Tag Archives: Recipe

Cookery, Cooking and Baking, Gousto

Cooking with Gousto

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We have been using Gousto for about six months now and have been impressed with their variety of meals and step-by-step instructions which even I can follow! So we decided to show you how easy it is to cook with Gousto.

Disclaimer: We have no affiliation with Gousto and this recipe was ordered from our own account.

Shredded Hoisin Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:

You are provided with the necessary ingredients and the only one not included was vegetable oil.

British chicken breast strips
Tortillas
Cucumber
Gem lettuce
Hoisin sauce
Soy sauce
Spring onion
Toasted sesame seeds

Method

First we had to let the chicken air for a little bit before we started cooking it and then drizzle a little vegetable oil into a pan over a hight heat. Cook the chicken strips for about 5-6 minutes on each side until golden and the chicken is cooked through.

Then it’s time to cut up your cucumber into discs and then into matchsticks and slice your spring onions lengthways into thin strips.

Once the chicken is cooked, you need to shred it apart using two forks.

Put the shredded chicken back in the pan and add your soy sauce and hoisin sauce to it and cook until warmed through.

Wash your lettuce, pat it dry with kitchen paper and then finely shred it.

The tortillas just need to go into a microwave for about 20 seconds, just to warm.

Assemble the wraps…

Cover the tortilla with some hoisin sauce (we added this from our own hoisin sauce bottle!)

Add some lettuce on top…

then cucumber…

and sliced spring onions…

and lastly the shredded chicken.

Thoughts

This was a very simple recipe to follow with not much cooking involved and it took us about 20 minutes from start to finish. There are more complicated recipes and we will be doing one of them in the near future. The meal was tasty and three tortillas was just enough for us, which is another good thing about Gousto, it gives you portion control.

I have uploaded a video where we make this dish on my YouTube Channel, please give it a watch and see how we got on.

Great British Bake Off, Reviews

The Great British Bake Off 2024

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So here we go again, the new series of The Great British Bake Off when we all feel inspired to bake whilst sat on the sofa watching, but know in our heart-of-hearts that it won’t happen as we’re already thinking, “I can get that for £1 in Tescos!”

Bake Off Contestants 2024

I will be reviewing episodes each week (I will be on holiday for a couple of weeks but will try to catch up!) – so let’s start with a meet and greet of the bakers!

44 years old and a car mechanic from Essex.

33 years old and a menswear designer from London.

Aged 20, a retail assistant from Buckinghamshire.

34 years, a Paediatric Nurse from Carmarthenshire.

A 53 year old senior category manager from Lancashire.

Aged 71, a former nail technician from Kent.

31 years old, a birth trauma specialist midwife from Norfolk.

Aged 67 and from West Yorkshire, a former university lecturer.

A directorate support manager, aged 37 and from the West Midlands.

Aged 29 and a farm manager from Wiltshire.

A palliative care assistant, aged 44 and from Dorset.

Aged 19, dentistry student from Lancashire.

I’m going to make a bold move and choose my top two just from reading the descriptions of each baker!!

Number Two Choice:

Georgie – she is a self proclaimed cannoli connoisseur and lives in a Welsh farmhouse with her husband, three children, ten chickens, two ducks, two dogs and a cat!

Number One Choice:

John – John learned to bake with his nan and now bakes to honour his nan’s memory, he loves classic bakes with a twist! His favourite bake is a classic lemon tart.

It’s great to see them all back again – I was a bit sceptical when Alison Hammond joined the team, but I was soon loving her comments and of course her infectious laugh!

I’m very excited for this new series and I can’t wait to see if there will be any cooking disasters, messy workstations and of course, soggy bottoms!

Restaurants, Reviews

Mother Mash: Carnaby

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It was while we were watching a television programme called The Overlap on Tour when Mother Mash was featured that we decided that the next time we were in London we were going to go there.

So, true to our word, we visited Mother Mash in Carnaby to taste their pie and mash and, of course, their gravy!

Mother Mash – Carnaby (taken from their website)

We were shown to our table, (we had pre-booked as we had heard it got very busy) and presented with their menu. There were three steps to ordering your meal:

There were eight different types of mash…

  • CLASSIC – natural mash with milk and butter
  • CHEESY – natural mash with mature chedder
  • CHEESY MUSTARD – natural mash with mature cheddar and wholegrain mustard
  • CHAMP – traditional Irish mash with milk, butter, cheddar cheese and spring onions
  • HORSERADISH – natural mash with creamy horseradish
  • COLCANNON – traditional Irish mash with milk, butter, cabbage and onions
  • SWEET POTATO – natural sweet potato with carrot and a sprinkling of chilli
  • BUBBLE AND SQUEAK – traditional old English recipe, fried mash potatoes, cabbage, peas and onions

You had the choice of either sausages or a pie…

Sausages

  • CUMBERLAND – classic British pork with pepper
  • LINCOLNSHIRE – classic British pork with sage
  • LONDON SMOKEY – hickory wood smoked port
  • PORK AND CHILLI (Gluten Free) – Pork, chilli, cumin and smoked paprika
  • MOTHER PLUCKER – chicken with sundried tomato and pepper
  • VEGETABLE AND HERB (Vegan) – vegan sausage

Pies

  • STEAK AND BLACKHEART STOUR
  • CHICKEN, MUSHROOM AND BACON
  • TRADITIONAL MINCE BEEF
  • SPICED VEGETABLE AND CAMEMBERT
  • BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SWEET POTATO (Vegetarian)

And the last decision you have to make…

  • TRADITIONAL – simple gravy using the juice from sausages and vegetables
  • ONION – caramelised red and white Spanish onions with vegetarian stock (vegetarian/gluten free)
  • FARMER’S – red wine, onion, smoked bacon and mushrooms
  • LIQUOR – traditional parsley sauce (vegetarian)
  • VEGGIE – seasonable vegetables, tomato puree and horseradish (vegan/vegetarian/gluten free).

So, I chose the cheesy mash, I had the special for the day which was steak and stilton and onion gravy and hubby had the bubble and squeak mash, traditional mince beef with the farmer’s gravy.

My pie and mash!

The steak and stilton pie was delicious, the cheese really came through and mixed with the steak was wonderful. The pastry was flaky, buttery and tasty. The gravy was on another level, it was flavourful and just the right amount of thickness. I love mashed potato and the cheesy mash was smooth and very moreish.

Hubby enjoyed his and washed down with a bottle of lager, he was a happy man.

Always a good sign – my clean plate!

There are also sides you can have – mushy peas, baked beans, buttered savoy cabbage to name a few. We decided to just have the pie and mash.

Their pudding menu had some sweet pies – apple pie, apple crumble and apple and blackberry pie together with sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownie and ginger bread. But we were too full and with all of our willpower declined a pudding.

Thoughts…

We thought this was very good value for money, considering we were in the heart of London – we paid a total of £41 (with tip) and came out of the restaurant feeling full.

The waiting staff were very good, the food was served quickly and hot, but we didn’t feel rushed.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Mother Mash, they have two restaurants in London, one in Carnaby and one in Covent Garden and we will be visiting them again when we’re in London.

Cooking and Baking

Moussaka

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What do you do when your son comes to pay a visit, who just happens to be a chef in a Michelin Starred restaurant? You get him to make you dinner, that’s what you do. So he made a Moussaka for us inspired by a Rick Stein programme filmed in Greece where a lady made a moussaka for Rick, with a few twists of his own.

Ingredients

  • 500 grammes of lamb mince
  • 4 red onions
  • Two cloves of garlic
  • Dried oregano
  • Dried cinnamon powder
  • Tin of chopped tomatoes
  • Vegetable and lamb stock cubes
  • Tomato puree
  • 70 grammes of plain flour
  • Two aubergines
  • Two courgettes
  • 500 mills of milk
  • Splash of wine
  • Two baking potatoes
  • Dried nutmeg
  • Parmesan cheese for topping

Method

After peeling and slicing the potatoes and red onions, layer the potatoes and one onion’s worth in a ovenpoof dish, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

potatoes-and-onion
Potatoes and onions roasted

Whilst this is in the oven, turn your attention to making the lamb ragu. Start by browning off your mince, put to the side, sweat off your onions and your roughly chopped garlic. Then add two tablespoons of dried organo and cinammon powder with one good squirt of tomato puree.

 

Return your mince to the pot and add the white wine. Reduce this mixture down by two thirds.

Once done, add tin of chopped tomatoes and fill the empty can with tap water, crush and sprinkle in your stock cubes then add to mixture and leave to cook on a medium to low heat until the sauce has reduced and thickened.

eggplant
Char grilled aubergines and courgettes

Thinly slice your courgettes and aubergines, place in a bowl and season generously with olive oil and salt and pepper, heat a griddle pan up to a high temperature then grill your vegetables to get a char grill on them.

 

Once grilled, place on a plate covered with tin foil to allow to steam.

Weigh out equal parts, butter and flour (70 grammes), melt butter in the pan, add flour to make a roux. Slowly add in your milk until the mixture becomes a creamy conistency.

To layer the moussaka, place the cooked layer of potatoes and onions on the bottom, add one layer of ragu, cover in your grilled vegetables, another layer of ragu, with another layer of vegetables and then add your creamy Béchamel sauce to the top.  Add a sprinkling of Paremesan on top and put in the oven at 185ºC for 30 minutes until golden brown on top.  Leave to rest for ten minutes before serving.

moussaka
Moussaka

There you have it, I’m not biased but this was the best moussaka that I have tasted, there are different techniques used in this recipe, but it isn’t difficult and the end result is worth the extra effort!

Take a look at the YouTube video below – which shows the different stages of the moussaka!

Thank you for watching!