LUNCH! Week 2: Quinoa + Halloumi + Beets

Let’s do LUNCH!. With chapters built around three main ingredients, the LUNCH! cookbook demonstrates how to make 10 weeks of exciting lunches (50 recipes in all) with fresh ingredients and healthy variety.

Monday Quinoa Bowl with Halloumi and Carrot Slaw
Tuesday Quinoa Bowl with a 6-Minute Egg
Wednesday Halloumi Arugula Salad with Pickled Beets and Cucumbers
Thursday Quinoa Salad Niçoise
Friday Pasta with Tuna and Arugula

All the health buzzwords and advice that’s out there can sometimes be overwhelming noise. One simple rule of thumb is that the more colors you have on your plate, the more likely it is to be nutritionally well-rounded. This week brings all the hues to your lunches: beet purple, carrot orange, and parsley and arugula green, while the protein comes in the form of crispy, salty halloumi cheese and oil-packed tuna. Halloumi hails from Cyprus, where it’s usually quickly griddled in a hot pan to create a beautiful golden crust. Leave the small task of frying the halloumi until the morning right before you pack your bowl up. As for tuna, look for one that’s packed in olive oil in a glass jar—this kind of tuna is the much more refined, flavorful cousin to the tuna packed in water you might be used to, and it’s worthy of being front and center in a salad.

Grocery List

Pantry

1½ cups quinoa
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Canola oil
Grapeseed oil
Extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup (about 18) pitted kalamata olives
4 ounces (1-inch bundle) spaghetti
1 (7-ounce) jar olive oil–packed tuna
½ teaspoon anchovy paste
Flaky sea salt

Produce

3 medium beets
3 large carrots or 2 cups shredded carrots
1 bunch parsley
3 Persian cucumbers
2 lemons
3 garlic cloves
1 bunch scallions
1 small shallot
1 (5-ounce) container baby arugula, or 2 bunches
1 pint cherry tomatoes

Dairy

2 eggs
1 (8-ounce) package halloumi cheese (or any kind of grilling cheese)