Savoury muffins and a desk-side soup: 20 best packed lunch recipes – part 1 (2024)

Peter Gordon’s bacon, pea and shallot muffins

I’m a huge fan of a muffin – whether savoury or sweet – which is a Kiwi thing as every cafe and bakery in New Zealand seems to make a muffin or two. Much as these are lovely eaten warm from the oven, thickly buttered, they’re also great split open and topped with a salad for a light lunch. And if you don’t eat them all on the day they’re baked, they’re terrific halved and toasted. Because the muffins contain rich bacon lardons and caramelised shallots, they benefit from being served with a simple salad dressed with lemon juice, and plenty of mint to woo the peas.

Makes 12
For the muffins
bacon lardons (or diced smoked bacon) 40g
extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp
banana shallots 1½ large, peeled and finely diced or thinly sliced
smoked paprika ¼ tsp
peas 50g, fresh or frozen
plain flour 400g
baking powder 1¾ tsp
baking soda ⅓ tsp
eggs 3
buttermilk 280ml
butter for greasing the muffin tin

Cook until the bacon begins to sizzle, then add the shallots and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook until the shallot caramelises, stirring often.

Add the paprika and peas and cook for 1 minute, stirring several times. Take from the heat and leave to cool completely.

Sieve the dry ingredients with ½ teaspoon salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk the eggs and buttermilk and tip into the well. Fold the flour mixture loosely into the buttermilk, until about half incorporated. Add the bacon mix and gently fold in until evenly combined – but don’t overwork it.

Thickly grease and flour, or use muffin cases to line, a 12-hole muffin tin, or two 6-hole tins (see tip below). Divide the mixture among your prepared muffin tins and sit on a baking tray.

Bake for 20-25 minutes – they’re cooked when a skewer comes out moist but clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes before taking out – they will be too soft otherwise and can break apart.

For the salad, rinse the shallot in cold water, breaking the rings apart. Drain and pat dry then mix with the lemon juice and macerate for 20 minutes.

Mix with the tomatoes, mint and olive oil, and season with flaky salt and coarse black pepper.

When packing your lunch, keep the muffin and salad separate. Place the tomato salad in the bottom of the dish and sit the leaves on top. Only toss together just before you eat it, so the leaves don’t wilt.

TIP For the muffin tins, at The Providores we use stainless steel moulds I had specially made in Istanbul (originally for panna cottas we were serving at a function there) that we refer to as muffin tins. They’re thick straight-sided dariole moulds but because they’re made from stainless steel they’re super-durable and work really well for baking. Whatever mould you use, brush them really thickly with softened (not melted) butter then coat with plenty of flour, tipping out the excess, and place in the freezer to set the butter. Alternatively, line your moulds with paper muffin cases or similar.
Peter Gordon is chef-patron of The Providores and Tapa Room, London W1

Nigel Slater’s chicken, asparagus and avocado sandwich

Makes 2 heavily laden sandwiches

Cold roast chicken, basil, tarragon, dill, mayonnaise, asparagus, avocado, iceberg lettuce, spring onions, sourdough bread

Boil small asparagus spears in deep water till just tender (they should still be slightly crisp for this), then drain. Slice them in half lengthways and set aside. Shred 2 crisp iceberg lettuce leaves. Trim 4 spring onions and halve lengthways. Peel and slice a small avocado. Slice a cooked chicken breast, or remove slices from yesterday’s Sunday roast.

Put 4 heaped tablespoons of mayonnaise in a bowl, stir in a tablespoon each of chopped basil, tarragon and dill and season lightly with salt. Toast 4 slices of sourdough bread and spread each of them with the herb mayonnaise. Top 2 of the slices with the lettuce and asparagus spears, followed by the spring onions and avocado. Place slices of chicken on top and sandwich together with the remaining bread.

Toasted sourdough, herb mayo, cold chicken, crisp, ice-cold lettuce and avocado. Possibly my favourite sandwich.
From Eat: The Little Book of Fast Food by Nigel Slater (Fourth Estate, £26)

Romy Gill’s spicy omelette with paratha

When I was growing up in West Bengal, my tiffin was demolished before lunch most days, as our geography teacher was lovely but very boring. This was a favourite, best made fresh in the morning.

To make the omelette, place all of the ingredients except the eggs and oil in a bowl and mix together. Crack the eggs into the mix and whisk it well, then keep aside.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over a medium heat and add the whisked egg mixture to the pan, tilt the pan slightly from one side to another to allow the mixture to swirl and cover the surface of the pan completely.

Cook until the eggs are just runny in the middle, then turn the omelette over with a spatula so it is evenly cooked.

To make the paratha, tip the flours and salt into a medium mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the cold water and the oil, then mix with your hands until it comes together into a dough. If it feels a little dry, add a tiny splash of water. Knead for 5-8 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal balls. On a lightly floured surface roll each ball out to 3mm thickness. Gently flatten into a pouch in your hands, then sprinkle with more flour and re-roll, seam-side down, to 3mm thick. Repeat with all dough balls.

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat and dry-fry the parathas, in batches, on one side for 30 seconds. Flip and cook for a minute more on the other side, until small blisters form on the surface. Brush a little oil over the surface, flip onto the other side and fry for another minute. Brush or drizzle more oil on the upturned side, then flip again and cook for a final minute. Pack the folded omelette and parathas in a tiffin or wrap carefully in tin foil. Eat with mango or lime pickle.
Romy Gill is chef-owner of Romy’s Kitchen, Bristol

Anna Jones’s pour-over soup

This soup is the epitome of quick cooking. Finely sliced vegetables, delicate noodles and flavour-packed aromatics all come together to make a soup that’s ready in the time it takes to boil the kettle. Most of the cooking is done by adding the boiling water from the kettle, so no pans, just a couple of bowls and a bit of chopping. You can mix and match the veg you use here, but make sure they are ones that will be edible with very little cooking – finely sliced carrots, grated squash, sliced mushrooms all work well. This is a healthy meal to take to work; keep it in the fridge and pour over the hot water at your desk.

Serves 1
thin rice vermicelli 50g (I use brown rice ones)
fresh ginger a small piece
creamed coconut 1 tbsp
white miso paste a good spoonful
sesame oil a splash
soy sauce or tamari 1 tbsp
star anise 1
spring onion 1
fresh red chilli 1
greens a small handful
courgette ½
sugar snap peas a small handful
fresh basil or coriander sprigs
toasted sesame seeds 1 tbsp

Fill and boil the kettle and get all your ingredients out. You’ll need two heatproof mixing bowls with a plate that fits on top. Once the kettle has boiled, put the noodles into one of the mixing bowls and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit, covered with a plate.

Peel the ginger and grate into the other bowl, then add the creamed coconut, white miso, sesame oil, soy or tamari and star anise. Very finely slice the spring onion and the chilli and add most of them to the bowl. Shred the greens, cut the courgette into thin slices and slice the sugar snaps. Add them all to the bowl.

Once the noodles have had 3 minutes, drain and add them to the bowl of green veg. If you’re making for lunch later, layer everything into a screwtop jar and finish the recipe when you’re ready to eat.

Re-boil the kettle. Pour over hot water from the kettle until the noodles and veg are just covered, and mix well.

Garnish with the remaining chopped chilli and spring onion, a little basil or coriander and some toasted sesame seeds.
From A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones (Fourth Estate, £25)

Dan Lepard’s sticky lemon and poppy seed cake

This is one of those cakes you dream you’ll find in a corner sandwich bar but never (OK, rarely) do. The lemon zest goes into the cake mixture, and a syrup of juice and sugar soaks the cake afterwards. Finely ground oatmeal makes each mouthful chewier, and the oil keeps it softer than simply using all butter.

For the cake
caster sugar 225g
unsalted butter 125g, softened
sunflower oil 100ml
lemons finely grated zest of 3
eggs 4 medium
hot water 50ml
plain flour 250g
baking powder 2 tsp
fine oatmeal 75g, or rolled oats finely ground
poppy seeds 30g

For the syrup
caster sugar 150g, plus extra to finish
lemon juice 100ml

Line a deep 20cm square cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Beat the sugar with the butter, oil and lemon zest until pale and fluffy then beat in the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Whisk the hot water into the mixture till smooth. Sift the flour and baking powder 2 or 3 times, then toss the oatmeal and poppy seeds in with the flour (if you’re using rolled oats, whizz them in a blender until finely ground) and beat this through the cake mixture.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake at 180C/gas mark 4 for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out with just a few tiny moist crumbs stuck to it.

While the cake is still warm, make the lemon syrup by heating the sugar with the lemon juice until dissolved. Poke a skewer deep into the cake dozens of times, then spoon all of the syrup over it. Allow to cool then dredge it with extra caster sugar before slicing.
From Short & Sweet by Dan Lepard (Fourth Estate, £25)