Newsletter # 1: Welcome to The Susty Lunchbox!
‘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.’
YOU ARE PROBABLY WONDERING WHAT ON EARTH A SUSTY LUNCHBOX IS and why you have subscribed to yet another newsletter. Well stick around and I will answer all your questions. And look after your arteries most of the time with healthy recipes plus the occasional banana-bread-French-toast-maple-syrup-streaky-bacon-breakfast thrown in for balance. If you follow me on Twitter, it may seem as if I talk a lot, but amazingly I still have many unspoken thoughts to share with you, and this is my little space in which to do it. I miss teaching, I miss cooking for people and I miss seeing my students’ progress and delight in their creations. So I hope this is a two-way conversation and you’ll let me know if you like what I’m sharing here. It makes me ridiculously happy when you enjoy making my recipes.
So what can you expect from this newsletter? Plus some terminology that I use which I have completely made up. Language is a living, evolving thing right?
Who is Rozanne Stevens: South African born, but adopted by Ireland, Rozanne has worn several hats. From cat slave, wholefood chef, cookery tutor, radio presenter and cookbook author to meme-lover and environmental activist. She had just grown up and gotten her sh*t together when the pandemic hit. And by that I mean, she got herself a real job as the culinary director of a zero-waste test kitchen in Dublin City University. The test kitchen is currently closed thanks to the C word and she is at a loose end. So all that work in preventing food waste and being more sustainable is now going to be inflicted upon you, dear reader.
Planetary Health Meets Human Health: I believe there is a harmonious intersection between both looking after the planet and looking after its inhabitants. Its not either or. And that is what the Susty in The Susty Lunchbox is all about. The core principles underpinning my work in the last few years are the Unites Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDG’s for short. More about that anon.
Saving the planet, your wallet and your waistline (and the washing up!): Wow, that’s a mouthful! And a big promise. And how am I going to deliver on that promise? I’m going to teach you my methodology for preventing food waste. That’s it. That’s the solution. Sceptical? Good. I want you to stick around and try it for yourself.
Tidy Friday: Tidy Friday is something I started in the DCU test kitchen and I do it at home too. It is one of the best ways to prevent food waste. On a Friday, I go through all the food in the kitchen, especially highly perishable foods, and I make a plan of how and when I’m going to use them up. And I’m going to teach you how to do the same. The places I check are: fridge, fruit bowl, vegetable basket, bread bin and freezer. It is amazing how many meals, and delicious ones at that, you can create with what you already have in your kitchen. I would love to do a weekly ‘Live’ on a social media channel to show you the bits I have and chat about how to use them up. You will be the first to know when I take the plunge and do it.
‘Catch-All’ and ‘Second Chance’ Recipes: At least one of the recipes each week will be from one of these categories. To go with Tidy Friday, I believe in dedicated recipes that are flexible but act as a framework to use up bits and bobs. I don’t believe that just bunging everything together is a recipe for success in zero-waste practices. So an example of one of my Catch-All recipes would be my Sugar-Free Banana Bread. And an example of a Second Chance recipe would be my Banana Bread French Toast. Do you see where I’m going with this? You get to be creative, prevent food waste but with a roadmap. And not with the false kitchen-confidence of being a devoted Master Chef viewer.
Figure Friendly Sweet Potato Soup - 6 servings
Simple, tasty, figure friendly, family favourite, freezes well-this recipes ticks all the boxes. Sweet potato is an economical, highly nutritious root vegetable with is a slow-releasing carbohydrate which is excellent for energy and curbing the munchies. This makes an excellent weekday lunch and can be made ahead on the weekend or doubled up and frozen.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp (50g) tomato paste
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot and fry the onion over a medium heat until lightly golden.
Add the sweet potato, cinnamon and tomato paste and stir well to coat the sweet potato.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, stock and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the lemon juice.
Blitz with a handheld blender until smooth.
Taste and add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed.
Pork, Chilli, Tarragon, Crème Fraîche, Mushroom and Spinach Lasagne - 10 portions
I posted this recipe on Twitter which gave people the ‘goo’ (Dublin slang for craving) for it so I had to share! This is a recipe I used to teach in my cookery school. Even though it’s more than ten years old, it has a really modern feel to it. I’m not sure of the origins of the dish, I just know it’s in my top twenty favourite recipes. Yes, it’s that good. I serve this with a simple green salad and a classic French vinaigrette. Feel free to sub turkey or vegetable mince for the pork. Lasagne is a great Make Ahead dish, and I give you instructions for freezing it in the recipe.
Meat and Vegetable Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
300g button or chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1 chilli, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
300g baby spinach
1 kg good quality pork mince
4 tbsp cornflour
1/4 of the Cheesy Tarragon Crème Frâiche Sauce
salt and pepper
Tomato Thyme Sauce
4 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped or 1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt and black pepper
Cheesy Tarragon Crème Frâiche Sauce
3 x 250g tubs of crème frâiche
2 tsp Dijon mustard
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated with a Microplane grater
3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon or 1 tbsp dried tarragon
salt and pepper
Pasta Layer and Top layer
12 sheets of quick-cook lasagne sheets or fresh pasta sheets
100g grated mozzarella cheese
100g grated mature cheddar cheese
Method:
Make up the Cheesy Tarragon Crème Frâiche Sauce and set aside. A large jug is useful for this as you’ll have to divide it later.
Make up the Tomato Thyme Sauce and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 190C fan oven. Grease a large lasagne dish or two smaller dishes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the mushrooms over a high heat until browned. Add the chilli and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the spinach a handful at a time and wilt it down. If the pan has a lid, use it to create steam. If not, improvise and cover it with a baking tray to speed things along. Remove the from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
To the same pan, add the pork, season with salt and pepper and cook on a high heat until browned. Use two wooden spoons to break up any lumps. Drain the liquid off the mushroom spinach mixture and add to the pork. Sprinkle over the cornflour and mix well into the pork. Stir in a quarter of the Cheesy Tarragon Crème Frâiche Sauce. Mix well and bring to the boil for five minutes which will thicken the sauce. Set aside.
To assemble: Spread a quarter of the Cheesy Tarragon Crème Frâiche Sauce on the base of the lasagne dish. Place a layer of pasta sheets on top. Then a third of the Tomato Thyme Sauce and half the meat mixture. Add another layer of pasta and a third of the Tomato Thyme Sauce and the rest of the meat. Finish off with the final layer of pasta and the last of the Tomato Thyme Sauce. Dollop over the last of the rest of the Cheesy Tarragon Crème Frâiche Sauce and sprinkle over the mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
Bake for half an hour until dark golden and bubbling. Switch off the oven and leave to stand for a further 10-20 minutes. This will ensure that the pasta sheets are fully cooked.
To freeze: cool completely in the fridge, cut into squares, wrap well and then freeze. This is much easier that freezing the whole dish.
Sugar-Free Banana Bread - makes 2 small one pound loaves or 1 large one
You may be sick of banana bread after the baking craze of lockdown 1.0. But I still love it! I have several recipes with varying ingredients, but I’m enjoying this one at the moment as is sugar-free without being ghastly. I like baking the recipe in two small loaves as it bakes faster, more evenly and with a better rise. It’s also handy to freeze one loaf. I normally just have a schmear of butter on it, but by all means add honey, peanut butter or chocolate spread if you like.
4 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125ml) light olive oil
1/4 cup (60ml) milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup (250ml) wholewheat flour
1 cup (250ml) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
pinch salt
Optional: 30g of pecan nuts or walnuts, raisins or sultanas, chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160C fan assisted. Grease and line two, one pound loaf tins.
Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl with a potato masher or fork until smooth. Add the eggs, olive oil, milk, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well.
Sift the the flours, baking powder, bread soda and salt straight over the bowl. Turn over the sieve and tip in the fibrous bits. Mix well.
Divide the batter between the two loaf tins and give them a gentle shake to smooth the batter.
Bake on the middle shelf in the oven for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out without any wet batter. A large loaf will take about an hour and 15 minutes to bake.
Leave to stand for 10 minutes before turning out and cooling on a wire rack.
Banana Bread French Toast with Maple Syrup Streaky Bacon and Caramelised Bananas - 1 serving
This is a great way to use up stale banana bread. I’ve given you quantities for 1 serving, but it’s super easy to multiply up the recipe. If I’m cooking for many, I roast the bacon and banana in a 200C oven instead of using the grill, which takes about 20 minutes. For one person, you can also just pan-fry it, less washing up! A bit unusual, but I love freshly ground black pepper on the bacon, it just works.
1 egg
4 tbsp (60ml) milk
1 tsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 slice of banana bread, two if the slices are small
1/2 tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp oil, for frying
3 rashers of smoked, streaky bacon
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 banana, sliced lenghtways
1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp butter, for the banana
extra maple syrup, to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven grill.
Mix the egg, milk, sugar and vanilla in a shallow dish and soak the banana bread for 20 minutes, turning half-way through.
Lay out the bacon and the banana on a baking tray. Dot the banana with the sugar and butter. Grill to your liking, not forgetting to turn over. Drizzle over the maple syrup and keep warm.
Melt the butter and oil in frying pan and and fry the banana until golden on both sides.
Plate up everything together, and drizzle over maple syrup.
Book an Online Cookery Class
I have just launched a series of online cookery courses. Delighted to be back teaching! There are limited numbers as this is the beta series so get booking if you’d like to be part of the adventure. Also available to book for staff as a fun event.
Book an online cookery class with me