Broccoli & Avocado Salad

When it comes to packing your own lunch, raise your hand if you always start the year full of grand plans and good intentions, only to give up a few days later because GOSH WHY DOES IT TAKE SO MUCH TIME AND EFFORT? and f*ck it, I might as well just go to Pret and get the same old sandwich everyday because I’d rather from boredom than exhaustion?

Broccoli & avocado salad | Cake + Whisky

Yeah? Me too.

But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be that hard.

Broccoli & avocado salad | Cake + Whisky Broccoli & avocado salad | Cake + Whisky

Exhibit n°1 with this Broccoli & Avocado Salad.

This is healthy eating at its best. Simple, cheap as chips ingredients thrown just a few minutes to create something super healthy and, most importantly, absolutely delicious.

Broccoli & avocado salad | Cake + Whisky

The beauty of this salad lies in its perfect simplicity and its amazing contrast of texture.

Creamy avocado, crunchy broccoli, with a bit of added zing from the tahini-lemon dressing, it makes for a super satisfying vegan lunch.

Broccoli & avocado salad | Cake + Whisky

Broccoli & Avocado Salad (vegan, serves 1 as a main course or 2 as a side)

Ingredients: 

  • 1 small broccoli head (washed, pat dried and chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 avocado (pitted, peeled and chopped into small cubes)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp good quality tahini (this is my favourite)
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • small pinch chilli flakes
  • 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
  • big pinch za’atar
  • chives (finely chopped)
  • salt, pepper

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C (gas mark 6).

2. In a bowl, mix the broccoli pieces with the olive oil, chilli flakes, garlic and a small pinch of salt. Transfer to an oven tray and roast until slightly brown and tender (about 30 min).

3. In a small bowl or glass, combine the tahini and lemon juice and mix until well combine (add a bit of water if necessary). Season with salt and pepper.

4. In a serving bowl, combine the roasted broccoli and cubed avocado. Top with the tahini dressing, sprinkle with za’atar and chives and serve immediately.

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Broccoli & Avocado Salad

One pan Broccoli Mac n Cheese

Mac ‘n’ Cheese is the ultimate comfort food in my book.

No matter how good I’ve sworn to be, I can never, ever resist it.

If I go out for dinner and it’s on the menu, I will order it. And eat most of it, even when it was originally meant to be shared. #worstdiningcompanion

One-pot Broccoli Mac 'n' Cheese | Cake + Whisky

And yet, I had never made it at home. Ridiculous, isn’t it?

Especially since all you need are super basic ingredients I’m sure most of you already have in your fridge right now.

One-pot Broccoli Mac 'n' Cheese | Cake + Whisky

Plus it’s super easy and feels like a hug in a bowl.

A very cheesy, super delicious hug, that is!

One-pot Broccoli Mac 'n' Cheese | Cake + Whisky

And if you add enough vegetables in, it’s actually not that un-healthy a dinner option.

One-pot Broccoli Mac 'n' Cheese | Cake + Whisky

The perfect reward for surviving yet another Monday

(or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday and, ehh, sometimes, Fridays are tough as well right?)

One-pot Broccoli Mac 'n' Cheese | Cake + Whisky

One pan Broccoli Mac ‘n’ Cheese (serves 2)

Ingredients: 200g macaroni (or other short pasta), 1/2 pint milk (about 1 mug), 1/2 pint vegetable stock (about 1 mug), small chunck of Parmesan (grated), big handful of grated Emmenthal (or Cheddar), 200g broccoli, 1 tsp oil, sea salt, pepper, Tabasco

1. Cut the broccoli in bite-sized chuncks. In a big pot, heat up 1 tsp oil, then add in the broccoli and cook until tender. Remove from the heat and pour it out in one of the bowls you’re going to be serving in (save dirtying another dish!)

2. Add the pasta to the same pan with the milk, vegetable stock, Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste. Stir it around, cover and turn the hob down (it should be down to a very gentle simmer). Keep it covered as much as possible, stiring every now and then until the pasta is fully cooked and the milk has reduced down to a creamy sauce.

3. Check the seasoning and add more Tabasco/salt/pepper if needed.

4. Add in the cheese (Parmesan + Emmenthal/Cheddar) and the broccoli, give the whole thing a good stir and serve immediately.

‘OMG-SOOOOOO-GOOD’ eye-rolling absolutely compulsory!

One pan Broccoli Mac n Cheese

Broccoli salad with honey-mustard chicken and grapes

Update: So happy to see this recipe featured in Furniture @ Work’s Healthy Desk Lunch Recipe eBook! My new go-to for lunch-spiration!

New week, new lunch box! Those are the rules of the Ready Steady Lunch challenge.

This time was a bit more relaxed as we didn’t have any set rule.

Broccoli is one of my favourite vegetable as it’s very versatile, easy to cook and can be eaten both cold or warm. So I decided the tree-like cabbage would be the star of this week’s featured lunch box.

Add a bit of chicken, a good handful of grapes and almonds and a punchy mustard dressing and you have it: my new favourite broccoli salad!

Broccoli salad with honey-mustard chicken, grapes and almonds | Cake + Whisky

Broccoli salad with honey-mustard chicken, grapes and almonds 

Ingredients (serves 1): 1/2 bowl of broccoli, about 100g chicken (cut into small bits), 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp honey, 2 tsp grain mustard, 2 tsp lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, handful grapes (halved), 10 almonds (slightly crushed), 1 tsp wine or cider vinegar, 2 tsp olive oil

1. Steam your broccoli until nice and tender.

2. In a bowl, combine the chicken, the smoked paprika, the honey, 1 tsb grain mustard, the lemon juice and some sea salt and black pepper. Let it rest for about 10-15 min. Heat up a frying pan (with a bit of oil if necessary, but I didn’t use any because I have the best pan!!), then pan-fry your chicken for about 5 min.

3. Pile all your ingredients up in your lunch box (or a bowl) and eat slightly re-heated or cold.

Want more lunch inspiration? Visit Binny’s and Michelle’s blogs to find out what they’ve been cooking this week! 

Broccoli salad with honey-mustard chicken and grapes