Seasonal Sensations

2025 – EARLY STARTER

The British asparagus season 2025 has started really early!! According to Wye Valley produce, and some of our supermarket and Farm Shop shelves.

Waitrose has welcomed an extra early asparagus season.

Sam Witherington, Waitrose Vegetable Buyer comments, “We’ve seen phenomenal demand for asparagus at Waitrose already this year with sales up 50%.

We know how much our customers enjoy home-grown British asparagus …”Grilled or steamed, asparagus is quick and easy to get to the plate and enjoy with, well, with whatever you’re serving – morning noon and night … but only while the season lasts.

Mussels in Mediterranean Tomato Sauce.

1. When cooking mussels (and clams for that matter) the process tends to create its own ocean-flavoured sauces. Just adding a few simple ingredients gives depth to the broth that can be served with pasta of soaked up with bread.
2. In a deep-sided pot on a gentle heat, melt a good knob of butter. Add 2 or 3 finely chopped shallots to soften before adding a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. About 5 minutes should do the trick.
3. Add a couple of diced tomatoes, chopped celery, a tin of chopped tomatoes, 125ml of dry white wine, and chopped parsley (stalks and all). Combine well, with two or three good slugs of our thick Tomato Ketchup and Chilli Ketchup to taste.
4. Add a net of mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded, discarding any that are open pre-cooking.
5. Follow the pack instructions, simmering for 8 minutes until the shells have opened – this time, discard any that have not opened.

This looks quite a lot but it really is an easy dish serving 2 and ready in minutes,

You’ll need:

• 750ml chicken stock
• 3 or 4 good teaspoons of Thai Green Curry Paste
• 2 desert spoons Thai Fish Sauce
• Stokes Chilli Ketchup (glug to taste)
• Lemongrass, 1 stalk, broken is a couple of places to release the flavour
• 2 cm of fresh grated ginger
• 6 lime leaves, (optional, but really nice)
• 2 red chillies, chopped
• The juice of 1 lime (or more to taste)
• 8 fresh prawns, shelled
• 2 fresh prawns, shell on
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Here’s How:

1. Add the curry paste, lemongrass, ginger and lime leaves to the boiling stock and simmer for 5 mins.
2. Now add the fish sauce (for sourness), the chillis (for heat), chilli ketchup (for sweeter heat), lime juice (for sweet umami).
3. Taste, season, adjust before adding the prawns. Once they turn from blue / grey to a beautiful pink, stir in half the coriander, taste and adjust – heat, sweet, sour.
4. Serve with the shell-on prawns and remaining coriander to garnish.

Spaghetti alle Vongole

This is as Italian as it comes and, as such, has simple ingredients that marry with ease and taste amazing – rather like Stokes! Serves 2 lucky diners.

You’ll Need

• 500g small, sweet clams, lightly scrubbed clean (lose any open ones)
• 2 big garlic cloves, crushed and sliced
• 150ml white wine
• 2 tsp of Stokes Dijon or English Mustard
• 140g dried spaghetti
• extra virgin olive oil
• a good handful of chopped flat parsley

Here’s How

1. Start cooking the pasta.
2. Coat the garlic with good olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook gently until it just starts to brown.
3. Add the clams. Pour in the wine. Lid on.
4. After 3 or 4 minutes the clams will start to open.
5. Give the pan a gentle shake until they’ve all opened.
6. Take the pan off the heat. Discard any clams that haven’t opened.
7. Drain the pasta, keeping about a cup of the cooking liquor.
8. Add the pasta to the clams. Stir everything together with the parsley leaves and about half the cup of reserved pasta liquor (this will give a creamy thickness to the sauce. Add more if needed).
9. Absolutely NO CREAM

Enjoy!

Have you tried ‘mayonnaising‘, the latest foodie trend for Food Lovers?

When ordinary mayo just isn’t enough, the real stuff becomes deliciously – amayonnaising.Sicilian Lemon & Dill Mayonnaise

Release the Sicilian sunshine with this superbly rich and fresh mayonnaise. It has Sicilian lemon juice, aromatic chopped dill and is made with British free-range eggs. Garlic Mayonnaise

A Real Mayonnaise made with British free-range whole egg and real garlic puree. Perfect for those who crave the flavour and richness of a quality aioli. Delicious mixed into mash potato or as a dip for hot prawns.Habanero Chilli Mayonnaise.

A hot and spicy mayonnaise with fermented red habanero chilli and fragrant coriander for a real depth of flavour. All this wrapped in velvet-smooth mayonnaise.

But there’s more. Meet our full Mayonnaise Family HERE.