Winter Warmer Lunchtime Recipes from Georgia Levy
When it comes to elevating the everyday, we like to consider every single meal. While breakfast and dinner are often discussed, lunch can sometimes be forgotten - especially on a working day. Recipe developer, chef and consultant, Georgia Levy's debut book Let's Do Lunch aims to revitalise the meal in the middle of your day offering wholesome suggestions that are quick and easy to put together. There are 10 minute recipes for when you simply don't have the time to cook, plus 20 and 30 minute lunches that you can whip up when you have a little more time on your hands. We love the idea of inviting friends over for lunch on a weekend, laying the table and putting on a spread. Dinner parties don't just have to be in the evening!
Georgia has kindly shared three recipes from her book with us that could be served together for a lunchtime feast. Brimming with comforting ingredients, these three dishes are ideal for the winter months. To start, there's a rich pumpkin soup with a punch of sage and chilli oil, followed by a warm salad (one of our winter favourites) and a wholesome take on a green pasta.
All three recipes are extracted from: Let’s Do Lunch: Quick and easy recipes to brighten up your week by Georgia Levy (Pavilion, HarperCollins Publishers). Images by Sam A Harris
Pumpkin Soup with Sage & Chilli Oil
Heaven in a bowl. The type of pumpkin/squash you use makes all the difference; I like to use an Italian Delica pumpkin, also known as Kabocha, which is super-flavoursome. Or, if you can get hold of a Crown Prince, that’d be great too. If not, butternut is good; I’d just go heavy on the herbs and chilli to give it a little help on its way.
Tip: Keep the pasta and soup separate if you’re not planning on eating all in one go – nothing worse than leftover soup with soggy pasta! This is also great with spelt or pearl barley stirred through or cheesy croûtons .
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
600 g/1 lb 5 oz pumpkin or squash, peeled and cut into 15 mm/5-8in cubes
250 g/9 oz floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled and cut into 15 mm /5-8in cubes
1 x 225 g/8 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp thyme leaves
A few sprigs of rosemary leaves, picked and roughly chopped
200 g/7 oz/¾ cup small dried pasta, such as ditaloni or maccheroni
Salt and pepper
SAGE & CHILLI OIL
8 tbsp olive oil
8 sage leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp thyme leaves
½ tsp chilli flakes
Method:
In a deep pan over a medium-low heat, warm the oil and add the onion, celery, garlic and a big pinch of salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12–15 minutes until the veg is completely soft and sweet.
Add the pumpkin, potatoes, tomatoes and herbs to the pan.
Pour over 1.25 litres/2 pints/5½ cups of boiling water, add plenty of pepper and a couple of teaspoons of salt. Cover and leave to vigorously simmer for 20 minutes, stirring as often as you remember.
Meanwhile, bring a big pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to the packet instructions, then drain and rinse under cold running water to prevent it from sticking.
Next, make the sage and chilli oil. Place the oil, sage leaves, thyme leaves and chilli in a small pan over a low heat and cook for a few moments until you can see fine bubbles appear and it begins to simmer. Take off the heat and leave to infuse (it’ll continue to simmer for a bit).
Once the pumpkin is tender, use a hand blender (or transfer to a blender) and blitz the soup until smoothish, though a few lumps are nice. Stir in the pasta, have a taste and adjust the seasoning.
Transfer to bowls and spoon over the sage and chilli oil before serving with some grated Parmesan, if you want.
Serve on:
Our Celia bowls are ideal for serving soup with their vintage-inspired design adding interest to your table setting.
Little Gem Salad with Grilled Grapes, Blue Cheese & Walnuts
This is preposterously tasty, and perfect for colder days when you want something crunchy and fresh but comforting too. If you’ve never grilled grapes before, you’re in for a very pleasant surprise – heat transforms them into intense little juicy orbs of joy. You may want to make extra salty-sweet walnuts; I find there are very few left by the time I actually assemble my salad…
Serves 4
Ingredients:
250 g/9 oz/1⅔ cups black grapes
15 g/½ oz/1 tbsp butter
75 g/2¾ oz/½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp caster sugar
6 Little Gem lettuces, each cut into 4 wedges through the stem
1 large, not-too-ripe pear, quartered, cored and sliced
A few sprigs of tarragon or a few chives, chopped
Salt and pepper
BLUE CHEESE DRESSING
150 g/5½ oz blue cheese such as Stilton, Stichelton, Cashel Blue or Gorgonzola
3 tbsp Greek yogurt or soured cream
2½ tbsp white wine vinegar
6 tbsp olive oil
Method:
Preheat the grill to high. Line a small baking tray with greaseproof paper. Cut the grapes into small bunches of about 3–5 grapes, sit on the baking tray, and grill for 5–7 minutes until the skins start to split and the juices begin to run. Remove, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, line a small plate with a piece of kitchen paper. Warm the butter in a small frying pan over a medium-low heat and add the walnuts. Fry gently for about 3 minutes, stirring, until the butter smells nutty and the walnuts begin to turn golden on the edges, then tip onto the kitchen paper and immediately sprinkle over the sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt, shaking the paper so that it all gets tossed together. Leave to cool.
Next, make the dressing. Put half the blue cheese, the yogurt and vinegar in a bowl and use a hand blender to blitz until smooth-ish, then blitz in the oil until you have a creamy dressing. Season to taste.
Arrange the lettuce wedges on four plates or a big platter. Tuck the pear slices in between the wedges and spoon over the dressing, then crumble over the remaining blue cheese in small chunks. Scatter over the walnuts and herbs, then spoon over the cooled grapes and their juices and serve.
Serve on:
We love serving salads on platters, placed in the centre of the table for your guests to help themselves. Our Pear Platter with its gold filet trim instantly elevates the occasion.
Warm Farro with Cavolo Nero Pesto & Ricotta
This is based on the technique for the exceptionally delicious super greens sauce (p.72 of my book) but it uses farro instead of pasta. I make it regularly in the colder months when cavolo is at its best and this kind of wholesome comfort food is exactly what the weather calls for.
Tip: Any leftovers will taste great the next day for a lunchbox and will reheat (and freeze) happily.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
250 g/9 oz/1 cup farro, pearled spelt or pearled barley, rinsed
105 ml/3½ fl oz/½ cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 small garlic cloves, 2 whole and peeled, 1 chopped
A pinch of chilli flakes, optional
400 g/14 oz cavolo nero/or Savoy cabbage (or a mix), stripped of stems
75 g/2¾ oz/¾ cups grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
6 tbsp ricotta
Salt and pepper
Method:
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the farro for 20–25 minutes until tender, following the packet instructions, then drain.
Meanwhile, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion, the 1 chopped garlic clove, the chilli and a big pinch of salt until soft, about 10–12 minutes. Chop 2 handfuls of the cavolo (ideally damp from washing) and add that to the pan too, cooking for 5–7 minutes until soft.
Bring another big pan of salted water to the boil. Add the remaining cavolo and the 2 whole garlic cloves and cook for 5–6 minutes until just tender, then drain, keeping a cupful of the cooking water. Transfer the cooked cavolo and garlic to a blender (or use a hand blender) and blitz with the remaining 75 ml/2½fl oz/5 tbsp of olive oil, the Parmesan and the reserved cooking water. Add a good grinding of black pepper and blitz to a purée, adding a few more splashes of cooking water to give the consistency of double cream, if needed.
Stir the cooked farro into the fried onion mix, then pour in the cavolo sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes so the farro absorbs the sauce, adding more water if it looks a little dry. Transfer to plates and spoon over a little ricotta, a good extra dusting of Parmesan and a little extra oil before serving.
Serve on:
Match the green of the dish with our leaf green Celia pasta bowls.
Discover more of Georgia's recipes on her Substack newsletter, The Lunchbox.
