Zara Meal Prep — Hot Week

26 April 2026 · three dishes · Sunday cook, eat all week

• • •

Ingredients

  • Protein
  • 600g chicken thigh, boneless skinless
  • 1½ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp EVOO (for the pan)
  • Salad
  • 300g orzo
  • 2 Lebanese cucumbers, diced
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ½ red onion, finely sliced
  • 100g kalamata olives, pitted
  • 200g feta, cubed
  • 1 big handful parsley, chopped
  • Dressing (jar it)
  • 75ml EVOO
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp Dijon
  • ½ tsp salt

Serves 6

Method

  1. Rub the chicken — oregano, salt, pepper. Pan-grill in EVOO over medium-high, ~5 min per side. Rest 5 min, slice.
  2. Cook the orzo in well-salted water. Drain, rinse cold, toss with a splash of EVOO so it doesn't clump.
  3. Combine orzo, cucumber, tomato, onion, olives, feta, parsley.
  4. Pack orzo salad + sliced chicken in containers. Dressing in a separate small jar.
  5. At lunchtime — pour dressing, toss, eat.

Holds & Tips

  • 4 days in the fridge. Don't pre-dress — cucumber weeps and orzo gets gluey.
  • Chicken slicing — rest before slicing or you lose the juices. Slice across the grain.
  • If doubling, sear chicken in two batches; crowding steams instead of browning.
  • Variation — swap orzo for pearl couscous if the shop's out.
Most fridge-stable dish in the lineup if you keep dressing separate. Eat by Wednesday/Thursday for peak texture.

Ingredients

  • Pulses
  • 400g tin chickpeas, drained & rinsed
  • 150g black caviar lentils (or 1 tin brown lentils)
  • Salad
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ red onion, finely diced
  • 100g feta, crumbled
  • 1 big handful parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp capers (optional)
  • Dressing
  • 60ml EVOO
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin

Serves 4–6

Method

  1. Cook lentils — simmer in salted water 20 min until tender but still holding shape. Drain, cool. (Or open a tin.)
  2. Combine chickpeas, lentils, cucumber, tomato, onion, feta, parsley, capers.
  3. Dressing in a jar — shake to emulsify.
  4. Pack salad and dressing separately. Dress per-portion.

Holds & Tips

  • 4–5 days — the most fridge-stable of the three. Improves day 2.
  • Pantry-driven — chickpeas + lentils already on hand.
  • Bulk it up — toss with rocket or baby spinach at lunchtime if you want greens.
  • Make it a wrap — spoon into a flatbread with hummus.
Zero-stress lunch. No-cook if you sub in a tin of brown lentils. Save this one for Thursday/Friday when the others are looking tired.

Ingredients

  • Tray
  • 1 red capsicum, chunks
  • 1 zucchini, half-moons
  • 1 red onion, wedges
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp EVOO
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Couscous
  • 200g pearl couscous
  • 500ml boiling water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • To serve
  • 250g halloumi (stored raw, fried per portion)
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Handful parsley or mint
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts (optional, toasted)

Serves 4

Method

  1. Roast the veg — oven 220°C fan. Toss capsicum, zucchini, onion, tomatoes with 2 tbsp EVOO, oregano, salt, pepper. Roast 20–25 min until edges char.
  2. Toast couscous dry in a saucepan, 1 min. Add boiling water + salt, simmer 10 min until liquid absorbed. Fluff, toss with remaining EVOO.
  3. Combine couscous + warm veg. Squeeze lemon, scatter herbs (and pine nuts if using).
  4. Halloumi: don't pre-cook. Slice 1cm thick, store in its brine. Pan-fry 90 sec a side per portion in a dry pan; drop on top of warm/room-temp couscous.

Holds & Tips

  • 3–4 days for couscous + veg base.
  • Halloumi rule — cooked fresh stays squeaky; pre-cooked goes rubbery in the fridge.
  • Eat warm or room-temp — not cold-from-fridge cold. Pull out 15 min before lunch.
  • No halloumi? Sub feta crumbled through, or chickpeas roasted alongside the veg.
Best on day 1–2 while veg has bite. By day 3 it's softer but still good.

Shopping — Fresh

  • Chicken thigh, boneless skinless — 600g
  • Halloumi — 250g
  • Feta — 250g (one block)
  • Lebanese cucumbers × 4
  • Cherry tomatoes — 650g (~2 punnets)
  • Red onions × 2
  • Red capsicum × 1
  • Zucchini × 1
  • Lemons × 3
  • Flat-leaf parsley — 1 bunch
  • Mint — 1 bunch (optional)
  • Garlic — 1 head (need 1 clove)

Pantry — top up

  • Orzo — 300g
  • Pearl couscous — 1 small pack (have ~150g)
  • Kalamata olives — 100g
  • Pine nuts or flaked almonds (optional)
  • EVOO 3L tin — restock, nearly empty
Already in pantry: tin chickpeas, black caviar lentils (~150g), oregano, Dijon, red wine vinegar, capers, cumin.

Sunday Cook Order — ~75 min

  1. Preheat oven 220°C fan. Chop tray-bake veg, get it roasting (25 min, hands-off).
  2. Simmer lentils for #2 (20 min, hands-off).
  3. Prep produce while both cook — cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, parsley. Divide between #1 and #2 containers.
  4. Pan-grill chicken for #1 (10 min). Rest, slice.
  5. Cook orzo, drain, cool, EVOO. Cook pearl couscous, fluff, EVOO.
  6. Assemble #1 and #2 in containers. Combine couscous + veg for #3.
  7. Three dressing jars. Halloumi raw in its brine in a small container.

Heat-Proofing

  • Dressings always in jars, never pre-tossed.
  • EVOO through cooked grains before they cool — stops clumping.
  • Fresh herbs added per-portion if you can manage it.
  • Halloumi cooked fresh, never reheated.
  • Eat order: #3 (Mon/Tue) · #1 (Wed/Thu) · #2 (Thu/Fri).

Quantities at a glance

Across all threeTotal
EVOO~150 ml
Lemon juice2½ lemons
Feta250 g
Cucumber3 (1 spare)
Cherry tomatoes650 g
Red onion1¾
Parsley1 bunch