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The problem with work-from-home eating is that no one wants to spend their lunch break cooking and washing up, while reheating a vat of soup gets a bit samey by day three. Salvation, says Freddie Janssen, owner of east London\u2019s Snackbar, can be found in pickles, kimchis and krauts: \u201cHaving a fridge full of condiments can really make a meal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Topping her list are soy-cured eggs. \u201cThey\u2019re great to put on rice bowls or soba noodle salads with crunchy veg, greens and a simple tahini, soy sauce, honey and lime dressing,\u201d says Janssen, who recently launched a local delivery service, Snackbar at Home. Get ahead by pickling six at a time: \u201cBoil the eggs \u2013 for six minutes 45 seconds \u2013 then chill them, peel, pop in a container with 500ml light soy sauce, 300ml water, 100ml rice-wine vinegar and 100g sugar, and leave. They\u2019ll take on this great umami flavour.\u201d To make sure the eggs all cure evenly (they tend to bob up), cover them with kitchen roll soaked in the brine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Tommy Banks is all about the three-egg omelette \u2013 slices of baron bigod or tunworth cheese compulsory. \u201cIt makes a boring lunch luxurious,\u201d says the chef-director of Yorkshire\u2019s The Black Swan at Oldstead, Made in Oldstead and Roots. The secret to a soft, light omelette, Banks says, is to start with a warm pan (\u201cwhen you put in the butter, it foams but doesn\u2019t colour\u201d), then add copious cheese (plus ham or mushrooms, if you fancy). And while he is a self-confessed \u201csalad dodger\u201d, a side of leaves in a honey and mustard dressing wouldn\u2019t go amiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toasties are always a good idea, too \u2013 provided you have the right equipment. \u201cMaking a good one at home can be a faff, because you need a good pan and to weigh the sandwich down,\u201d Janssen says, \u201cso I use a cheap sandwich maker.\u201d Her go-to filling is cheddar and kimchi, although you could add the likes of sprouting broccoli or chutney. \u201cYou\u2019ll need more cheese than you think, and always use grated,\u201d she adds. \u201cAnd slather mayonnaise on the outside of the bread, so it crisps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freddy Bird, chef\/owner of Bristol bistro Little French, is also a fan of the molten cheese lunch, although it can have an unfortunate side effect: \u201cI fall asleep.\u201d To keep perky, he favours a spicy, Turkish-style chopped salad, while Imad Alarnab, who was planning on opening his first permanent site, Imad\u2019s Syrian Kitchen, in Soho this autumn, goes for fattoush. He combines cucumber, cherry tomatoes, (boiled) black lentils and flatbread (\u201cyou can dry it or fry it\u201d) with apple cider vinegar, pomegranate molasses and dried mint. Another Alarnab favourite is halloumi, cubed avocado, tomatoes, mint and lime juice, seasoned with salt and dressed with extra-virgin olive oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When only comfort will do, Bird turns to a one-pan chicken dish made (mainly) from whatever\u2019s in the cupboard, which he serves with steamed broccoli to mop up the juices. \u201cCook a batted-out chicken breast skin side down in a pan, chucking in a bit of garlic towards the end,\u201d he says. Remove the meat, deglaze the pan with white wine, cream, mustard, herbs (tarragon or parsley) and stock, and reduce. \u201cIt\u2019s not the healthiest, it\u2019s not the unhealthiest,\u201d Bird says, \u201cbut it is satisfying and a 10-minute job.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The problem with work-from-home eating is that no one wants to spend their lunch break cooking and washing up, while reheating a vat of soup gets a bit samey by day three. Salvation, says Freddie Janssen, owner of east London\u2019s Snackbar, can be found in pickles, kimchis and krauts: \u201cHaving a fridge full of condiments […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[347,436,1024,1089],"class_list":["post-1896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ukraine-news","tag-eating","tag-frinchfood","tag-ukrgate","tag-work-from-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukrgate.com\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}