Undercover Ratatouille with Lemon Roasted Sea Bream

This is by far one of the easiest from scratch recipes I have ever made but also very tasty and fresh. Quite an achievement since I have always ended up with the Courgette and Aubergine (Egg plant for any Yanks) in my veg box going to waste as I've not been keen on them before.

 2 Fillets of Fish (Bream), 1 Lemon, 1 Aubergine, 200g Courgettes, 2 Peppers (we used 1 red and 1 Yellow), 1 Tin chopped Tomatoes, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1 Tsp Sugar, 1 Tsp Provencal Herbs (mixed herbs would also work)

As we have learnt by now, first I heated the oven to 250 degrees C then chopped up all the veggies. The peppers were de-seeded and sliced, the courgette was chopped into cubes and the for aubergine I removed the top and bottom, sliced into quarters and removed half of the spongy middle before chopping into cubes. If you really like your peppers you could slice it into bitter strips than I did.

These were all popped onto a baking tray and tossed in a little oil with a pinch of salt and pepper before being put on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile I finely chopped the garlic and fried it in a large pan with a little olive oil for a minute before adding the tin of chopped tomatoes. I then added the herbs, sugar and a pinch of salt and let it bubble until I had a thick sauce.

I placed a tray with a tablespoon of oil into the oven to heat up then rubbed some oil on my fish again seasoning with a little salt and pepper then placing on the heated tray. Finally squeeze the juice from 1/4 of a lemon on top and place in the middle of the oven for 5 minutes.

The veggies should be about ready by now, gently roasted and a bit crispy around the edges. Remove from the oven and add to the tomato sauce, taste and season as needed.

Serve the fish on top of the ratatouille and zest a little bit of lemon on top.

Result:

Both the fish and the ratatouille would work really well with other dishes or together. I couldn't believe how nice and simple this was and still so tasty. The fish was perfectly cooked and very moist and the vegetables all tasted very nice amazingly as both myself and the other half didnt think we really liked courgette or aubergine.

Recipe Score:

Hello Fresh!

Hello Fresh is advertised as a high quality service for busy people. Every week(or fortnight if you choose) they will send you a box of ingredients and recipe cards. Everything you need to prepare fresh meals in about half an hour. You are expected to have salt, pepper, oil and butter otherwise everything you need is provided.

I decided to try this service with a discount code for my first order. (use Z3548X to get £20 off)

Hello Fresh - 3 meals for two people

 

How easy was it to order?

The website is modern, clean and very clear.  Navigating the site you can find out about Hello Fresh, what to expect in your box and even free access to their recipes.

Ordering is a simple as clicking "try now", enter your postcode and select your box choice (3 meals, 5 meals or 3 vegetarian  meals. Next choose how many people you are feeding, how often you want a box. I chose a 3 meal box for 2 people once a fortnight. This option is £39 for 3 meals but you can get a £20 discount on your first delivery.

Finally register your details, enter the payment bits and enter your discount coupon (£20 off!).
I've included my code below but if you have a friend subscribed you can use theirs and both benefit!

Delivery and Packaging

My box arrived as promised on Tuesday. It was packaged in a sturdy box, with wool insulation and ice packs. 

The wool is used as an eco-friendly option and can be used for composting etc. if you remove the plastic wrap. The box as you would expect can be recycled in your household recycling bin

What's in the box?

My box included recipes for Tiger Prawn Linguine with Chilli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, The Ferrari of Orange Beef stir Fries, and grilled Lamb Pittas with Cucumber Salsa and Summer Salad.

I was also please to receive a complimentary bar of chocolate with my first delivery!

The ingredients were well packaged down to the little brown bag of bits and pieces such as chilli flakes, soy sauce and brown sugar.

Everything lasted well ecept for my pitta bread which went mould on the 3rd day but HelloFresh customer service apologised and gave me £5 off my next box.

I will post my  cookery attempts separately!

Ratings

 Delivery - Free delivery but only on a set day

Packaging - Lots of packaging but most is recyclable 

Quality & Taste - Really good quality ingredients 

despite my pitta going mouldy!

Value for Money - Quite pricey for the average family but not bad considering the effort involved in sourcing ingredients and cost of eating out.

Other comments: I liked that this service encouraged me to try recipes that I wouldn't usually try and new ingredients which I wouldn't usually buy.

     Overall Rating: