Light lunch

Sometimes I get in a rut with what I eat for lunch or as a snack. Even though there’s plenty of inspiration around me, I always end up having the same avocado and egg toast, or a ham and cheese toast, fruit with nuts etc. and my belly, and taste buds, is getting tired of them. Do you have the same problem? Eating the same thing over and over?

So, as I am trying to find ways to change things up, I thought it would be a good idea to post these options here too in case any of you out there are in the same predicament as me. Most of the time, they are not going to be exact recipes with precise ingredients, but rather more like guides and ideas about a super easy, light lunch or snack made with few ingredients and minimal effort.

I have shared some of these in the past that would definitely fit into this category, like the open-faced sandwiches with pasta elias (Greek olive paste) and tomatoes, or the ones with figs, mascarpone and prosciutto, and you can find all of them here.
Hope to inspire not only myself but you too along the way. Tell me what you think! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

So, let’s start with these two open-faced quick sandwhiches, brushette or tartines, call them what you like. They are made with whole-wheat, multigrain bread, Greek yoghurt, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs and a spicy sauce. I used harissa (a Tunisian hot red chilli paste) because I’ve been obsessed with it for a long time now—I actually have one great recipe with harissa that I plan to share with you very soon—but you can use the Indonesian sambal oelek, the Serbian ajvar or the Thai sriracha too.

Tomatoes and yoghurt with harissa on multigrain bread

Ingredients
Dark multi-grain bread, sliced
Greek yoghurt, full-fat (I used one with 10% fat)
Ripe tomatoes of any kind, I used baby Roma tomatoes, sliced or halved
Harissa
Flat leaf parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt


Preparation
Smear the bread slices with a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt. Arrange the tomatoes on top. Dot with some harissa depending how you handle heat. Sprinkle with the parsley and season with salt. Drizzle some olive oil on top.

Cucumber and yoghurt with dill oil on multigrain bread

Ingredients

for the dill oil
A large bunch of fresh dill, about 15 g
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of salt

Dark multi-grain bread, sliced
Greek yoghurt, full-fat (I used one with 10% fat)
Cucumber, unpeeled, thinly sliced
Fresh dill leaves, chopped
Salt


Preparation

for the dill oil
Pick the leaves from the dill and discard the stalks. Place them in a small food processor and add the olive oil. Process until smooth and add the salt.
This yields a good amount of dill oil. You can keep it in the fridge, in a glass jar, for a couple of weeks. You can use this flavored oil not only on top of this tartine but also tossed in salads or on top of baked or barbecued fish.

Smear the bread slices with a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt. Arrange the cucumbers on top. Drizzle some dill oil on top, sprinkle with the chopped dill and season with salt.

PS. Sorry you can’t see the dill oil in the photos I took because, silly me, I drizzled it on top of the yoghurt instead of on top of the cucumbers. It is similar to the mint oil I made a few years back for this tomato salad.