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Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

thai beef lettuce wraps – a gousto giveaway

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… as you can imagine, being the international food blogger extrordinaire that I am, I receive a lot of requests from brands to review stuff and if i’m brutally honest… which I probably shouldn’t be… most of the stuff is utter crap… which is why it’s nice to have received an honest email from the good people at Gousto asking me to review their Gourmet Bag delivery… I was a little reserved at first as this is such a busy month for all of us and I really didn’t know if i’d find the time to review anything but when they explained the concept behind their company I was intrigued…

… and Gousto is a simple concept… it’s essentially a weekly organic food delivery service with added recipes…every week they create recipes on their website… you choose which recipes you like and they send you the ingredients for that exact recipe… most of the stuff is already portioned, all you have to do is prepare and cook it… it’s like opening your favourite cookbook and the ingredients magically appearing… or if you still don’t quite get the concept yet, imagine that annoying bit in Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals, where Mr Oliver advises you to ‘have everything prepared in advance’… well this is that bit… genius…

… the gousto gourmet bag includes 2 meals for 2 people… I had about 8 recipes to choose from and I went for thai beef lettuce wraps, which I made for lunch on Monday… and tagliatelle with artichoke hearts, courgette puree and capers, which The viking and I will had for dinner last night… the box of goodies was delivered to my door and was beautifully wrapped in eco-friendly swaddling to keep it nice a fresh… each recipe comes with it’s own recipe card and very, very clear and user-friendly instructions, with pictures… it honestly couldn’t be simpler and is ideal for us folk with slightly manic lifestyles… the food is all very fresh, the menu’s are all healthy and delicious… the boxes are not cheap but at £42 for a couples pack, which equates to 3 meals for 2 people it works out at £7 per meal, which last time I looked is cheaper, healthier and probably tastier than a take-away so it actually isn’t too bad…

thai beef lettuce wraps
i’ve never really made anything like this before and they were indeed delicious… I actually felt quite virtuous eating them… they were packed with flavour and I devoured them with glee… and it was also quite a relief to be eating something succinctly not christmassy… here’s the recipe if you fancy making them yourself…

250g minced beef
15g cilantro
1 medium red onion – finely sliced and quartered
1 red chilli – finely chopped
1 lime
1 iceberg lettuce
160g rice noodles
2 cloves garlic – finely crushed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
30g peanuts – crushed
1 carrot – sliced thinly with a vegetable peeler

– place the beef in a bowl, squeeze the lime over it and let it marinade whilst you make the rest of the meal

– place the noodles into a pot of boiling hot water, off the heat, and let them sit for 15mins or until al dente

– put a pan on a medium heat and saute the beef in some olive oil until cooked, reduce the heat and add the chilli, onion and garlic… add the fish sauce and the soy sauce and simmer for a minute or two until the ingredients and hot

– peel off a few large iceberg leaves and place a handful of noodles in each one, add some of the meat mixture and then top with the carrots and cilantro… sprinkle with the crushed peanuts to serve

tagliatelle with artichoke hearts, courgette puree and capers


the giveaway
… the good people at Gousto have very kindly given me one of their Gourmet Bags as a giveaway prize… this consists of two, 2-person meals and the winner will, as I did, get the opportunity to choose from a selection of menu’s…. Gousto delivers nationwide except for a few very remote places, this means that sadly the giveaway is only open to residents of the UK… or friends of people who live here… so please check here to see if they will deliver to you (or someone you know) before you enter the competition…

… all you have to do is fill in the rafflecopter thingamy below and we’ll pick a winner before the end of the month…

a Rafflecopter giveaway//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Comments

  1. Jane Willis says

    Something really fresh and unchristmassy sounds like a good idea at the moment. I might give these a go, although I know Mark will read this later on today so I'll have to promise to leave out the coriander and fish sauce.

  3. Kavey says

    I thought Gousto were excellent when I reviewed them, so much so that I bought another week's bag a while after. I'd buy again if I had more cash, as I liked that the recipes got me to try things I wouldn't normally.

    Am entering because, so good, want to eat more!

  5. Marmaduke Scarlet says

    Ha ha, virtuous at Christmas – we should have t-shirts made!

    Sounds like a very good idea for those with busy lifestyles and your cooked dishes look gorgeous. I'm impressed. Gousto's recipes actually look like the kind of food we would cook and eat!

  10. Jenn says

    I adore Thai beef lettuce wraps… actually, I like any type of lettuce wraps.. they are so much fun to eat and usually pretty healthy! These look amazing.. nicely done for your first time 🙂
    I love this delivery meal service too… just right for the person who still wants to cook but doesn't have all the time for prep work.

  11. Patricia Owen says

    What a super idea – I'm always in need of inspiration for meal ideas and Gousto take out the exasperation of finding all the ingredients.

  13. Choclette says

    I've been seeing Gousto featured all over the place and it looks good. Tried the link to see if I was in to remote a place, but couldn't find anything on the site to tell me, so have to assume fine BECAUSE surely I will win this time?????

  16. Coffee and Crumpets says

    Those look delicious and very healthy. I love all things Thai so these are a no brainer! It's very convenient and takes the hassle out of thinking what to cook everyday. It's kind of like the supper places we have here in the US but here, we have to go to the place and cook it and bring it home.
    I like this way much more.
    I am glad to have found your site, I look forward to perusing it.

    Nazneen

  18. Recipe Junkie says

    I always wonder about these sorts of things – I got a 'meal in a box' from another company in the summer which was great and delish but I had to joint the chicken – not tha I minded but I could really have done with out it. Love the sound of those wraps. I might well try them myself. Also love the sound of the pasta.

  21. Magnolia Verandah says

    My man makes this every Monday night (its his favourite! you know he is addicted to asian food) It is called San Choi Bau here – mostly the same ingredients wrapped in a lettuce cup. Absolutely delicious I love these flavours and so refreshing down here at this time of the year.

  22. Shu Han says

    for me, one of the favourite part abotu cooking is shoppign for the ingredients, so this will be taking part of the joy out fo cooking for me. but, i still think this is one brilliant idea for the time-starved people who still want to cook a great healthy meal at home for themselves! the san choi bau looks great(: familiar flavours and a prettty virtuous change to the treats we;ve been seeing around the blogs lately(: merry xmas dom!

  35. Jo Mapp says

    I am no good at weighing ingredients. I always put 'a bit more' or 'a bit less' than the recipe states. This can quite often be disastrous. The concept of having the ingredients weighed out in advance and delivered is really appealing. No more kitchen disasters for me!

  86. Caroline says

    Love cooking a great meal for a night in but often can't face the supermarket (or even faffing about online) so this sounds like a great idea for a treat.

  88. Jo says

    I love the choice of recipes on the site, the ingredients all look fresh,this weeks recipes all appeal. Fillipino Stir Fry Pork, Pad Thai and Cumberland Sausages,kidney beans leeks and mash.Yum, even at 9am in the morning. What a great idea.