Penning Salka Hamar - Love your lunch cookbook

For many people lunch is often a cheese sandwich or simple salad. But why stop there? It is so easy to liven up your lunchbox, as Sean Wainer, owner of Amsterdams popular Small World cafe, will show you.

Love your Lunch includes all of Small Worlds favourites, from the very best sandwiches, salads, soups and pastries, to the Big Guys dishes you can serve for an elaborate Sunday lunch or even dinner. And, of course, weve included Small Worlds famous sweet treats. Sean Wainer shows you how to make over 60 deliciously easy dishes, many suitable for vegetarians, using the best ingredients and simple techniques. The recipes are all tried and tested: they work, and theyre delicious!

Sean Wainer was born in Melbourne and travelled the globe before settling in Amsterdam. He started his own catering business, called Small World, and quickly added a tiny lunchroom, which has become something of an institution in Amsterdam. Small World has featured in numerous magazines and travel guides and is packed every day, with locals and tourists alike.

Introduction

Growing up in Melbourne, I have been around food more or less all my life. When I was seventeen, my mother took over a health-food store with a take-away food section that had not been doing very well, but she saw its potential. She put the last of her savings into every appliance you could imagine, from a frozen yoghurt maker to pie warmers. We pimped up the menu with our homemade falafel in pita bread with hummus and fresh tabouleh: a big success!

My culinary journey continued when I was twenty, and I started travelling. In Chianti, Italy, I had the good fortune to live with a lovely lady, my friends mother. She was an amazing cook and she loved to take me with her around the markets. I would watch her with admiration as she carefully chose the perfect tomato and just the right cheese. I realised then that good cooking is not just making a meal in a kitchen. Its about knowing and selecting the best of every ingredient to make as perfect a dish as possible.

After Italy came Amsterdam. I worked as a cook in a variety of cafs and restaurants before starting Small World Catering in 1999. Little did I know that within a year Small World would become a successful catering business and a bustling caf. The menu burst with gourmet sandwiches, take-home meals, fresh salads, pressed juices and, of course, great coffee. Located on a really sunny street corner with spare crates as seating, Small Worlds terrace was born and our popularity grew.

All the knowledge Ive acquired over the years culminates in Small World, but its the people who have made the shop what it is today. Its almost impossible to estimate the number of nationalities that have worked with me over the years. They have come to Small World from all over the globe, from Russia and Africa, Iceland to America. Each one of them bringing his or her own twist to the dishes. Quite a few of those dishes are still with us today: the Spanish Tortilla, French Lemon Tart, New York Cheesecake, Thai Fish Cakes, Mediterranean Couscous and the Mexican Burritos. Over the years, Small World has become an Amsterdam institution, featuring in loads of magazines and travel guides. The locals think of Small World as their place, as do regular visitors to Amsterdam, who always stop in when theyre in town for a bite and a chat. This book has long been a wish of mine, now realized thanks to a loyal customer who wanted to help make it happen for years. Her favourite is the berry muffin!

Love your Lunch is not only a book about Small World. It is, most of all, a book about home-cooked comfort food served with an elegant twist. I want to show you how to make delicious lunches using the best ingredients and the simplest techniques. The recipes have all been tried and tested, not just by our own chefs, but also by people without a chefs experience. They work, and they are delicious. We put every recipe we could fit in into Love your Lunch , including our famous Carrot Cake. It was hard to give that one away, but it wouldnt be the Small World cookbook without it!

Sauces, Spreads and Other Stuff Youll Need

The sauces and spreads you'll find here freeze well. This is very handy when you have leftovers, or when you need to save time during the week, as you can prepare ahead.

They still taste perfect!

Coriander Hummus

Small World hummus is a bit chunky, not creamy.

Ingredients

250 g (9 oz) dried chickpeas

4 garlic cloves, peeled

150 g (5 oz) tahini paste, measured after stirring

1 teaspoon ground cumin

handful fresh coriander (cilantro), leaves and stalks

1 tablespoon lemon zest

100 ml (3 fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil, or more if needed

sea salt and

black pepper

Method

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with double their quantity of water. Leave to soak overnight. Drain, rinse, and transfer to a large saucepan. Add water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 1 hours, or until the chickpeas are cooked but still have some bite. Avoid mushy chickpeas.

Put the garlic cloves, tahini paste and cumin into a food processor, and pulse to mix. Add the coriander and lemon zest, and give it a whirl. Add the chickpeas, and blitz it until you have a coarse mixture, not entirely smooth. Then, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until its the consistency you like. At Small World, we keep its texture on the coarse side. Finish off with salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon Olive Oil

This sauce is a great basis for so many of our dishes as it gives any sandwich a kick. You can make it in advance and store it for weeks in the fridge. Since were using the skin of the fruit here, organic lemon is your best choice.

Ingredients

500 ml (17 fl oz) good-quality extra-virgin olive oil

4 lemons, preferably organic and unwaxed, juiced, and zest cut into thin strips

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

Method

Pour the olive oil into a small, heavy saucepan and place over the lowest heat possible. Add the lemon zest, oregano and chilli flakes. The lemon zest will slowly rise to the surface of the olive oil as it reaches the right temperature. Turn off the heat at this point, strain the oil, discard the lemon zest, and set aside to cool. When at just below room temperature, add the lemon juice, pour into a glass jar, and refrigerate for up to 6 months.