waitrose Archives - Time for a coffee

May 20, 2025

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.

February 10, 2025

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.

November 28, 2024

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.

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.

November 23, 2024

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.

February 28, 2024February 26, 2024

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.

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.

February 12, 2024February 4, 2024

I knew that

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

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 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.

June 1, 2023

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.

May 30, 2023May 29, 2023

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.

January 4, 2023January 3, 2023

The story behind those green boxes

As we leave Christmas behind, I am reminded of the visit I made to Waitrose just after Christmas to get some coffee and milk. As I looked down the aisles I noticed amongst the shelves lots of large green boxes.

For many of us, planning our Christmas meals, we order main courses, sides, party dishes and desserts from our favourite supermarket and then as the big day approaches, we try to get through the crowds to pick up our orders. Often these orders come in plain boxes, and in the case of Waitrose green coloured boxes.

The reality is that not everyone comes and collects their orders. I also suspect sometimes people pick up their boxes, having only paid a deposit and leave the one or two they don’t want before leaving the store. What is the story behind those forgotten or left behind green boxes? We may never know, but it did get me thinking about what those stories could be?

Was the order placed and then personal circumstances changed so the order was never picked up. Was it something drastic and awful? A sudden admission to hospital, redundancy, something worse! The meal might not have been cancelled, just reduced in size and numbers. They didn’t need as many joints of meat as they ordered, that boneless stuffed leg of lamb gets left on the shelf.

Maybe it was less dramatic, maybe that unexpected invite meant that a massive festive feast was no longer needed. The need to cook a large meal disappears, the order is ignored.

Could it have even been forgotten, maybe an order was placed elsewhere and a solitary green box was ordered and then forgotten.

Amongst the green boxes on the shelves was a vegan party pack comprising red onion bhajis, crisp sweet potato nibbles, and some dips. Was this ordered and then left behind? Were the vegan friends that were originally invited over for Christmas drinks and nibbles now unable to attend? Had the daughter broken up with the vegan boyfriend? We will never know for sure.

In a large green box was a large shin of beef. A huge joint that required extensive time, five plus hours, in the oven to cook. Maybe this isn’t what they thought it was, maybe they thought it was a pre-cooked beef shin that had been slow cooked and only needed heating up in the oven.

I know that sometimes when I have picked up an order, what I get is not what I expected and I feel a little disappointed. I can quite easily imagine ordering an expensive green box, looking inside, thinking, that is not what I was expecting, and leaving it in the store.

What are the stories behind the green boxes, we may never know.

June 27, 2022

Pork Shoulder Kebab

When I was last in Waitrose I saw in their barbecue range a Mexican inspired pork king kebab

Outdoor-bred British pork (shoulder) is seasoned with a spicy Al Pastor rub which blends chipotle and ancho chilli, black pepper, cumin, clove and cinnamon. Finished with a sticky pineapple, chilli and oregano glaze.

I did quite like the sound of this, but then I saw the price of £9.50 (£11.88 per kg). Well this put me off slightly and I did think it might me a little too spicy for some.

So I decided to have a go at making it myself. I got some pork shoulder from Aldi, which was £3.19 (£4.56 per kg). This I cut into strips and then rubbed with some pepper and garlic seasoning, and some salt.

I then threaded the strips onto skewers. I used two skewers so that the pork was like a flat slab.

This I then chargrilled on my griddle pan.

Once the pork was cooked, I let it rest and then I sliced the pork off the skewer.

It was rather good.