6 OF THE BEST
Fancy frozen meals, tested
According to the British Frozen Food Federation, sales of frozen food are expected to exceed £10billion by 2025. Increasing at a rate of 4 per cent year on year, it’s the fastest-growing food category in the UK.
But it’s not just chips, pizzas and lasagne from the freezer that are leading the charge. Now, posh TV dinners are designed for convenience, too, to minimise food waste and to lock in the nutritional goodness of fresh ingredients.
New launches include byRuby, an all-natural “gourmet” frozen ready meal brand that makes products with no unnecessary added sugar or salt (co-founded by Leiths-trained chef Ruby Bell and Milly Bagot, chef and co-owner of celebrated London delicatessen Finns of Chelsea), and Deliciously Ella’s range of frozen vegan ready meals.
Meanwhile, Iceland’s Luxury selection is also well worth a try, as we found out in a test of the best…
GOURMADE LAMB MOUSSAKA
£4.50 FOR 400G (SERVES 1); GOURMADE. COM
This handmade lamb ragu with mint, carrot, grilled aubergine, sliced potatoes and a creamy cheese sauce has been frozen from fresh within the hour, with no artificial additions. It delivers a tempting aroma, and no one would know you hadn’t made it yourself from scratch. 9/10
BYRUBY THAI RED SALMON
£12 FOR 600G (SERVES 2); BYRUBY.CO.UK
Two large salmon fillets with fresh pak choi, green soya beans and a galangal kick, with nigella seeds, and shrimp paste in a tasty sauce. Expensive, considering you might want to add rice or grains to make it go further, but it tastes so good that I’d be happy to be served this in a restaurant. 9/10
PICARD GOAT’S CHEESE AND SPINACH LASAGNE
£3.79 FOR 400G (SERVES 1); OCADO.COM Picard Surgelés is a French food company specialising in frozen goods, and its “lasagnes chèvre epinards” hits the spot, with an abundance of tangy, potent goat’s cheese and grated Emmental. Perhaps even too much cheese, and a little heavy on the cream and butter overall. 7/10
COOK DUCK AND WILD BOAR CASSOULET £10 FOR 560G (SERVES 2); COOKFOOD.NET
A rich, meaty stew with red wine, tender morsels of duck, wild boar sausage, chestnut mushrooms and cannellini beans. Hearty, wholesome, gamy and well spiced, with aniseed, cinnamon, clove and fennel. An impressive Friday night cheat – but could do with something on the side. 9/10
ICELAND LUXURY CHILLI CRAB LINGUINE £2.69 FOR 450G (SERVES 1); ICELAND.CO.UK
A keenly priced (the cheapest for one serving) but generous crabmeat pasta dish (the crab counts for 10 per cent of the meal), accompanied by sun-dried tomato paste and slow-roasted tomatoes marinated in garlic and oregano, with a fiery chilli spice. Umami-rich and deliciously satisfying. 10/10
DELICIOUSLY ELLA YELLOW THAI CURRY £4.99 FOR 400G (SERVES 1); OCADO.COM
A plant-based, virtuous-tasting coconut-milk curry with chunks of peppers, butternut squash and mushroom, delicately seasoned with lemon grass, lime leaves and coriander. Expensive yet not filling enough on its own: add rice, fresh chillies and cashews to bulk it up. 8/10