Liven up lunchtime with Gizzi Erskine

With everyone working harder than ever at the moment, the long leisurely lunch break appears to be a thing of the past. You may find yourselves lucky if you are able to grab 15 minutes halfway through the day, and even then, how many times do you stay at your desk catching up on household bills or emails from friends?

This summer Gizzi Erskine and recruitment specialist Monster are on a mission to ‘Bring Back Britain’s Lunch Hour’!

If you are one of these desk junkies then it is often difficult to make sure you have a nutritious lunch. If you are getting fed up of the daily cheese sandwich then Gizzi has the answer.

You can easily bring new live to your lunches with simple changes. Perhaps alter the bread you use, try having a nutritious soup or delicious, healthy salad.

The key is to prepare the night before, remember any left over’s you have can be turned into a delicious meal for the following day. And for those with really hectic lifestyles, make a large quantity at the weekend and then you can take portions throughout the week.

You will be amazed at the difference a healthy tasty lunch can make on your productivity and general well-being come the end of the day. Monster believes the lunch hour is time to enhance work/life balance by spending time away from the desk. Eating good food, learning something new, reading, exercising or just relaxing, will enable smarter working in the afternoon.

In order to help liven up your lunch hour, food writer and presenter Gizzi Erskine has teamed up with Monster.co.uk to provide you with some nutritious and delicious recipes.

In the following video she talks you through a week’s worth of recipes.

Recipes:
Pancetta, Faro and bean soup
A deelish high energy soup that can be made in vats and bought to work to heat up and that will keep her fuller for longer.
Makes 5 portions, (1 for each day of the week)
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 50 minutes

100g pancetta cubetti (or smoked bacon)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 onion , finely chopped
2 small carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and diced (or 2 whole tomatoes from a can, chopped)
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1l chicken stock, fresh if you can find
140g pearled spelt (or farro), but pearl barley is more than acceptable
1 x 400g can canellini beans
Flat-leaf parsley and Parmesan to serve

Fry the pancetta in the oil for 2-3 mins in a medium saucepan. Add the bay leaf and onion. Cook over a gentle heat until the onion has softened and is starting to go golden. Add the garlic, fry for a few seconds more, then the tomatoes and puree. Cook these down until the tomatoes start to thicken and soften.

Pour over the stock and bring to the boil. Rinse the spelt and drain well. Add to stock then simmer very gently for 25-30 mins.

Add the Canelllini beans and simmer for 10 mins more, or until the grains are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, then sprinkle with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan.

Courgette, goats cheese and toasted pine nut tart
Makes 6 slices
Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour

For the pastry
225g plain flour
100g butter, ice cold and cut into cubes
1 free range egg
or 500g packet of short crust pastry

For the filling
3 egg yolks
150ml double cream
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
A small handful of mint, finely chopped
1 green courgette, sliced into ribbons with a potato peeler
1 yellow courgette, sliced into ribbons with a potato peeler
100g good soft mild goats cheese
50g toasted pine nuts

If making the pastry place the flour, butter and a pinch of salt into a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Crack the egg in and bring together until it forms a pastry ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface then line a 25cm tart case. Chill in the fridge or freezer for 20 mins.

Heat oven to 200C. Line the case with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and finish baking for a further 10 minutes until the pastry is golden. Leave to cool in the case, then carefully trim the edges of the pastry.

Gently beat together the eggs and cream. Add in the Parmesan cheese and mint, then season with salt and pepper. Fill the tart case with the filling. Mix together the courgette ribbons and Heap into the tart. Dot with the crumbled goats cheese and pine nuts, then pop in the oven to bake for 20-25 mins until just set and golden.

Smoked salmon, avocado and Brie on Rye
Makes 1 sandwich
Preparation time 5 minutes

2 pieces of seeded rye bread
A teaspoon of butter, optional
50g smoked salmon
2 slices of ripe brie cheese
½ avocado, sliced
A squeeze of lemon
½ teaspoon poppy seeds

Lay the two pieces of bread out on the kitchen surface and spread each with the butter. Lay on the smoked salmon and avocado, then squeeze with lemon. Top with Brie and then sprinkle with poppy seeds and a good grinding of black pepper.

Rare roast beef with crushed potato salad with horseradish, radish, watercress and roasted tomatoes
Serves 4
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 2 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 beef fillet steaks, each 5 cm thick
sea salt and white pepper
100g crème fraiche
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons good horseradish
a squeeze of lemon juice
300g charlotte potatoes, cooked whole then cut in half lengthways
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
10 radishes, quartered
8 cherry tomatoes, preferably a mixture of red and yellow
4 chives, snipped

Heat the oil in a frying pan until really hot. Season the beef steaks with salt and pepper then sear them all over for 20 seconds on each side until the meat is fairly dark on the outside and really rare in the middle. Remove and leave to rest for one hour in the freezer until it firms up and is almost frozen (a restaurant trick that will make it easier to slice). Technically you need to let things cool before popping them into the fridge or freezer but as this meat has simply been seared it should not be too warm. Use your own instincts though – if you think it needs to cool a little before freezing then feel free to do so.

Mix together the crème fraiche, horseradish and mayonnaise with some salt and pepper. Mix with the potatoes, spring onions, watercress, radishes, tomatoes and chives. When you’re ready to serve, thinly slice the beef, aiming to cut 12 slices from each steak. (You can sneak the end bits as a chef’s perk!) Lay slices, overlapping each other, on each plate. Top with some salad and serve.

Tuna, and caponata salad
Serves 4

2 x 5cm thick spankingly fresh tuna steaks or sashimi loin
seas alt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large aubergine, chopped into uniform 1 cm cubes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
250g cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
150g kalamata olives stoned
30g capers in vinegar
Handful basil leaves, shredded
A small bag of rocket
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Capers for serving

Heat the oil in a frying pan until really hot. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper then sear them all over for 20 seconds on each side until the meat is fairly dark on the outside and really rare in the middle. Remove and leave to rest for one hour in the freezer until it firms up and is almost frozen (a restaurant trick that will make it easier to slice). Technically you need to let things cool before popping them into the fridge or freezer but as this meat has simply been seared it should not be too warm. Use your own instincts though – if you think it need to cool a little before freezing then feel free to do so.

Heat half the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the aubergine, then cook for 8-10 mins until brown and soft. Tip into a colander over a bowl. Fry the onions and peppers for 6-8 minutes until starting to soften.

Tip any oil from the bowl back into the pan and top it up with a splash of fresh oil. Fry the tomatoes and the crushed garlic together. Sprinkle the sugar over, splash in the vinegar, then cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes start to release their juice.

Tip the aubergine, onion and peppers back in. Scatter in the olives, capers and basil, then give everything a good stir. Cook for 5 mins until simmering, then season to taste. Turn off the heat, drizzle in the rest of the oil, then set aside to cool for this salad.

Dress the rocket leaves in the lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning.

To serve slice the tuna really thinly and lay out onto a plate. Top with some cold Caponata salad and some dressed rocket leaves and maybe scatter over a few more capers.

To see full recipe films and create your perfect lunch, visit: bbblh.co.uk