On what some call the most depressing Monday of the year, we’ve been bringing a sense of homeliness and warmth to the office lunch hour.
Inspired by Animal Aid’s Meat Free Monday campaign and organised by our green initiative team, we’ve held our first shared office lunch in Sardinia House today.
Made with love and skill, but without meat – we’ve brought our own home-cooked food to share.
Our buffet included:
- Pecan banana and cinnamon bread
- Harissa, cauliflower and almond soup (The cauliflower soup was a revelation – thank you Mike! Creamy, spicy and smooth, healthy and fully vegan – no meat, no dairy.)
- Mediterranean pearl barley, olive and pumpkin salad
- Mushroom mini quiches
- Avocado, mozzarella and tomato salad
- Jerk Quorn with coconut salsa
- Lemon drizzle and mild rum cakes
The vegetarian lunch was such a success that we’re thinking of making it a regular thing.
Ah, and here’s the recipe for the soup:
Moroccan cauliflower and almond soup
It is almost a ‘store cupboard’ dish, as you’re likely to have most things in the house and don’t need to buy much else. Just make sure you pick up some good harissa paste the next time you’re walking past the spice aisle (if you’re super dedicated, you can also make your own harissa.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp corn or sunflower oil
1 cauliflower, cut into pieces
50g flaked almonds, toasted
½ teaspoon each of ground cumin, coriander and cinnamon
1l of good vegetable stock
2 tbsp harissa paste (and some more for serving)Method:
In a large pot, heat the oil together with the spices until fragrant.
Add the cauliflower, almonds, stock and harrissa paste.
Simmer for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft.
Puree with a hand blender.
To serve, garnish with a little dollop of harissa paste.
Has this inspired you to start your own meat free office lunch? Have you got any meat free recipes you’d like to share? Check out the Animal Aid website for more inspiration or leave us a comment below.
For general information about sustainability at LSE, visit: Sustainable LSE
Update: We liked the lunch so much that we’ve repeated it on 4 March (a Tuesday, but hey).
This time, the dishes revolved around an ‘Indian’ theme.
Highlights included:
‘Sweet Potato Gobi’
‘Pilav Paneer’
Getting hungry? Join us on the next meat free Monday (date yet to be set) or why not start your own?
