Cheeseboards provide a huge opportunity to be creative. Image: Unsplash
Five LOAD SHEDDING lunch ideas
We’ve got five load shedding lunch ideas to help you beat the heat, and also Eskom.
Cheeseboards provide a huge opportunity to be creative. Image: Unsplash
Load shedding has become a running joke in South Africa but it’s not a particularly funny one. Here are a few load shedding lunch ideas to ease the pain.
FIVE BANGING LOAD SHEDDING LUNCH IDEAS
RED HEIRLOOM POTATO SALAD
Parboil your potatoes before Eskom cuts you off, and finish off the rest of the salad at your leisure. All you’ll need is red onions, mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice and whatever else you regard as an essential in a potato salad. Vinaigrettes are easy to make too if you want to stick to a classic green leafy salad and run the risk of staining your crisp white shirt.
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PANZANELLA
The fact that South African Christmas takes place at the height of summer does make the load shedding element of it slightly more palatable. Cold soups and cold salads are the best, especially if it’s 32 degrees outside. For bread and tomato lovers, there’s no better better salads than panzanella. It’s so easy to make as well, just get yourself some high-quality tomatoes and it’s critical to use stale ciabatta/sourdough bread. The only pre-planning you’ll need is toasting the squares of bread in the oven before load shedding hits.
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TENDER STEM BROCCOLI
You can blanche broccoli florets in boiling water over a gas hob if you’re lucky enough to have one. If not, blanche them while there’s still power and then toss them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Then the rest of the salad can be made later and seasoned with sesame seeds and sesame oil for a delicious Asian take.
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BRAAI
This is not exactly a groundbreaking suggestion, but it obviously ticks a lot of boxes. Should you be lucky enough to have an outdoors area with a braai, throw a sirloin steak on there and slice it up served with a delicious pepper sauce or as is, just remember to rest it after cooking or put a capable braai-master in charge and you’re good to go. What’s better than a chicken cooked on a Weber? Not many things.
CHEESEBOARD & CHARCUTERIE
The wonderful thing about a cheeseboard is that it can contain literally anything you want it to. A classic savoury cheeseboard will contain cheese, charcuterie, nuts and bread, but nothing is stopping you from including figs, grapes and chocolate. Turn your cheeseboard into a dessert, and all it requires is premium ingredients and a bit of an artistic touch. Critically, electricity is not a prerequisite.
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GENERAL LOAD SHEDDING LUNCH NOTES
Cold soups and cold salads are the absolute best during summer. Lean into these options as they’re relatively healthy, perfect for the weather and cost-effective.
If you’ve got some, why not send us some of the most tasty an creative ways that you beat load shedding at mealtimes? Send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211 and we’ll publish the best ones!
Meanwhile, you can get more insights, analysis and love for the beautiful game from James Freemantle
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