Ploughman's Lunch Box

Ingredients

• 160 g cheddar, in one thick wedge
• 120 g ham, thickly sliced
• 4 whole grain bread
• 20 g butter, softened
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 4 pickled gherkin
• 1 apple, quartered and cored
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 120 g cherry tomato
• 30 g arugula
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Method

1. 1.

   Seal the bread with butter — Butter the bread right to the edges and cut each slice in half. The butter is not just seasoning here — it seals the crumb so the bread does not go soft against the tomatoes by lunchtime.

2. 2.

   Wedge the cheddar, roll the ham — Cut the cheddar into two thick wedges rather than slices — a wedge you break off with your fingers is the whole point of a ploughman's. Fold or roll the ham loosely so it stays easy to pick up.

3. 3.

   Prep the apple and leaves — Quarter and core the apple and turn the cut faces in the lemon juice so they stay pale for hours. Rinse the cherry tomatoes and the rocket and dry them thoroughly — any water left on the leaves will wilt them in the box.

4. 4.

   Pack the box in compartments — Pack each box in compartments: bread along one side, cheddar and ham together in the middle, then gherkins, tomatoes and apple filling every gap. Tuck the rocket over the top last so it is not crushed under the cheese.

5. 5.

   Pot the mustard and chill — Spoon the mustard into a small lidded pot so it does not smear the bread, grind the black pepper over the tomatoes, close the boxes and chill for at least an hour. Assembled the night before, it keeps perfectly for a day.