Fiscally responsible business lunch

Fiscally responsible business lunch – Caprese salad with a twist

I’ve made salads before on this blog, but today you may notice a difference in the surroundings they were prepared in...

I prefer to focus on the hills and forests, not on the cars or my job at lunchtime.  And no, I did *not* go dumpster diving either!

Correct – this is obviously not the SupermarketValueFood® kitchen, this is the view from the canteen in my office.  A challenge to make anything from scratch, other than in a microwave.  Normally it’s heated up soup, or pay for sandwiches like everyone else for lunch for the staff. But not for me today.

Today’s budget ingredient (in addition to some of the iceberg lettuce and salad tomatoes I picked up from the Co for 59p each a few weeks back) is this ball of Basic Mozzarella for 50p.

50p for a large fist shape of cheese?  Let's give it a shot...

*munch* - It’s not so much of a cheese as a sphere of edible consistency.  I can see it being an addition to something, just not an ingredient on its own.  If you had enough toppings it would go well on a budget pizza.  I *do* like the texture though – pleasantly stringy and chewy.

Classic Caprese salad is simply tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella seasoned with olive oil and salt.  But I need to bulk this up if I’m going to last the day at the desk.

Ingredients - for one as a light lunch or two as an antipasto

-          Half a ball of mozzarella, peeled; torn off, not sliced.

-          2 or 3 salad tomatoes, sliced.

-          1 bunch of basil, torn

-          Olive oil

-          Salt and pepper

Here I deviate from tradition, add extra edibles, and also experiment…

-          4-5 leaves of iceberg lettuce, cut or torn into fork sized chunks.

-          1 small handful of chard, or any other salad leaves you have to hand.

-          1 small bunch worth of mixed chopped herbs – I got the chard, plus a bunch each of coriander, parsley, and the basil, from St. George’s Market for a quid, and there’ll still be plenty left after this…  So coriander and parsley it is.

-          2 or 3 tsp soy sauce.  Yes, soy sauce. 

-          Dried herbs – oregano and basil today, for garnish.

Method

Put a layer of iceberg lettuce and some of the herbs on the bottom of a plate.

Top with a layer of tomatoes.  Add some salt to them.  Now put a chunk of the mozzarella and a bit of basil on top of each slice.  Dress with a little olive oil.

Layer more of the chard/ iceberg lettuce, salad leaves and chopped herbs, and repeat the process with the remaining tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.  Dust with the dried herbs and finish with a little more oil.

Now drip the soy sauce down to the bottom of the plate in four corners and add a small amount on top over the oil.  Serve.

Healthy, fast, tasty, cheap, what more do you want to keep you going through another 5 hours of work?

*munch*

I’ll be honest, the parsley is maybe a bit too bitter for this recipe and I’m not getting much from the dried herbs (although they do look aesthetically pleasing).   I also should have taken the tomatoes out of the fridge sooner (it’s way colder than mine at home and they were almost frozen – they should really be left in the sun to ripen and go juicy…)

That aside - each forkful of tomato, mozzarella, basil and oil, is delicious.  This recipe is a classic for a reason, and the extra salad veg layered in makes this feel more like a lunch than a starter.  The real surprise is how well the soy sauce and oil, and the fresh coriander keeps things interesting.

That’ll keep me going through the 3 o’clock meeting, and all at a fraction of the cost of what you’d pay for in a restaurant (on expenses)

There were some jealous looks in the office when I knocked this together

PS:

The next day I was able to make a “Superfood “salad, containing chard, rocket, kale and beetroot (priced at …) with the rest of the iceberg lettuce plus a few grated radishes, a pack of which cost 9p, the remaining herbs (minus the parsley) with Supermarket chicken peri-peri (priced at £1.35 down from £2.99) I added a home-made mustard and olive oil dressing (1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard to 1/3 cup oil, whisked thoroughly.