All Change

The weather is changing after an amazing Summer, School’s Back and Freshers’ Week begins.

So, let’s bring back the thrill of Sundays as the kitchen fills the house with those amazing smells of roasts resting, veggies bubbling, gravy simmering and tatties roasting.

Make the most of the Roast this weekend.According to Parents Magazine (23 May, 2024) “Eating family meals together just might be the ultimate parenting hack.”

Using that one hour together can improve kid’s academic performance, increase self-esteem, and reduce the risk of substance misuse, depression, and other byproducts of growing up.

It’s fun too.Share ideas about the meal, particularly on a home visit from Uni – our garden sweet Mint Sauce stirred into tenderstem broccoli adds a refreshing dimension, particularly served with Roast Lamb.

Mix a handful of Garden Peas to the broccoli for a veritable feast.Roast ‘snips’ maketh the meal, drizzled in honey and rolled in our Wholegrain Cider & Horseradish Mustard. The flavour combination is nothing short of AMAZING.Lamb is a firm favourite and takes many different forms. Here served simply with roasted vegetables and a Mint & Coriander Salsa Verde – see the recipe HERE.

It makes the lamb the true star of the table, using the juices in the roasting tray to enhance the freshness of the veg.Keep things simple (if you can). A simple trio of veg can be cooked together for a colourful accompaniment, the cooking water added to the gravy.

The joint is the centrepiece. Treat it with the respect it deserves, served with condiments to complement its quality and your cooking:All the condiments you need for every Roast Dinner! All this, just £15 (+p&p) HERE.

Contains one of each of the following:

Bramley Apple Sauce with Cider (240g) Made with Bramley apples & British dry cider

Mint Sauce (195g) A blend of garden mint & white wine vinegar

Redcurrant Jelly (215g) Rich, smooth and bursting with fruit

Creamed Horseradish Sauce (220g) Made with horseradish root & single cream

Cranberry Sauce (260g) Crammed with cranberries this spoonable sauce has a richly intense flavour.

When time is not on your side, yet quality, wholesome, tasty food is still the understandable priority, these tips will help your planning.

Pytt i Panna

This Swedish dish translates as ‘small pieces in a pan‘ because that’s exactly what it is, lots of leftovers or bits and pieces from the fridge fried up in a pan. Serve with lingonberry jam for a true taste of Sweden.We are going to use the Pytt I Panna theme to use up some leftover roast lamb. It’s fun to cook and delicious to share with family and friends.

Try it, you will love it, and make your own family versions for future ‘small pieces in a pan’.

You’ll find our RECIPE – HERE.One-Pan-Wonder

One of our favourites and one we hope will inspire you too. Similar to the Pytt i but more of a British / Mediterranean mix.

Fry off sliced onion and peppers in a large pan. Add skinned / sliced chorizo (great flavours & colour). Squeeze sausage meat out of their skins, roll into small balls, and add to the pan.

TIP: Don’t season the dish. The chorizo and sausage meat will take care of that for you.

Leftover potatoes added to warm through now work a real treat.

If it’s too dry, just add a splash of water (beer works well too at this stage). A scattering of peas or sweetcorn add colour, and two or three shakes of our Bloody Mary Ketchup add depth.

When the meat is cooked, fry an egg each on top and serve (you may need to hold the pan under the grill to finish the eggs).Fish Friday

Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Tilapia fillets – they all fit the bill. Fish, particularly these, are heaven’s fast food.

The fish will take 2 minutes, 3 tops.

Get your potatoes on, cooked, drained, herbed and tossed in butter. Likewise, the vegetables (we’re using a go-to combi of leeks &  celery here, drained and finished with a splash of white wine, Dijon Mustard, and butter).

Pat the fillets dry then place them gently skin side down in a pan of foaming herby butter. Just hold each down for a second or two with the flat of a spatula.

After just one and a half / two minutes, turn them over carefully, taking the pan off the heat. Plate up with the crispy skin on top and twist a little Maldon seas salt flakes on the top.

Quick, tasty, wholesome fun.

Top of the Pots

First, let’s answer that question:

What’s the difference between a casserole and a stew?

…the main difference between a casserole and a stew is the cooking method: a casserole is typically cooked in the oven, while a stew is cooked on the stovetop, reducing the gravy to a thicker sauce.There’s something truly satisfying about One-Pot cooking and it’s not just the fact that (in theory) you have only one cooking pot to clean after supper.

It is so good to watch the dish grow and the flavours intensify as you add each element – meat, vegetables, herbs, spices, stock, Stokes, seasoning – and watch it simmer away, filling the kitchen, hall and house with delicious smells ……until – BOOM – supper’s ready guys.

Using Stokes Sauces as ingredients, takes those flavours to new heights and their intensity (ironically) to intoxicating depth.Hearty Sausage Casserole (or is it a stew?!)

This is such a simple dish, adding all the ingredients to the pot as directed. Sit around the table and eat it in a bowl with a thick slice of buttered bread. A beer would go down well with it.

See and enjoy the RECIPE – HERE.Cheap & Cheerful Hearty Cassoulet

Chef’s wholesome recipe – HERE – is a healthy collection of leeks, carrots, onion and swede with haricot beans all celebrating the sausage meat balls in this one-pot wonder.All-in Beef Casserole

1. Two x 500g packs of diced beef makes a family pot like this.
2. In a deep casserole of softening sliced onion and celery, brown off the beef then coat with two tablespoons of flour.
3. Add 750ml of beef stock and a great handful of chopped root vegetables.
4. Bring the pan to the boil, then down to a simmer, adding 2tbsp (or more) of our Real Tomato Ketchup (better, natural flavour than purée) and 2 tsp of our Creamed Horseradish Sauce.
5. Cover and simmer for one and a half hours; check the seasoning and flavours (I love a dollop of our Real Brown Sauce to add sweet date and Persian spice to the dish) adjusting as needed.
6. Simmer for 20 / 30 more minutes (uncovered) to thicken up the sauce.

Enjoy the dish with creamy mashed potatoes or hunk of bread.

Serve, smile and relax.