Ease back into the grind

• More back-to-work lunch ideas

The holidays are a time when I love to relax with cooking, play with new things, and enjoy the creative and nourishing side of making delicious food. Once I'm back on the clock, I'm not about to let that spirit go but time is more of a consideration.

Cold soba noodles with beansprouts, soy and ginger

This noodle dish is so cool and cleansing. I love the simplicity but you can dress it up with some torn nori, sesame seeds, pea shoots, diced avocado or shredded chicken.

270g packet soba noodles

2 big handfuls beansprouts

½ small clove garlic, finely grated

6cm piece ginger, finely grated

2 pinches sugar

120ml light Japanese-style soy sauce

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp sesame oil

40ml extra virgin olive oil

2 spring onions, finely sliced

pickled ginger to garnish

1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain, then immediately chill in iced water. Drain again.

2. Blanch the beansprouts for a few seconds in boiling water. Drain and gently squeeze out any moisture.

3. For the dressing: in a large bowl combine the garlic, ginger, sugar, soy, lemon juice, sesame oil and olive oil.

4. Toss the noodles through the dressing and divide between your bowls. Scatter over the spring onion and some pickled ginger and serve.

Drink: Green tea

Serves 4 as a starter or light meal

Zucchini flower, wild rice, lentil and yoghurt salad

This fresh and filling salad is perfect for dinner with grilled koftas, baked fish or a simple roast chicken and is great the next day for a no-fuss lunch at home or work.

120g green lentils

150g black wild rice

2 tsp cumin seeds

oil for shallow frying

6 zucchini flowers with zucchini attached

1 clove garlic, finely grated

salt flakes

freshly ground black pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

150g thick plain yoghurt

1 handful mint leaves

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 handful picked dill

1. Add the lentils to cold water. Simmer for 12 minutes or until tender (cooking time will vary depending on the lentils, so watch them). Add 100 grams of the wild rice and the cumin seeds to a separate pot of simmering water and cook for 20 minutes or until just tender, then drain.

2. While the lentils and rice cook, heat three centimetres of oil in a small pot until very hot, about 200C, and fry the remaining 50 grams of wild rice in batches until it puffs up. (You can test that the oil is hot enough by checking that a grain of rice will puff up.) Drain on paper towels and set aside for garnish. You could skip this step and use pumpkin seeds (not fried) to garnish instead.

3. Detach the blossoms from the zucchinis, split the flowers in half (or quarters if they are large) and remove the stamen. Slice the zucchini thinly in rounds on a mandolin.

4. Put the zucchini and garlic into a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and add a splash of oil. Add the cooked wild rice and toss through. Add the flowers and lemon juice and toss again.

5. In another bowl, mix the lentils, yoghurt, mint, spring onions, most of the dill and a dash of oil and season.

6. Spread the lentil mix on a plate, top with the wild rice mix, scatter over the puffed wild rice or pumpkin seeds and remaining dill and serve.

Serves: 4 as a side

Drink: Chardonnay

Pesto

Making pesto with a mortar and pestle is satisfying and the result is quite different to a food processor. Pesto is great with lamb, tossed with pasta or gnocchi or slathered straight on bread with goat's cheese or ricotta.

4 medium cloves Australian garlic

salt flakes

30g pinenuts

30g grana padano or parmesan, freshly grated

2 large bunches basil, about 120g, leaves picked

80ml extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut the garlic cloves in half and blanch them in boiling water for two minutes, then drain and refresh in cold water.

2. Add the blanched garlic to the mortar along with a good pinch of flaked salt and grind to a rough paste. Add the pinenuts and cheese, grind lightly, then start adding the basil leaves a few at a time. As you go, add a little water (in all, you will add about 60 millilitres) and a little oil, then more leaves, until you have a coarse paste. Grind in some pepper to taste and use or store for later use.

Tip: Store in a small jar with a layer of olive oil on top of the pesto to stop it from oxidising. After using, scrape down the sides of the jar and wipe with a paper towel (otherwise the exposed residue will blacken) and cover again with oil.

Makes: A small jar.