From Vietnamese salads to chickpeas with cumin, healthy packed lunch recipes that are full of flavour and won't break your budget, extracted from The Little Book of Lunch
Spanish lunch: chorizo, egg and potato salad
This was inspired by cheap and cheerful Spanish holidays. The buttery tasting Vivaldi potato works well, but any small salad variety will do. Best prepared in the morning before work.
Prep time 20 mins: Makes 1 serving
small, or new potatoes 8-10
olive oil for drizzling
eggs 2, at room temperature
chives freshly chopped 1 tbsp
chorizo sausage 15cm piece
Wash the potatoes and, if they're on the large side, chop in half, adding to a pan of cold, salted water as you go. Bring to the boil and simmer until they are cooked and can be pierced easily with a knife. Usually about 10-15 minutes.
To save time and washing up, cook your eggs in the same pan: give them a good rinse under the tap to remove any scum, and pop them in with the boiling potatoes. Cook for about 7 minutes for a soft-yolked egg before removing from the pan and running under cold water.
Meanwhile, chop the chorizo into small chunks and heat a non-stick pan on the hob. Simply add the chopped chorizo – resisting the temptation to use olive oil – and cook until the fat begins to run and the sausage is crispy in places. Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander and add to your lunch pail.
Top with the cooked chorizo, a drizzle of olive oil, and the chives. Give it a stir and sprinkle over some salt.
Wrap the 2 eggs in their shells separately in kitchen roll. On arrival at work, this dish is best left at room temperature.
Come lunchtime
Peel your eggs and cut into segments, topping your decadent potato dish.
Faux pho
Wonderfully aromatic and light, this is a soup to both soothe and lift the spirits with all the essential flavours of pho and not so much of the faffing around. You'll need to have a few utensils waiting for you at your desk: a clean pair of scissors, a bowl, chopsticks and a spoon.
Prep time 15 mins plus 5 mins assembly. Makes 1 serving
spring onions 2, finely chopped
weak chicken stock 450ml (homemade, ready prepared, or from a stock cube)
fish sauce a very small splash
lime½ of 1
mint and coriander large handful of each, washed and leaves picked
basil a handful, washed and leaves torn
leftover chicken a large handful, roughly pulled into pieces
rice noodles 1 portion
red chilli½ of 1
Sriracha sauce (optional)
In the morning
Fill your kettle and put it on to boil (this way you can enjoy a cup of tea while making lunch). Add the chopped spring onions to a non-stick pan on a low heat, and cook until they start to colour. Put the stock in a pan on a medium heat, adding the fish sauce and the juice of a quarter of the lime. You want to heat it until just before it begins to boil so while it is heating prepare your herbs and place in a container.
Place the chicken in a separate container, or wrap in a small piece of foil. Place the rice noodles in a large heatproof bowl, and pour over the boiling water. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 3 minutes. Remove the spring onions from the heat and wrap in a small piece of foil. The stock should now be simmering, so turn off the heat and empty into your flask. Drain the noodles in a colander, shaking vigorously to get rid of any excess water and place in a Tupperware container.
Come lunchtime
Find yourself a nice spot: this soup goes well with some quiet reflection. Carefully decant your hot stock into a bowl, then add the noodles, chicken and herbs. Lastly, using your scissors, snip the chilli into the bowl, and squeeze the remaining quarter of lime juice generously. A squirt of chilli sauce can be nice.
Salad Nicoise with a boiled egg in its shell
This is such a classic, simple salad, but it's not thought of as particularly portable because of its slightly soggy ingredients. No one wants to eat an egg that has been sliced and hanging around next to lettuce leaves since 8am, but if you leave it in its shell then, come lunchtime, the yolk will be golden, intact and still slightly soft. Perfect.
Prep time 15 MINS. Makes 1 serving
gem lettuce 7 little leaves
plum or cherry tomatoes 4
cucumber 5cm piece, sliced into chunks
egg 1
green beans topped and tailed, a small handful
anchovies 4
black olives 6
For the dressing
olive oil 1 tbsp
salt and freshly ground black pepper
small garlic clove ½, crushed
Dijon mustard 1 tsp
red wine vinegar 1 tsp
Fill a small pan with water and place over a high heat. Wash and dry the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber, and place in your lunch container (we recommend using a large, spacious one in this instance). Once the water is boiling, gently add the egg after rinsing it under the tap to remove any scum.
Set your timer for 7 minutes if you like a softer yolk, 8 minutes if you like it firmer. After 2 minutes spoon your green beans into the same boiling water and blanch them alongside the egg for a couple of minutes or until you are happy with how cooked they are (we like ours crunchy), then remove from the pan and refresh under cold water. Add all the dressing ingredients to a mini jam jar and shake. Place the anchovies and olives in another empty jar (or similar appropriately sized container) and shut securely.
Take the egg off the heat as soon as the time is up, drain away the hot water, and leave to stand in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Pat dry the green beans and add to the rest of the salad. Dry off the egg: it should be cool now, so you can nestle it in the salad.
Come lunchtime
Assemble your salad by arranging everything on a plate (or in your container). Place the anchovies and olives on top. Crack and peel your egg, and cut into quarters. Finally, pour over the dressing and enjoy.
Lone sausage with lentils
The lentils take a while to cook so make this the night before then leave it sitting happily in the fridge overnight.
Prep time 35 mins. Makes 1 serving
dried lentils 1OOg
celery 1 stick
garlic 1 clove
olive oil 1 tbsp
cooked sausage 1, thinly sliced
In the morning
Put 200ml water in a pan with the lentils, celery and garlic and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, adding some salt after 10 minutes. Once cooked (the lentils should still be quite firm), drain thoroughly. Remove the celery and chop into small pieces. Add the lentils and celery to your lunch container, add the oil, mix and season, then add the sliced sausage and mix again.
Come lunchtime
A crusty bit of bread or a slice of toast is a good accompaniment for scooping up the lentils, and a side salad of lettuce and tomato with a simple oil and vinegar dressing makes this a very good lunch indeed.
Vietnamese salad
There is something so refreshing about a Vietnamese salad, with its combination of crunchy raw veg and brain-awakening dressing. It's just the thing for the sort of day when you stayed out for one too many post-work drinks the night before, and want something healthier than a coma-inducing jacket potato with a side of chips.
Ready-cooked or leftover chicken is also a nice addition, but by no means essential.
Prep time 15 mins. Makes 2 servings (if you're feeling generous)
white or red cabbage ⅛, sliced into thin strips
carrot 1, peeled and finely chopped into matchsticks
spring onions 2, finely chopped
radishes 4, sliced
cherry or small plum tomatoes 6, quartered
little gem or iceberg lettuce 4 leaves, shredded
leftover chicken a handful, shredded (optional)
mint and coriander large handful of each, washed and leaves picked
For the dressing
red chilli seeded and chopped 1 small
rice wine vinegar 3 tbsp
fish sauce 1 tbsp
sweet chilli sauce 1 tsp
lime juice of ½
salt a pinch
sugar 1 tsp
Mix all your dressing ingredients together in a bowl and put to the side. Chop all your veg – we normally use a regular knife and slice as thinly as we can, but if you have a mandoline this will be much quicker. You can peel the carrots into ribbons, but it is quite nice to have them a bit thicker and crunchier. Mix all your vegetables in your lunch container, adding the shredded chicken if using.
Wrap your herbs separately in a few pieces of slightly damp kitchen paper. Transfer your dressing to a small or mini jam jar and make sure that it is shut properly.
Come lunchtime
Half an hour before eating, dress your salad and mix well. When you are ready to lunch, sprinkle the herbs over the top before tucking in.
Tip for bulking up
If you are feeling particularly hungry and salad alone won't cut it add 50g/a portion of rice vermicelli noodles. Just place the dried noodles in a large heatproof bowl, add enough boiling water to cover them, and leave for 5 minutes with a clean tea towel over the top to prevent the steam from escaping.
Drain and refresh with some cold water, then drain again and add to your lunch container (the noodles should be the bottom layer, with the veg going on top).
Chickpea salad with cumin
This salad is inspired by the delicious chickpeas at Moro and Morito in Exmouth Market, London. If you don't have fresh chilli, a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes will still work well.
Prep time: 25 mins (15 mins cooking, 10mins cooling) Makes 2 lunch servings
olive oil 1 tbsp
ground cumin 1 heaped tsp
chickpeas 1 x 400g tin, drained
green chilli ½
red chilli ½
whole cumin seeds 1 tsp
cucumber½, chopped into 1cm chunks
cherry or plum tomatoes 8, quartered
red onion ½, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
parsley leaves a handful (optional)
For the dressing
lemon juice of ½
olive oil 1 tbsp
red wine vinegar 1 tbsp
salt
Add the oil to a pan and put it on the heat. While the pan is warming, place the ground cumin in a large bowl. Add the drained chickpeas in large spoonfuls, shaking the bowl about in between spoons to make sure that all the chickpeas are evenly coated. Add to the pan (you may want to check that it is sufficiently hot by throwing a test chickpea in and seeing if it sizzles) and season before leaving to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the heat: you want them to crisp up, but not burn. Seed and chop your chillies and add to the pan, leaving to cook for a further few minutes.
Take the chickpeas off the heat, place in a large bowl and, once cool, sprinkle over the cumin seeds.
Now make the dressing: squeeze the lemon juice into a jam jar, then add the oil and vinegar and a pinch of salt and shake.
When packing, if you are in a hurry you can decant the chopped cucumber, tomato, red onion and chilli into one Tupperware and the chickpeas into another and assemble these plus the dressing at lunchtime. If not, then simply add the salad to the chickpeas once they are fully cool.
Come lunchtime
Add the dressing and parsley, if using, just before eating and mix well.
The Little Book of Lunch (Square Peg, £15) by Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing. To order a copy for £12.00 with free UK p&p go to theguardian.com/bookshop