Healthiest ever takeaways
It’s the ultimate aid for any cook – a recipe AND all its ingredients delivered to your door. Nina Caplan tests three of the best
ISN’T that a bit like a posh t akeaway you have to make yourself?’ enquired a neighbour as I staggered inside with my latest recipe box, gasping an explanation over my shoulder. And, in a sense, it is: recipe cards, plus exactly what you need to make the recipe, delivered to your door. For the amateur or nervous cook, or just someone who wants to use fresh i ngredients without t he bother of sourcing them, it’s a clever idea. And it’s increasingly popular: in the US, HelloFresh has a market value of £1.3 billion and is looking to overtake market leader Blue Apron (‘I know them,’ says my 16-year-old stepson of Blue Apron: ‘They advertise on my Facebook feed’), while in the UK, the two biggest purveyors, HelloFresh and Gousto ( both l aunched in 2012), are big and getting bigger, with Gousto delivering over 100,000 meals a week.
No surprise, then, that various ot her companies are coming to the table, from organic-farm-box purveyors like Abel & Cole and Riverford to specialists such as glutenfree MindfulChef or The Japan Centre in London, or that deliveries are spreading out all over the UK (Northern Ireland and a couple of spots in the Scottish Highlands excepted).
Ordering is easy, with clear websites outlining the current options (they change frequently – Riverford offers a choice of boxes, the others I tried let you mix and match). Waiting in for several hours for a delivery is a nuisance for the busy cook, although they will all leave boxes in a discreet location of your choice, and efficient insulation means the contents will keep until you arrive to rescue them.
I tried boxes from three providers on a suitably tactless selection of diners – four stepchildren, their father and a token vegetarian. The cheeky neighbour, on the other hand, didn’t receive an invitation.
THE LUXURY ONE BORN & BRED
From £39 (for three meals for two people) I tried Sticky bacon chop with mustard and mushroom sauce. Fish pie with curried egg. Charles and Geoff Allen champion fine produce from Yorkshire artisans, but their recipes range all over the world. It turns out you can make kung pao chicken from Pollards of Thirkleby fowl, and fish chowder with trout smoked by Staal Smokehouse in Beverley, and deliver the lot insulated in wool from local sheep. Even a nice pork chop like this one had a touch of exoticism: there was marmalade in t he sauce. I was pretty sure this would be a hit and it was. Fish pie, on the other hand, i s not a f amily favourite. However, the addition of curry paste ( from fro Mr Huda’s in Scunthorpe) turned out to be recipe genius: both teenagers loved it. Verdict The produce is excellent and the recipes fantastically clear, with a chart of ingredients, each with preparation and supplier plus quantities for two, four or six. They are quite labour-intensive, but the main drawback is the quantities: both were so popular I could have done with providing seconds. wearebornandbred.co.uk
THE VEGGIE- FRIENDLY ONE RIVERFORD
From £24.95 (for two vegetarian meals for two people). Or £29.95 (for two non-vegetarian meals for two people)
I tried Chopped chickpea korma with tarka kale and cashews. Orange and miso pork stir-fry. Greek chicken with tomato, butterbeans and spinach. My partner’s brow lowered when
he saw the tomatoes and he started muttering about seasonality. These were grown on the Riverford Farm in Devon, one of the first purveyors of organic veg boxes, but still a very long way from Greece. However, it’s a balancing act: the recipes need to be interesting, and if oranges or tinned coconut milk don’t exactly shout ‘December in the UK’ there were fresh vegetables in every recipe – and most were seasonal.
Verdict These were all very tasty, and the pre- mixed sauces were useful, although tiny bottles and sachets of tamari or sesame oil didn’t seem to tie in well with the ‘no waste’ ethos. The Token Veggie, who normally gets short shrift at mine, was very impressed by her korma, and the quantity exceeded the quality: we couldn’t finish it. riverford.co.uk
THE FAMILY- FAVOURITE ONE GOUSTO
From £24.99 (for two meals for two people) Or £31.75 (for two meals for a family of two adults and two to three children) I tried Tuscan fish and black olive risotto. Spiced chicken wraps with mint chutney (above). Korean beef bulgogi. This was very slick, with a ring binder full of recipe cards although, like Riverford, Gousto don’t give you preparation instructions, which is irritating: combing through the recipe looking for what needs chopping or grating is no way to cook.
Verdict Easy to make, not too many pots required, and such good food that the teenagers are already asking when the risotto will reappear on the menu. gousto.co.uk
Overall verdict Great recipes, varied, delicious and clear, with only the odd glitch (for instance, you can’t cook pumpkin seeds and cashew nuts together – the seeds burn before the nuts are done). An excellent i ntroduction for the unsure cook, although a more experienced chef will probably chafe at lack of opportunities for creativity. There was also less emphasis on seasonality than I expected... but then, it is winter. And it turns out it isn’t just Yorkshiremen who insulate perishables in sheep’s wool: I now have enough to knit myself a j umper. Does anyone deli ver starter kits for novice knitters?