Kitty Coles on office etiquette and lunchbox building blocks …
I am by no means the right person to be writing about packed lunches because I haven’t had many since primary school. And even then, mine arrived daily in a layered metal tiffin box that my dad packed with things like Spanish tortilla or couscous salad, when all I wanted was a Wagon Wheel and a jam sandwich like everyone else. I know, I know, tiny violin, but a couscous salad even now is far from cool. No one wants to be the one trying to explain what paprika is while everyone else is swapping Mini Cheddars.
As an adult, packed lunches have only ever been a passing thing. I had two fleeting office jobs in my late teens and early 20s where I occasionally took in leftovers or something loosely resembling a packed lunch into the office. The first job was selling portable heating devices, and the second was at a baby food company. From what I remember, both involved far too many supermarket meal deal lunches rather than any real planning, because I was 19 and batch cooking or forward thinking were not really part of my personality yet.
Then, before I became a freelance food stylist at 22, I worked as a radio presenter at a local station just outside London. I did the breakfast show, which meant starting at 5am and finishing at 1pm. By that point, lunch felt like dinner, and my only meal at work tended to be a yoghurt and maybe a banana, if I remembered to grab one on the way out the door.
So please, for the person doing the clearing, do them a favour and remember to take your leftovers home or throw them in the bin.
Despite my limited experience of office life, I do know there are rules when it comes to packed lunches. Some are unspoken, but they are strict. I still remember a day back in the portable-heating-device years when investors came into the office and someone decided it was the perfect moment to reheat leftover mackerel pasta. The smell was so intense that my boss ended up relocating the investors to a nearby café for the rest of the meeting. Mackerel Mick has never been forgiven.
There’s also fridge etiquette. One of my more glamorous jobs at the baby food company was clearing out the office fridge at the end of the week. It used to endlessly annoy me having to lift the lids on suspicious containers and play a grim game of fridge roulette. So please, for the person doing the clearing, do them a favour and remember to take your leftovers home or throw them in the bin.
If I do have any advice, it’s this: think in elements, not full meals. Like batch cooking, it’s nice to make something that will last the week, but I don’t love eating the same thing five days in a row. Instead, I make a few solid building blocks that can easily turn into several different lunches.
A roast chicken is an obvious one. Eat it hot one night, then strip the leftovers for salads, sandwiches or noodles. Make a broth with the bones because it’s February and you’ll need it. Roast a tray of aubergines, another of cherry tomatoes, maybe some squash while you’re at it. Cook a pot of noodles or rice. Suddenly you’ve got options. One day it’s sesame noodles with leftover chicken and roast aubergine; the next it’s roast veg, rice, and lemony hot broth spooned over the top.
… these are exactly what a packed lunch should be: odour-free and satisfying.
The sesame noodle recipe I’m sharing this month is something I return to again and again, whatever the season. I love going to the Asia Market on Drury Street and stocking up on chilli oils, noodles, crispy shallots and frozen dumplings. It means that even on the days when I really can’t be bothered, I know there’s something in the freezer that can become dinner, or tomorrow’s lunch, with very little effort.
Whisking tahini with water and the rest of the dressing ingredients creates a sauce that’s smooth and creamy, not unlike a pasta sauce in texture, but without the cream and cheese piled on top. I usually make enough for a few servings, then layer it up over the next couple of days with whatever else I have around: roast aubergine, coriander, leftover chicken, or an egg, fried or boiled for six minutes until perfectly fudgy.
It’s just as good cold as it is hot. Add the noodles straight to the dressing after draining, loosening with a splash of cooking water if needed. The next day, eaten cold at your desk, these are exactly what a packed lunch should be: odour-free and satisfying. @kittycoles
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