4 lunchbox ideas that’ll make you feel like a kid again

Eggie cups

If you could happily eat eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner, these protein-rich pastries – made famous by Cape Town bakery Jason Lilley – are guaranteed to become your new favourite. To make, preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out ready-made puff pastry to a thickness of 5 mm on a lightly floured surface, then let it rest for 5 minutes. Grease a muffin pan, cut out discs of pastry using a pastry cutter that is larger than the muffin holes, then line the holes with the pastry disks. Put a slice of chorizo (you can also try salami, mushrooms, marinated artichokes or roast tomatoes) into each hollow, then gently crack an egg on top of it. Drizzle over a bit of olive oil, season with salt and a bit of smoked paprika and bake for 10 minutes.

Spaghetti frittata

Another eggy favourite, this crowd-pleaser uses leftover spaghetti, and is easy to slice into wedges. Win-win. To make, preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat a bit of olive oil and butter in an ovenproof pan and fry 3 finely chopped leeks until soft and golden. Add 80 grams peas. Beat 5 eggs, 1 cup cream and 50 grams grated Parmesan or other hard cheese, then pour over the peas and leeks. Add 250 grams leftover spaghetti, then cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the egg has set. Carefully turn onto a plate and cut into wedges.

Home-made sausage rolls

Want to make this work lunch even better? Pack a small container of tomato sauce or chutney for dunking. Combine 2 tablespoons of tomato paste with the meat from 8 pork bangers. Season to taste, then roll the meat into 2 long sausage shapes, and arrange on 2 separate 200 gram ready-made puff pastry sheets. Fold the pastry over the sausage meat, pinch the edges closed, then score the tops of the sausage rolls to let the steam escape. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sesmame seeds if you prefer, then bake for 20 minutes at 200°C.

Bacon-wrapped butternut

Bacon makes everything better: including eating your vegetables. To make a batch, preheat the oven to 200°C, then cut a small butternut into 2-cm disks, drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 15 minutes or until the butternut is cooked through. Turn on the oven’s grill. Wrap two rashers streaky bacon around each butternut disk, then pop under the grill for 5 minutes or golden brown and crispy.

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