Late Summer Tomatoes and Italian Breakfast Cake
Making the most of the late Summer bounty as we enter Soup Season
‘Susty’ adjective An abbreviation of the word ‘sustainable’ used to quickly tag any positive, environmentally-sustainable action, thought or deed.’
‘Lunchbox noun Container used to help fruit get out of the house for a day and return safely in the afternoon.’
‘Reduce, Reuse and Repurpose’ This is part of the mantra of going zero-waste and a very important part of being susty. We must what we have, avoid single-use plastics, recycle and compost compost compost.
Tidy Friday: Tidy Friday is something I started in the DCU test kitchen to prevent waste and I do it at home too. I am doing an IG Live on Friday’s at 1pm Irish Standard Time and cover a range of topics such as recycling, preventing food waste and sustainability. Follow me on @RozanneStevens This past Friday I tackled how to recycle soft plastics. Link to Tidy Friday Lunch 'n Learn
TOMATOES ARE THE GREAT LEVELLER when it comes to taste. Most people love tomatoey flavours. When I don’t know what I feel like, tomatoes are always the answer: pa am tomaquet, caprese salad, pasta, roasted tomato soup - the list goes on.
Tomatoes truly are the GOAT superfood. Packed with antioxidants, most famously lycopene. Which actually is easier for your body to absorb once cooked, especially if cooked in olive oil. The Mediterranean diet scores again! I’ve listed my favourite olive oil at the end of the newsletter.
In late Summer, if you grow your own, you’ll have a big glut of beautiful, bountiful tomatoes. There are many ways of using them up, some of which I have listed on my Instagram grid. In today’s Substack, I’ve included an achievable weekday lunch menu and some delicious zero-waste recipes. And the most glorious, fabulous cake recipe for your coffee break.
Starting from today, I am also teaching Kid’s ‘Pack Your Own Lunchbox’ classes! Or as one parent put it: pack your own sodding lunchbox. The classes are free, but the platform requires that you pay a token amount to book the lesson, so like a Euro. Link at the end of the newsletter.
Zero-Waste Roasted Red Veg Soup
Serves 2
This is an excellent way to use up late Summer tomatoes and peppers that are perhaps looking a little sad. You can play with the quantity of vegetables as the recipe is very forgiving. This soup can be made ahead and freezes very well. If you want to increase the volume but don't have enough fresh vegetables, add a tin of chopped tomatoes before blitzing. Delicious with a toasted cheese sandwich. See the next recipe!
Ingredients:
500g fresh tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, quartered
2 red peppers, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, skin on
few sprigs of thyme
1 tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
water or stock, to thin down
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put the garlic and thyme in a roasting tin. Cover with the tomatoes, onion and peppers. Toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are tender and slightly caramelised.
Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and remove the thyme twigs.
Pour the vinegar into the roasting tin and blitz with a stick blender. Add enough water to thin down to your liking. Taste and season.
Cheese and Onion Sandwich Filling
Enough for 4-6 sandwiches
This is my version of the Marks and Spencer's cheese and onion readymade sandwich. And it's pretty darn close, even if I say so myself! The best bread to use is a malted or wholegrain brown bread. Also delicious as a toasted sandwich filling and you can add extra ingredients such as tomato. My little twist on the filling is to add a dab of two kinds of mustard, which makes a big difference. And I give you a lighter version of filling, for those of us who aren't crazy about mayonnaise. The filling is also good as a baked potato topping - I like mixing it with cooked broccoli and popping it into the oven to melt and heat up.
Filling ingredients:
1/4 red or brown onion, very finely diced
2 spring onions, finely chopped OR 2tbsp finely chopped chives
100g grated mature cheddar
100g grated Red Leicester
150g mayonnaise
black pepper
My twist:
I add 1/2tsp of Dijon and 1/2tsp of wholegrain mustard
Lighter version:
swop 30-50g of the mayonnaise with plain yoghurt
Add for extra veggie power:
cucumber
tomato
lettuce
Method:
Finely diced the onion and soak in a bowl with boiling water. This takes the very sharp edge away. Soak for at least 10 minutes. Then drain in a colander and spread out on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel to dry off the water.
Finely chop the spring onion, including the clean leaves.
Grate the cheese on the medium hole side of the grater. The biggest hole side makes the filling too chunky.
Mix both types of onion, the two cheeses and the mayonnaise. Season well with black pepper. Taste and see if you want to add the mustards.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Wholewheat Pesto Pasta Salad
Serves 4
A pasta salad is a great alternative for lunch instead of a sandwich. You can make extra pasta for another meal and freeze some to make this pasta salad. One of the reasons this salad tastes so good is that the flavours are favourites and there is a variety of textures to keep it interesting. Wholewheat pasta is so much better for you and the extra firmness is much better for a pasta salad, so do try it. Can also be made with gluten-free pasta, choose any small shape. I feel that penne is too big and too chewy for pasta salads.
Ingredients:
250g wholewheat fusilli pasta, cooked according to packed instructions
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
100g feta cheese, crumbled
3 spring onions, finely chopped
30g pine nuts, toasted (you can also use walnuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds)
Extra veggie power:
2 cups steamed or roasted broccoli florets
1 fresh or roasted red pepper, diced
Pesto dressing:
3 tbsp basil pesto, shop bought or using the Zerowaste Basil Pistou Pesto recipe
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Method:
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and drain well. Drizzle over a little olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Allow to cool for half an hour.
Toast the pine nuts in a small, clean pan over a medium heat until very lightly golden. Set aside and allow to cool.
Mix the dressing, taste and adjust the seasoning according to your taste.
Once the pasta has cooled, mix through the pesto dressing. Season the whole salad with salt and pepper.
Add the cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, spring onions and pine nuts and mix well.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Providing that your feta was fresh when you added it, this pasta salad is very robust and will stay fresh. It also travels well in a lunchbox.
Template Italian Breakfast Cake
Makes 1 large cake
I first had this cake as an exchange student in high school, and I have been hunting for the recipe ever since! I kept on making polenta cake and wondering why it wasn't the same. This delightful recipe uses olive oil instead of butter and has the most excellent texture. I call it a 'template' recipe as you can vary the flavours in so many ways. It stays fresh for a really long time, but if you tire of it, I have given you several ways to transform it. So it ticks all the zero-waste boxes, plus being delicious!
Ingredients:
6 large eggs, at room temperature
285g light brown sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
250ml olive oil
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
285g plain flour
4tsp baking powder
1tsp fine salt
2tsp caraway seeds
Variations:
use other citrus: lemon, lime, mandarin
use other spices: fennel, cardamom, pumpkin spice, tonka bean
use other flavourings: rose water, almond essence
serve with: custard, crème fraiche or whipped coconut cream and fruit
use for: trifle, French toast, bread and butter pudding
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 3.85 litre bundt pan.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and sugar together until pale in colour and airy.
Add the olive oil, zest and juice and whisk until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and caraway seeds.
Add the flour mixture one third at a time to the wet cake batter, whisking in between.
Pour the cake batter into the bundt pan and scrape the bowl well.
Bake on the middle shelf for 40-45 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.
Dust with a little icing sugar if you like.
Store in an airtight container for a week or freeze for up to 2 months.
Zero-Waste Pistou Pesto
Makes 1 jar
This is a hybrid of the French pistou and the Italian pesto. It is a template that you can use for making the most delicious herby sauce that will save your herbs from going to waste. My commonly used herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon, coriander, oregano, basil and mint. Every time you make this sauce it will be different, and that is part of the pleasure. This sauce will keep fresh in the fresh for a week or so covered in a layer of oil. The pesto freezes very well. Freeze in ice cube trays, then once frozen, pop into a bag or container. The sauce will discolour a bit once frozen, but still tastes lovely.
Ingredients:
4 cups of loosely packed mixed herbs
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1tbsp white wine, apple cider or sherry vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Optional:
1 clove of garlic, crushed
25g hard cheese, grated
30g toasted nuts: pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts
Chilli flakes
Fresh chilli
Method:
Sort through the herbs and discard any black or off leaves. Pick off the leaves and roughly chop the stalks.
In a food processor or with a hand blender, add all the ingredients and blitz until smooth.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, lemon and olive oil. Thin down with water if preferred.
Store in a clean, airtight, glass jar for a week or more. Alternatively freeze in ice cube trays.
Slow-Roasted Tomato Pesto
Makes 1 jar
I adore sundried tomato pesto and use it much more than traditional basil pesto. This isn't exactly the same as the shop bought version, as it is not fully dehydrated it won't stay fresh as long. But it is so delicious it'll be used up in no time! This recipe as it is written is for a small quantity. To be more energy efficient, it is well worth tripling or quadrupling the recipe. Add to pastas, soups, sauces and creamy dishes for an intense tomato flavour. Or simply on crackers with cream cheese, my personal favourite.
Ingredients:
5 large tomatoes, sliced
salt and pepper
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
2tbsp tomato paste
25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
25g pine nuts, lightly toasted
50ml olive oil
squeeze of lemon
cayenne pepper, optional
salt and pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 120°C. Line a large baking tray.
Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on the baking tray. Season well with salt and pepper and scatter over the thyme leaves.
Slow roast for 1.5 hours, turning once. The tomatoes will be dehydrated and semi-dry.
To make the pesto, blitz together the roasted tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and a little cayenne if you like.
Store in a clean glass jar in the fridge for 1 -2 weeks.
This is the first The Susty Lunchbox Kids Cookalong Class to teach kids how to pack their own Climate Conscious lunchboxes. The classes are great fun, and everyone goes at their own pace.
This is my foodie friend’s gorgeous award-winning olive oil, amongst many, that she brings into Ireland. Follow Sarah on Instagram Sarah's Kitchen for some fab recipes and olive oil inspo!
If you make any of the recipes, I’d love to hear from you! Post a pic on Twitter or Instagram, tag me @RozanneStevens and use the hashtag #TheSustyLunchbox
And please share the newsletter far and wide by sending this link to your fellow foodies The Susty Lunchbox Newsletter
Happy cooking!
xoxoxox