Fun of the Fayre

Great food doesn’t always need a kitchen full of culinary wizards, a cupboard packed with dated ingredients, or an afternoon spent stirring something that may, or may not, put wonderful fayre on your table.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little creativity, some good guidance and a handful of great ingredients.

That’s where a really good Sauce or Condiment earns its place in the cupboard. Our lovingly crafted creations are intended to turn the everyday into something rather more exciting.[Here, we’ve air fried the sausages and added them to the final stages of a vegetable stew, thick with celery, fennel, carrot and waxy potatoes simmered in a good stock; and rich with Chipotle Ketchup for its smoky chilli heat. The smokiness is a good backdrop to the herby sausage, but if chilli’s not for you, add our Bloody Mary Tomato Ketchup for a sophisticated simple feast.]

The humble sausage casserole has a little extra swagger; your roast dinner gathers all to table (without their phones!!!); or adding depth and character to a tray-baked chicken.[This speaks for itself. Bone-in thigh joints for maximum juicy flavour, assorted vegetables and peppers, and two spoons full of our wholegrain Cider & Horseradish Mustard. Add a splash or three of Aspell’s Premier Cru dry cider to help steam the veg and deliver a wonderful rich jus.]

And why stop there?

With the right ingredients and a dash of inspiration, the culinary journey can take you much further afield.[A flavour-packed Lamb Tagine using mouthwatering lamb shanks. The recipe includes directions for a Mint Yogurt & Lemon Dressing which dances on top of the authentic spices and rich fruits below. RECIPE HERE.]

A fragrant lamb tagine perfumed with the heady aromas of North Africa; or a gloriously indulgent confit of duck that looks as though you’ve spent all day in the kitchen (your secret is safe with us).[To confit duck legs from scratch is time consuming. So we use Gressingham Confit Duck Legs. They do the hard work, we develop the sumptuous Confit Duck Cassoulet in chef’s RECIPE HERE.]

So, let’s celebrate the joy of making fantastic food without making life unnecessarily complicated.

Because, with a little imagination, a helping hand from Stokes, and ingredients worth getting excited about, dinner can go from ‘what shall we have tonight?’ to ‘wow, this is delicious’ pdq.[The long, slow cooking of the beef ensures the tenderest, tastiest filling for this delicious Beef Pie. Adding our Real Brown Sauce gives the gravy a wonderful depth of flavour, sweet with dates and aromatic with Persian spices. An unusual marriage you say, but it really works as you’ll see in the RECIPE HERE.]

Meat and three veg is still one of the most popular dishes in the country, but the veg can come with a tasty twist. Roasted Roots combine the caramelised flavours of the Vegetable Medley.

A juicy sweetness evolves in the longer, lower heat bake, which works beautifully on the palate with the contrasting warmth of our Creamed Horseradish Sauce.Tenderstem Broccoli is a splendid thing – sweet, juicy, and good for you too. It goes with everything.

A delicious twist is to drain it then finish it in butter with a little of our sweet garden Mint Sauce – it’s amazing, especially with roast lamb or lamb chops.Roast Potatoes. The best potatoes for roasting are floury or all-purpose varieties like Maris Piper, King Edward, or Yukon Gold. These have enough starch to turn crispy and golden on the outside while keeping the inside soft and fluffy.

Parboil them in salted water then rough up the edges as they drain in a colander. Let them cool before coating them in a bowl of combined oil, chopped parsley and Cider & Horseradish Mustard.

Lay them out in a tray of pre-heated hot fat and roast them to delicious perfection.Gravy. A great tip that was passed to me and I love sharing in turn.

Thoughts of a good gravy start long before the roast even hits the oven. Just about any roast – chicken, lamb, whatever – sits on a trivet of vegetables.

A criss-cross of celery with fennel, thyme, onion, carrot and fruits for citric balance. An inch of boiling water beneath the meat; a foil topping and into the oven.

The water steams for a moist meat and its juices add to the tray below.

20 to 30 minutes before the end, remove the foil and put the joint back into the oven, having poured the liquor into a pan. Bring to a rapid boil, add a stock bouillon and reduce  by half (at least). Add a knob or two of butter, to thicken and develop a glaze to the reducing gravy, and a spoonful or two of Stokes.

What you stir into the simmering gravy depends on what you’re roasting and how you wish to compliment the flavours:

Red Onion Marmalade – gives the gravy a sweet, caramelised onion depth.

Chilli Jam – bigs up the jus with a gentle chilli heat.

Creamed Horseradish – adds a welcoming yet gentle warmth to a gravy served with Roast Beef.

Redcurrant Jelly – produces a sweet, fruity depth to the sauce. Great with lamb and amazing with duck.

Mint Sauce – well, you get the picture.

Real Brown Sauce – you’ll be amazed!

A really good Sauce or Condiment earns its place at the table. Our lovingly crafted creations turn the everyday into something rather more exciting.

And, when they’re bundled for value like these, the price is exciting too.

Collections & Bundles for good folk who love good food.A traditional Roast ‘Dinner’ is a wonderful thing, bringing families together, phones away, chatter, joy and – ‘WOW‘ – what a day!

A parade of steaming vegetables, roasties, Yorkshire puds, gravy, and the crowning glory … a cut of prime British Beef, crackling Pork, succulent Lamb, or free-range Chuck.The Roast Dinner Collection is a delicious collaboration of condiments intended to complement your roast, rather than conflict with overpowering hits of less graceful flavours.

Bought individually, each of the Redcurrant Jelly, Cranberry Sauce, Creamed Horseradish, Bramley Apple Sauce and (let’s not forget the sweet garden) Mint Sauce would cost £20.40 (+p&p).

As a collection, it’s just £15.00 (+p&p)

Breakfast – best meal of the day, made better still with a shake, spread, dollop of something rather special from Stokes.

The collection includes:

Our Seville Orange Marmalade, a classic fine cut Seville Orange Marmalade made to a traditional English recipe and rich in Seville Oranges.

A rich and fruity soft set Strawberry Extra Jam, crammed with strawberries (50% fruit) giving this jam its full flavoured hints of Wimbledon.

Our very grownup Brown Sauce, rich with date purée, black treacle & our unique blend of Persian spices.

Stokes award-winning Real Tomato Ketchup is thick and full-flavoured thanks to the 200g of Mediterranean tomatoes reduced into each 100g of chup.

Last (but certainly not least), for anyone with a taste for really good ketchup with a twist, our Bloody Mary Ketchup. It’s our classic tomato ketchup made with a dash of real vodka and a generous hit of Bloody Mary spice. The Breakfast Collection – just £16 (+p&p).The ultimate collection (or gift!).We have put together the essential pack for pure foodies, full of our favourite real food sauces! 9 of some of our most popular sauces, to make your dining experiences extra special and your dishes extra tasty!

The Food Lovers Bundle – just £35 plus FREE DELIVERY !!!