Tahini Crusted Cod with Tomato Salad

This is an Israeli recipe from my second Gousto box. Gousto lets you choose your meals so this time I tried to pick some recipes I may not have tried before.

200g Cod, 50g Tahini paste, 120g Yoghurt, 1 Tomato, 1 Lemon, 1 Onion,2 Garlic cloves, 150g Cherry Tomatoes, 20g Parsley,10g Sumac, 5g Baharat.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.

First I chopped everything up!

The onion should be thinly sliced, Parsley roughly chopped, Garlic and fine as you can get it and the tomato halved, de-seeded and chopped finely.

Next I mixed the Yoghurt, Tahini paste and Baharat in a bowl with the juice of half of the lemon, taste it and season with salt.

Then I put the chopped tomato, half the onion, half the parsley and all the garlic on a baking tray, mixed it up a bit then placed my cod on top.

Sprinkle with a teaspoon of the Sumac, saving the rest for later, and then topped with the yoghurt and Tahini mixture.

Pop the tray in the oven for 15 minutes.

For the Tomato salad I took the remaining sliced onion and parsley and mixed it with the cherry tomatoes (sliced in half) and the juice of the other half of my lemon. Mix and add the Sumac and some salt.

Serve once the fish is cooked through.

Result:

Another new experience, Very different flavours than I am used to but very nice. The raw onion was a bit overpowering in the tomato salad but the lemon juice and sumac made a lovely dressing.

Recipe score:

Todays Abel & Cole Box

Sorry about the blurriness, it was early so I was also out of focus!

I must say Abel & Cole are very consistent. 

Today I got my 3rd box and it arrived before 7am as usual, the items I didn't liked had been replaced with ones I did plus I got another free gift - A litre of organic milk with a good expiry date on it, my first thought was "oh that's nice, but I don't need milk, I bet it will expire before I can use it!"


I was also pleased that the Green and Black's chocolate I'd ordered (which is currently on offer) was wrapped in brown paper and hidden under the cool bag containing the milk. Good thinking Abel & Cole, my fiancée didn't see it even though he bought the box into the house!

He only reads the facebook page not my blog so the secret is still safe!

Life, Fork, Spoon by James Martin

 

I decided to give Life, Fork, Spoon a go when I spotted the dinner party box selection. The idea of a 3 course meal for 2 for £25 is great because although its more expensive than home cooking it is way cheaper than eating out. So its perfect if you want a minimum fuss treat without the reastaurant prices, plus no taxi fare or driving so you can both have a drink with your meal.

 

How easy was it to order?

I ordered the "Dinner Party for Two by James Martin", you just select your dishes, add it to basket and follow the usual check out procedures. You can also select the delivery day you want and leave instructions of where to leave your delivery if you're not going to be home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delivery and Packaging

 My Life, Fork, Spoon deliver arrived on the day I selected, packaged in a sturdy box with woolcool material (as used by Hellofresh! and Abel & Cole) and dry ice pouches.

  What's in the box?

The food itself was frozen with each package wrapped in a little paper bag, this was a nice touch but did add extra packaging which didn't seem entirely necessary.

The food is ready cooked so all you need to do is heat as directed, some of my instructions were missing but  they were very quickly emailed to me when requested.

To reheat most of my food was "boil in the bag" with a bit of finishing off under the grill. This did seem a bit fiddly having to boil then transfer to a pan and put under the grill which resulted in more washing up than if the whole meal was supplied in an oven bake tray.

The food itself was very nice although the vegetable accomplishments were a little mushy, particularly the green beans and the potato gratin.

 

 

 

The toffee pecan sponges were lovely and the  broccoli and Stilton soup was seasoned just right.

Ratings  

Delivery - Standard delivery is £4.95 or free if you spend over £50.

Packaging - Well packaged but not all of the packaging seemed necessary

Quality & Taste - Very tasty food although an unexpected method of cooking.

Value for Money - More expensive than home cooking but good value for almost restaurant quality food.


Other comments: I would order from Life, Fork, Spoon again but may not bother with the vegetable accompaniments. This is definitely a good service to use if you are having family or friends over but dont want the hassle of cooking.

     

Overall Rating:

Abel & Cole's Hakuna Frittata!

On page 123 of Abel & Cole's Veg Box Companion I found a recipe that I, and many others, have been making for years!

It's the "anything-you-have-left-over-frittata" or Abel & Cole call it a "Hakuna Frittata"and it's perfect for a midweek quick dinner or just using up what you have in the fridge for a weekend lunch.

You can get a free veg box companion if you sign up before the 12th October with the code: HELLO (details at the bottom of the page for a limited time only, sept-oct 2012)

I used: 3 salad potatoes, quarter of a head of broccoli, 1 Leek and a sprinkling of cheese to taste!

Abel & Cole recommend using ready cooked veg, I agree this is the best way to do it but I has some raw bits in the fridge which were just on the right side of fresh and wanted to use them quickly!

First chop everything up. Then heat a pan with a good glug of oil.

If using raw ingredients cook the potatoes first until crispy, then remove let the pan cool before adding couple of tablespoons of water, put back on the heat and add the broccoli. The water will create a bit of steam to start the broccoli cooking. stir for a few minutes then turn the heat up and add your leeks.


In a jug make up some egg mix (3 eggs and a bit of salt and pepper). Turn on your grill.

Put the potatoes back in the pan with your now cooked broccoli and leeks, add the egg mixture and stir gently until the egg starts to cook and solidify (I cant think of a better way to describe it).

Reduce the heat and allow to set before sprinkling your cheese on top and placing under the grill till golden.


I served 2 wedges with some cherry tomatoes, basil and balsamic glaze to add colour and contrast. You could just serve with salad, wedges or on its own as a snack.

Result:

Simple, tasty and economical. Put in exactly what you want and you can't complain!

I made another one recently with onions, asparagus and brie that I found in the reduced section, it was very tasty.

Recipe Score:

Chicken in Mascarpone, Chilli, Lemon Zest Sauce with Rice

I was expecting this dish to have a Thai green curry type flavour but it was actually more lemony due to using both the zest and juice of the lemon.

250g Chicken, 120g Mascarpone, 1 Green Chilli, 1 Red Chilli, 1 unwaxed lemon (yes the green thing was a lemon!), 10g Parsley, 40g Parmesan, 120g Mange Tout, 160g Rice

Boil a pan of water ready for your rice, then chop everything up! The chilli needs to be de-seeded and chopped finely. Chop the parsley finely. The mange 2 can be halved lengthways. Zest the lemon and grate the parmesan.

Add a pinch of salt to your pan of water before adding the rice.

Mix the mascarpone, chilli, parmesan and lemon zest in a bowl then cut the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice from one half. I only used half of the chilli (because I'm a wimp) and be careful not to get any seeds in your mixture.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan on a high heat then add your diced chicken, cooking on all sides till sealed. Keeping the heat high,add your mange tout stirring for 2 minutes then season with salt and pepper.

Check how the rice is doing, when cooked drain off any excess water and keep warm.

Finally turn the heat off of your pan and add the mascarpone mixture plus a few spoons of water and stir till melted into a sauce.

Serve!

Result:

This tasted like a lovely healthy meal but was a little strong on the lemon. This may have been because my lemon was green and maybe more bitter than a ripe lemon? I would also try adding a little more chilli next time as I think in this case my taste buds could take it!

Recipe score:

 

Confession time...

...I have to confess that tonight, rather than writing up my next post, my recipe attempt of chicken with mascarpone sauce, I ordered a pizza and watched tv instead.

Even a lover of good quality cooking and gourmet food occasionally has to give in to fast food and no washing u!

So now that I have confessed, I will say good night and tomorrow I promise to be better!

Honey-Miso Chicken with Soba Noodles

This is a Japanese dish which is a little more complicated than I would usually try but with the ingredients and recipe card from Gousto wasn't as hard as it looks. My only criticism would be that Gousto didn't supply the honey and it was only by luck that I had some in the cupboard and I was given 3 peices of chicken which doesn't split well between 2 people!

Chicken thighs, 50g Miso paste, 20g mirin, 3 Tbsp Sesame oil, 25g ginger, 3 garlic cloves, 150g Soba Noodles, 150g cucumber, 2 spring onions, 3 tbsp tsuyu sauce, 2 tbsp ponzu, 300g brocolli, 1 tbsp honey

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and put a large pan of water on to boil.
First we made the paste for the Honey-miso chicken. Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Mix half of the garlic and ginger with the miso paste, honey, mirin and two thirds of the sesame oil.

Pop the chicken on a baking tray (put a piece of baking paper down first and it really helped with washing up) and coat both sides with the paste. Cook for 10 minutes in the centre of the oven.

While you wait, wash and split your brocolli into single sprouts and boil in your pan for 3-4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the brocolli but keep the water for later.

Check your chick and turn over. Cook for another 12 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't burn!

Add the noodles to the broccoli water and cook for 3-5 minutes stirring regularly.

Half your cucumber and slice thinly, then slice the spring onions and put in a bowl with the  tzuyu and remaining sesame oil. Once cooked add your noodles to the bowl and stir.

Heat a frying pan with a little oil and add your remaining ginger and garlic. Chop your broccoli into bite size pieces and add to the pan for a few minutes before adding the ponzu.

Remove your chicken from the oven and serve!

Result:

I have never cooked with so many different sauces/pastes/oils and was really impressed with the result. This dish was probably not something I would make again due to the complexity and ingredients but I would definitely make the honey-miso chicken as it was deliciously succulent and flavoursome. the noodles were also really nice and the broccoli added some freshness.

Recipe Rating:

Asparagus Pasta with a Creme Fraiche Sauce

I've recently discovered that I like asparagus so thought I'd try a vegetarian dish from Gousto.

250g Asparagus, 150ml, Crème Fraiche, 2 cloves of Garlic, 200g Spaghetti, 1 Nutmeg, 50g Parmesan

First chop the wood ends off the asparagus (if you gently squeeze the stem chop away any part which is solid). Separate the tips from the remaining stems and chop each stem into 2cm lengths.

Grate the nutmeg (use a fine grater and press hard) and half the parmesan.

Boil two pans of water, add the asparagus stem to one, cook for 4 minutes, and the spaghetti to the other.

In a frying pan heat a tablespoon of oil, peel your garlic and fry whole for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat and alow to cool for a minute before adding your crème fraiche. Drain and add your asparagus stems to the pan, add the parmesan and nutmeg then blend, I did this in the pan with a hand blender.

Two minutes before your spaghetti is cooked add the asparagus tips. Drain when cooked to your liking and strip in the sauce.

Serve with parmesan shavings on top

Result:

This was a really nice creamy dish that I would definitely make again. The nutmeg really adds a richness with the sauce and it also manages to make a no-waste meal by incorporating the stems into the sauce and the tips for texture.

Recipe Score:

Gousto!

Gousto is a fresh meal cookery service which delivers fresh ingredients to your door with recipe cards to make home cooking easy.

How easy was it to order?

Overall I found the website more restrictive than some of the services I have tried. Its easy to select a plan and get started but you have to email if you would like any changes to your order or remove anything from it. On the plus side you do get to choose your meals rather than get what's given.

First select "Trial", choose how many people you want to feed and how many meals a week, I chose the 3 meals for two people at £42. Next register and enter your payment details. You also have the option of adding fruit (£8) or cookies(£5) to your order. I was slightly disappointed to see that fruit (the healthy option) is more expensive than cookies but we will have to see what arrives!

Once the order was confirmed I was asked to visit the recipe page to choose my menus for my first delivery. If you forget to pick your meals then a selection will be made for you.

 

Delivery and Packaging

 My Delivery was on time and left in my garage as requested. It was packaged in a sturdy box with woolcool material (as used my Hellofresh! and Abel & Cole).

 

 

 

 

 

What's in the box?

In my box was a Gousto bag, all the ingredients for my three meals and the meat and dairy products were packed in a separate plastic bag with ice blocks. I also had a paper bag full of fruit.
The fruit bag contained raspberries, cranberries, 2 pears, 4 bananas, and 5 small apples. For £8 the quality of the fruit did not exceed anything I could buy from the supermarket and was not good value - Tesco charge £4.23 for this amount of fruit loose minus the cranberries. 

I experienced 2 problems with my order, firstly there was some confusion over the dates on my recipe cards and a shorter date on one of my ingredients, secondly my crème fraiche had split so leaked a little on other products. On reporting these problems however I was assured that the expiry dates were very conservative so if stored correctly should be fine after the date printed and I was given a discount on my next order as an apology for the leakage.

Gousto reported that they are looking into more secure packaging and was to extend the expiry dates.


I will post the recipes separately!

Ratings  

Delivery - Only one choice of delivery day but no extra charge for delivery.

Packaging - despite some leaking products the packaging was appropriate for the ingredients.

Quality & Taste - The ingredients were a good standard quality.
 
Value for Money - More expensive than some similar services, the fruit bag was disappointing for the price.


Other comments: I couldn't help feeling that I was paying extra for the nice Gousto bag, I'm not sure if this comes with every order or just the first but It doesn't seem to actually hold a purpose other than being a gift. I enjoy the new recipes but felt that we were lacking in meat, for a quite high price I had a vegetarian dish and 2 chicken dishes. Usually I would expect the option of red, meat, sea food and more exotic ingredients for £42.
I will try dropping down to 2 meals at £30 to give Gousto another chance as the customer service was very good.

     

Overall Rating:

 

Abel & Cole

Having already tried the Riverford Organic Veg Boxes for about a year I though I'd try out the other big competitor on the market; Abel and Cole.

How easy was it to order?

Another easy to use website. Select a box, enter your details and your away. You can also add preferences to your account so as well as building a dislike list  you can also rate the veg in your upcoming box.


If you add vegetables to your dislike list they will replace them with items you do like where possible!

 

Delivery and Packaging

On Monday my box arrived before I was even up! at 7:30am a slip of paper through my letterbox indicated that my box had been left in my garage as asked.

My box was tied up with string in a re-usable box and for my first week contained a recipe book!

 

 

What's in the box?

 

For £15 a gourmet veg box feeds two people a few more interesting items than you may find in your usual boxes.
On opening my box I found cherry tomatoes, lettuce, chard, a green pepper and tender-stem broccoli. I could see my beans and beetroot had been replaced with fennel and globe artichokes.

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Ratings  
Delivery - Early delivery, on a set day, but they do charge 99p

Packaging - Minimal packaging, collected and re-used by farm

Quality & Taste - Nice quality fresh vegetables although I still have no idea how to prepare a globe artichoke!

Value for Money - Expect to pay more for organic


Other comments: It was great to be able to tell them what you don't like and have it substituted. A bit pricey for every week

     Overall Rating: