Tag: waitrose

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Keralan Inspired Fish Curry

No.1 Keralan Inspired Fish Curry

I had bought this ready meal, No.1 Keralan Inspired Fish Curry from Waitrose which was 20% off.

Our No.1 Keralan Inspired Fish Curry is our take on a favourite dish from the coastal state of Kerala, in the south west of India. Succulent hake fillet is marinated and roasted, and served in a creamy coconut, onion and tomato sauce, spiced with chilli and mustard seeds. It’s finished with fresh coriander and sliced red chillies.

I cooked it in the oven and served it with some basmati rice. It was rather good and I enjoyed it. The fish was nice, and I enjoyed the curry sauce that it was served with. There was heat in the dish, but not excessively so. I certainly would have this again.

I was intrigued by this ready meal as I do quite like a fish curry. I had enjoyed the Tawa Fish from Nadu, was simply a seasonal fish grilled in bell pepper & ginger sauce. Likewise the fish curry I had at the Hen & Chickens in Birmingham last year was also a dish I equally enjoyed. The Goan Monkfish Curry from Dishoom in Birmingham was also very tasty. 

I think it was these three experiences that made me want to try the fish curry from Waitrose. I should really try and cook my own fish curry in the future.

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Waitrose No.1 Free Range Turkey Bauble

Waitrose No.1 Free Range Turkey Bauble
Waitrose No.1 Free Range Turkey Bauble (box image)

I generally post what we had for Christmas lunch in the main for me, so I can recall for next year (and the years ahead).

This year I had gone down a different strategy about what to buy and cook and went out on Christmas Eve to see what had been reduced. My plan had been to go to Aldi, but my local branch had almost nothing left. There was a goose, but it hadn’t been reduced. 

So, later I went to Waitrose to see if they had anything I could get. They actually had a large quantity of reduced turkey roasts, turkeys, and some goose as well.

The Waitrose No.1 Free Range Turkey Bauble was reduced from £50 down to £25.

Fresh class A free range skin-on turkey breast, with a pork, mixed dried fruit and rum stuffing, wrapped with dry cured smoked streaky bacon, topped with a candied orange slice, rosemary and bay leaves, with a sachet of honey and orange glaze and salted butter.

This was actually the cheapest of the turkey options, so I went with that.

On the big day, I followed the cooking instructions and to be perfectly honest I wasn’t that impressed. The turkey was a little dry, and the shape wasn’t quite a bauble. Due to the nature of the presentation, there was quite a bit of string around the bauble. I wasn’t exactly sure how to carve the bauble; from the box it looked like you cut it like a cake. I did not think a chunk of turkey was a nice as a decent slice. The stuffing was interesting, but I couldn’t really taste the rum, didn’t actually realise there was rum until I started writing this. I liked the idea of the honey and orange glaze, but not sure if it worked.

Overall, I really wasn’t that happy with the turkey bauble. I really liked the concept, and I thought it would make an impressive centre piece of our Christmas Day lunch. In reality I carved it on the side of the kitchen, and it didn’t actually make it to the table. It didn’t look anything like the picture on the side of the box. I certainly would not have paid £50 for it. Even at £25 I think I felt cheated. So much so that I nearly took advantage of Waitrose’s money back guarantee.

Would I get it again, no.

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Unearthed Ibérico Pork with Gnocchi

Unearthed Ibérico Pork with Gnocchi

Once when I was staying in an apartment in London I had tried the Unearthed Iberico Pork, and had enjoyed it. Didn’t write about it though. The next time I had it  at home I did write it up.

The meat was very tender and full of flavour. I really enjoyed it.

The Unearthed Iberico Pork that I got was sold at Waitrose. This is not a huge pack and as you might expect is a little more expensive than other pork cuts on sale.

The ultimate pork meat which delivers an intense flavour! This award winning free range Iberico pork is from South West Spain. This ancient breed roams freely and forages for food. Iberico is widely revered as one of the best meats in the world due to its rich delicious flavour. Ibérico Presa Roaming freely in the dehesas, sparsely wooded pasturelands of quercus trees that can only be found in the south-west of Spain, this ancient grazing breed is perfectly adapted to this environment. Ibérico pigs are able to store large amounts of fat which makes the meat especially succulent and tender. The constant exercise and natural source of feed also mean that the meat is delicious! 

Having enjoyed it a few times now, I got another pack from Waitrose.

I followed the instructions on the pack, cooking the steaks for three minutes each side, basting in butter. I let the meat rest and then sliced and served on a bed gnocchi in a mushroom, spinach and cream sauce. I cooked the gnocchi according to the instructions on the pack. Whilst the sauce was made by cooking some onions until they were soft, and then adding mushrooms to the pan, before adding some spinach and some crème fraîche with parmesan cheese

As before the pork was lovely and tender and really tasty.

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itsu Chicken Ramen

I hadn’t anticipated making a ramen, but I had popped to Waitrose to, essentially get some bread, but had a browse and in their stir fry meal deal they had itsu Chicken Gyoza Dumplings,  itsu Chicken Ramen Brilliant Broth, and itsu Restaurant Ramen Original Noodles.

I decided I would have ramen for tea.

So, what I did was first chargrill the chicken in a frying pan and kept this warm to one side. I stir fried some vegetables in the pan I had cooked the chicken. After they were cooked, I did some mushrooms.

While this was cooking I cooked the noodles in boiling water. The gyoza dumplings were heated up in the microwave. I also heated up the itsu Chicken Ramen Brilliant Broth in another pan.

In a large bowl, I placed the cooked noodles, the vegetables, and the chicken gyoza dumplings. I added the itsu Chicken Ramen Brilliant Broth, before topping with sliced chargrilled chicken. I garnished the dish with the cooked mushrooms and a boiled egg.

I was really pleased with the end result. So much so, that I did a version with a roasted duck breast.

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Unearthed Iberico Pork with Pasta

Unearthed Iberico Pork with Pasta

Once when I was staying in an apartment in London I had tried the Unearthed Iberico Pork, and had enjoyed it. Didn’t write about it though.

The ultimate pork meat which delivers an intense flavour! This award winning free range Iberico pork is from South West Spain. This ancient breed roams freely and forages for food. Iberico is widely revered as one of the best meats in the world due to its rich delicious flavour. Ibérico Presa Roaming freely in the dehesas, sparsely wooded pasturelands of quercus trees that can only be found in the south-west of Spain, this ancient grazing breed is perfectly adapted to this environment. Ibérico pigs are able to store large amounts of fat which makes the meat especially succulent and tender. The constant exercise and natural source of feed also mean that the meat is delicious! 

I recently bought a pack from Waitrose, 

I followed the instructions on the pack, cooking the steaks for three minutes each side, basting in butter. I let the meat rest and then sliced and served on a bed of butternut squash and sage tortellini.

The meat was very tender and full of flavour. I really enjoyed it.

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Crispy Duck with Noodles

Crispy Duck with Noodles

This was a quick and easy meal using a stir fry deal from Waitrose.

I took some duck strips, and coated them with beaten egg. I then dusted them with some plain flour. These were then shallow fried until cooked. These were removed from the pan. 

I cleaned the pan and then stir fried some vegetables. Once they were nearly cooked, I added a Wagamama Korean BBQ stir fry sauce. After stirring I added the cooked duck and some cooked egg noodles.

Mixed in and served.

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Chicken Flatbread

I have always enjoyed the Kurdish wraps from Matina in the St Nicholas market in Bristol. The star of the show is the freshly baked flat bread, but the salads and pickles that you get in that bread are also really tasty.

I tried my own version of the wrap. Not an identical copy, one that was inspired by the Matin wrap. They were delicious, so I decided to do something similar again. Instead of lamb, this time I did chargrilled chicken.

flatbread

I made some red cabbage slaw, this was thinly sliced red cabbage dressed with white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. This I made about thirty minutes in advance.

I also did some pickled red onion. In a pan I heated some vinegar, added salt, sugar and pepper and then added some sliced red onion. I kept it on the heat for a minute or so, then took it off the heat.

I took some Middle Eastern laffa bread from Waitrose, these are handstretched flatbreads from The Levantine Table range.

I spread some chilli jam, hummus, tzatziki, on the flatbread. I then added the chargrilled chicken, which I had seasoned and cooked on my griddle. I then added some shredded romaine lettuce heart, sliced cucumber, and coriander.

Really good result.

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I knew that

I have always enjoyed the Kurdish wraps from Matina in the St Nicholas market in Bristol. The star of the show is the freshly baked flat bread, but the salads and pickles that you get in that bread are also really tasty.

I tried my own version of the wrap. Not an identical copy, one that was inspired by the Matin wrap.

lamb kebab

I made some red cabbage slaw, this was thinly sliced red cabbage dressed with white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. This I made about thirty minutes in advance.

I also did some pickled red onion. In a pan I heated some vinegar, added salt, sugar and pepper and then added some sliced red onion. I kept it on the heat for a minute or so, then took it off the heat.

I took some Middle Eastern laffa bread from Waitrose, these are handstretched flatbreads from The Levantine Table range.

I spread some hummus, tzatziki, on the flatbread. I added some shredded romaine lettuce heart and sliced cucumber.

The lamb was some boned leg, which I had cubed and seasoned with rosemary, salt, and pepper. I chargrilled the lamb on my griddle. The cooked lamb was added to the flat bread, and I finished off the dish with the red cabbage slaw and the pickled red onion. The lamb was really tender and tasty.

Though I really enjoyed this meal, it wasn’t as good as those from Matina, but then I knew that.

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No.1 British Free Range Pork Ribeye Steak again…

Having enjoyed the pack of No.1 British Free Range Pork Ribeye Steak from Waitrose on our barbecue the other day decided I would get another pack to cook.

This time though I followed the instructions.

They said…

Remove bag from box. Place the bag in simmering water for 15 minutes, remove from bag and pan fry on a medium heat for 6-8 minutes using butter to baste.

Now it may just have been that pack, but I think it might have  been the way I cooked it. It wasn’t as good as the first time we had it. It was not as tender and lacked flavour compared to the barbecued version I had done.

Not sure I will make the effort to get it again, especially after the special offer period is over; it’s currently 20% off.

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No.1 British Free Range Pork Ribeye Steak

I had seen this pack in Waitrose a few times now and was intrigued.

British pork ribeye steak with sage leaves and thyme sprigs. Free range pork ribeye steak, tender, succulent and full of flavour, from pigs sired by pedigree Hampshire boars, a breed renowned for excellent meat. All our pigs are reared to higher welfare standards by British farmers who share our values

I was planning a barbecue with a mix of meats, so decided I would add this pork steak to the mix.

In the box was a sealed plastic pack containing the pork. I cut it open and was pleasantly surprised to find two steaks in the pack.

I then read the instructions on the back of the box…

Ah…

It said…

Remove bag from box. Place the bag in simmering water for 15 minutes, remove from bag and pan fry on a medium heat for 6-8 minutes using butter to baste.

Well I didn’t do that!

Anyhow I cooked the steaks on the barbecue and they cooked well and were very tasty.