water to create the sauce.
Give it a little stir and put in a tupperware to reheat at work.
