past horizons38 Annie Evans The Dig Cook Recipes for Archaeologists While dinner is the highlight of the culinary day, no cook worth his or her salt can afford to treat lunch as mere routine. When the team comes in, hot and hungry from the field, there had better be something on the table that pleases their palates and keeps them going through the afternoon. Getting lunch right requires careful judgment and a fine balance. Too heavy and hearty a meal runs the risk of making everyone drowsy when there's still plenty of work to be done. I aim to make lunch dishes interesting but avoid putting out a meal that requires a lot of energy to digest. There's always plenty of food on the table but none of it is dense with substance – if you get what I mean. A great big, full- of- everything salad with a tasty dressing is the centrepiece. This is made up of whatever greens are available locally, plus finely- shredded cabbage, herbs such as mint, parsley, coriander, celery, shallots, red salad onions, lightly steamed beans, fetta, olives, oregano ( preferably fresh, but dried will do), bean sprouts, cucumber, red or green capsicum ( peppers) and tomatoes. This is dressed with either a good vinaigrette or quite simply with olive oil and red wine vinegar with a little salt and pepper. I make, not buy, a variety of dips such as hummus, tzatziki, taramasalata, and perhaps eggplant, beetroot, capsicum and garlic dips served with lots of fresh, crusty local bread. There are things that a dig cook with a large team to feed simply doesn't have time to fiddle with but if you are fortunate enough to have a food processor on hand making dips is easy and very rewarding. Dishes I serve for lunch include pickled beetroot, potato salad, chickpea salad, rice and tuna salad and often an egg and bacon pie ( quiche) or frittata. Savoury bread and butter pudding is also a favourite with my teams as well as zucchini pie and many variations on the old reliable quiche. Frittata can be made with baked pumpkin, zucchini, potato and maybe leftover meat or chicken from the previous night's dinner. Pasta is also a great standby for lunch, either cold in a salad or hot in pastitsio or carbonara. I usually make all of these dishes in large pans so that they can be cut into slices. I prefer to cut these myself, as that way I can regulate portions and ensure that everyone gets their share. In addition to all of the above, there is always a vegetarian option. The table is completed with large platters of seasonal local fruit and pitchers of cold water for hard- earned thirsts. The meal is simple but there's enough variety on the table at lunchtime to ensure that everyone goes away happily with stomachs that are full but not overloaded. The Dig Cook's website http:// www. digcook. com ?

39past horizons bacon and egg pie For six 75g ( 3 oz) butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 brown onions, finely chopped 150g ( 5 oz) bacon, rind removed and finely diced 2 teaspoons chopped oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried 2 teaspoons of chopped chives Half a teaspoon ground nutmeg 6 eggs 300ml ( half pint) cream 250g ( 8 oz) grated tasty cheddar salt and pepper Method Melt butter and oil in a frying pan and sauté bacon until cooked but still soft. Transfer bacon to a bowl. Add chopped onions to the pan and cook gently until transparent. In a large bowl beat the eggs until fluffy and stir in cream, herbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Brush base of pastry with beaten egg, and arrange bacon and onion over it. Carefully pour cream mixture until the dish is full. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at 180 degrees Centigrade ( 350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes. Then turn down oven to 160 degrees ( 300 degrees Fahrenheit) for a further 30 minutes or until top is golden and the centre of the pie is softly set. Serve warm from the oven. Remove paper and beans, increase temperature to 180 degrees Centigrade ( 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside and make filling. 250g ( 8 oz) plain flour 125g ( 4 oz) butter cut into cubes and chilled 2 egg yolks pinch of salt small quantity of iced water 1 beaten egg for glazing Method Rub butter through flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs or put in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add egg yolk and pulse then add one tablespoon of iced water until mixture clumps together. Add a little more water if too dry. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll prepared pastry to fit a 22cm flan tin, making sure it goes up the sides to form a well for the filling. Line with baking paper and add a weight such as dried beans. Bake for 15- 20 minutes at 160 degrees Centigrade ( 300 degrees Fahrenheit) pastry filling