READER OFFER Great-value, high-quality meat box for two

Save 10% on a great-value meat box for two – enough to create seven delicious meals

Hook’N’Block delivers high-quality, value-for-money meat to your door. The company is passionate about its products and aims to see the return of quality meat to your dinner table at a great price. A family-run business for more than 45 years, Hook‘N’Block uses suppliers that are selected using a set of rigorous principles and all its meats are labelled with full traceability.

Hook‘N’Block also offers a completesatisfaction, no-quibble guarantee on all of its products. This great box offer supplies two people with a week’s supply of meat and includes seven different types, including steaks, mince, chops and sausages, for seven separate meals. As well as the standard saving of 30% compared with buying the meats individually, readers can also save a further 10%, paying just £29.69.

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Buying + storing spices

It’s tempting to take advantage of large, cheaper bags of spices but unless you are using them very regularly, you won’t get through them before they start to deteriorate and lose a lot of flavour. Whole spices that you toast and grind yourself will keep their flavour longer. You can buy a dedicated spice grinder or use a coffee grinder – for smaller amounts, a pestle and mortar is best. Store spices in airtight jars, away from heat and light.

Mustard seeds (black and yellow)

These add a nutty, slightly bitter flavour and texture to recipes. Mustard seeds are best cooked first in oil or a dry frying pan until they begin to ‘pop’ and release their flavour. Used widely in Indian cooking, they can also be used in potato and vegetable salads, pickling and marinades.

Showcase recipes: spiced pickled shallots; Jersey Royal bombay potatoes nutmeg

A staple of comfort cooking, a grating of nutmeg gives a warm finish to custard tarts, white sauces, creamy gratins and rice pudding. It’s worth buying the whole nutmeg and just grating what you need as this releases the essential oils and gives a punchier flavour.

Showcase recipe: creamed spinach with nutmeg and gruyère

Coriander

These seeds have subtle sweet, floral notes which add a background peppery hum to curries, tagines and pickles. Coriander seeds (along with cumin) are a staple spice of Indian cooking but also feature in many Middle Eastern and Eastern European recipes. They can be left whole, gently crushed or ground to a powder. Showcase recipe: confit hake, cherry tomatoes and garlic