Lunch

Ploughman's Lunch

When I imagined what to make for this Ploughman’s lunch, I knew it had to be HEARTY and made with heart. A Ploughman’s lunch is traditionally an old English cold meal consisting of cold meats, pickles, bread and cheese. As its name suggests it was designed for ploughmen to eat on the farm, offering them sustenance to get through the day. Following last week’s Ladies Lunch, I thought it was only fair that I put together a more blokey lunchbox option. I imagined what my brother-in-law would love to eat, and decided on a pastrami roll, sweet potato salad, some snacks and a hedgehog. Guaranteed to fill you up for the day!

Written
by
Cassie Lucas of Firecracker

Ploughman’s Lunch – incorporating pastrami and slaw rolls, roast sweet potato salad, cheese and pickle savoury snacks and no-cook chocolate hedgehog! Fog Linen Acacia cutting board – Mr Kitly. Eco Lunchbox and pod – Mr Kitly. Surface – Porcelain Tile from Ital Ceramics. Recipes by Cassie Lucas of Firecracker, photo – Eve Wilson, styling / production – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull.

Ploughman’s Lunch. Marble Platter- Country Road. Surface – Porcelain Tile from Ital Ceramics. Recipes by Cassie Lucas of Firecracker, photo – Eve Wilson, styling / production – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull.

Mini pastrami rolls. Recipes by Cassie Lucas of Firecracker, photo – Eve Wilson, styling / production – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull.

Potato salad ingredients ready to assemble. Fog Linen Acacia cutting board – Mr Kitly. Marble Platter – Country Road. Surface – Porcelain Tile from Ital Ceramics. Recipes by Cassie Lucas of Firecracker, photo – Eve Wilson, styling / production – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull.

Ploughman’s Lunch packed up and ready to go! Eco Lunchbox and drink bottle – Mr Kitly. Photo – Eve Wilson, styling / production – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull.

Writer
Cassie Lucas of Firecracker
19th of August 2014

With this lunchbox I especially love the sweet potato salad with spring onions, two ingredients that I always eat together. When I was young my family had a big veggie patch with spring onions and I used to eat them right from the ground! They were so sweet!  Today I still often add them to salads or roasted vegies, they give any savoury dish an instantly lift. Plus I do love gradient colour in a vegetable! And I am a mega fan of roasting vegetables for a lunch time salad – just shove your vegetable of choice in the oven, do something around the house, then you come back to it half an hour later and it is FINISHED! This Ploughman’s lunch is particularly easy to make, with most of the items being store bought, it’s just a matter of pack and go the night before!

 

FOR THE PASTRAMI ROLL

Ingredients

100g pastrami
(my preferred brand is Bertocchi/Tibaldi)

1/4 purple cabbage, shredded

1/2 white cabbage, shredded

Best Foods mayonnaise

Dill pickles

Dench Bakers seedy sourdough grain roll/s

Method

Slice a fresh roll in half, and spread the bottom with a thick slathering of mayonnaise, then layer with a few slice of pastrami, shredded cabbage and thinly sliced dill pickles.  Dijon or English mustard is also a nice inclusion if you like a bit of bite!

 

FOR THE SWEET POTATO SALAD

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes, sliced into discs about 1cm thick

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

3-4 basil leaves, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons of spring onions chopped

Balsamic dressing
(2 parts olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar, a dash of dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste).

Method

Slice the sweet potatoes about 1cm think and place into a roasting dish. Toss a homemade balsamic dressing over the sweet potatoes, and roast for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Once the sweet potato is cooked, let it cool and toss through the mixed herbs. Dress with a little more balsamic dressing and it’s done!

 

FOR THE SAVOURY SNACKS

Ingredients

Chunk of Maasdam swiss cheese

Dill pickles
(I like Marco Polo brand, or for a local option The Pickle Bear)

Carrs water crackers Just a few snack tidbits for your mid morning pick up!

 

FOR THE HEDGEHOG

Ingredients

1 x packet milk coffee biscuits

125g butter

125g caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa

2 tbsp desiccated coconut

1 egg, lightly beaten

Icing

1½ cups icing sugar

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp cocoa

2-3 tbsp water

Method

Crush biscuits either by hand or a food processor, but remember to leave in some chunky bits for that authentic hedgehog texture!  I find it’s best to put the biscuits in a clean plastic bag and then whack it a few times with a rolling pin. In a small saucepan, melt butter and sugar. Add the coconut and cocoa. Remove from the heat and stir in beaten egg.  Add your broken biscuits into this chocolatey mix, and press into a log/bread shaped tin with the back of a spoon. To make icing, combine icing sugar and cocoa in a bowl and stir in enough water to form a spreadable paste. Spread icing over slice and refrigerate overnight (this makes slicing much easier). Cut into squares or fingers.  So easy – no cooking required!

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