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| Stokes Award-Winning Fig Relish |
We see changes too on the supermarket shelves. Deliciously green Savoy cabbages add iron and vibrancy to our bangers and mash; beetroot roasted with potatoes give an earthy accompaniment to the Sunday roast; root vegetables abound in time for one pot suppers; and figs add flavours to both sweet and savoury dishes.
We're entering a period of slow cooked suppers with the curtains closed, as well as quickly turned around teas for hungry after school tums.
Make mealtimes happy times.
Whatever you are preparing, we hope to help add flavour, fun and smiles with a drop of this or a spoonful of that from our range of hearty Stokes sauces.
Read on for some seasonal servings and tea time treats.
And please don't forget, we are always eager to hear about and to share your own seasonal favourites: Please tell us: tweet here, or post here.
September Fruit & Vegetables
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of the most versatile fruits available and a joy to have in the kitchen.They are a member of the nightshade family along with aubergines, peppers and chillies and are as welcome in a salad as they are served hot with pasta or simply on toast with lots of black pepper.
As a fruit, I keep them in the fruit bowl rather than the fridge. They look good, smell great and keep their flavour better this way.
As a salad, their marriage with torn basil leaves is famous. Drizzle a lush coating of Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing (left) over them and serve with mini balls of Mozzarella for a tasty take on the Italian 'tricolore' salad.
You can really intensify the flavour by slow roasting them. Place a couple of dozen cherry tomatoes in a shallow ovenproof dish, drizzled with oil, a scattering of thyme leaves and crushed cloves of garlic. Spice them up with a couple of spoonfuls of Stokes Chilli Jam before putting them in the oven and roast them gently for two hours or so on a low heat 140°C, gas 1 or 2. The chilli works so well with the sweet intensity of tomatoes and gentle hints of garlic and thyme.
British tomatoes are in season at the moment, delicious in all their varieties, shapes, colours and sizes. However, because of the volume we need to make Stokes Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup, we need access to the finest plump fruits all year round. Ours ripen in the Mediterranean sunshine on the hillsides of southern Italy.
We pack 200gms of these beautiful tomatoes into each 100gms of ketchup to really concentrate the natural flavours. Then, we add the twists to make Chilli, Chipotle, Bloody Mary and Curry variations on this wonderful theme.
Once you've made the difficult choice...
...just add bacon:
Three seasonal veggie suppers
On the days we give meat a rest, and for many that of course is every day, it's nice to add something new to our meat-free repertoire - so here's a couple of ideas to try this Autumn...
...and you'll probably be surprised which sauces put the biggest smiles on the plate:
Roast Cauliflower & Squash Macaroni
Peel and cut the squash into inch squares and coat in a couple of spoons of Stokes Chilli Jam. Floret the caulli, put both on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil (we're using rapeseed oil at the moment, which is British and delicious). They'll roast until soft on a moderate 200°C, gas
6 in about half an hour to forty minutes.Cook the macaroni as directed and the cheesy white sauce as normal. In a big bowl, mix the mac, veg and sauce together, add a couple of good shakes of Stokes Brown Sauce and spoon into an ovenproof dish. Grate cheese on the top - Red Leicester gives a good colour - bake, serve and smile.
Bloody Mary Penne
So simple - so good. Cook the penne (or whichever pasta you prefer) as directed. For the sauce: soften chopped shallots, celery and sliced courgettes in a pan (butter, oil - you choose). Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and reduce with a spoonful of Stokes Chilli Jam.
Now for the Bloody Mary, just add a couple of shots of Vodka and two desert spoons of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup to taste. Add the sauce to the cooked penne and enjoy - perhaps with a shot of vodka on the side.
Veggie Harvest Pie
This is sort of a Shepherd's Pie but without the meat. Now this does need a 'meaty' texture to bulk it out. You could use quorn, portabella mushrooms, cannelloni beans etc., or to make it simpler still, add chopped veggie burgers once the vegetable base is ready.
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| Try Stokes Creamed Horseradish in your mash |
Make your mashed potatoes whilst preparing the veg. For the veg - use whatever you like really, for instance chopped carrots, onion, celery, turnip, parsnip, courgettes. Soften them all in a pan with butter, seasoning, fresh thyme leaves and garlic.
Add vegetable stock, a tablespoon of Stokes Tomato Ketchup and a tablespoon of Brown Sauce and simmer until everything is just so and umami.
Add the chopped veggie burgers and combine in an oven proof dish layering the mash on top and finish as you would a Shepherd's Pie. You might not want a meat version again!
September Roast Veg
I went into my local fruit and veg shop at the weekend and 'September' was waiting on the shelves: wonky carrots, squash, parsnips, Swede, potatoes, beetroot, red onions and more.
But this was all we needed for a roasting tray of seasonal goodness:
Peel as you prefer and chop everything to similar but fairly large chunks.
Season and liberally scatter chopped thyme and rosemary over the top. Drizzle with oil, honey and three or four good teaspoons of Stokes Chilli Jam. Cover with foil for the first hour on a moderate 200°C, gas 6. Remove the foil and finish for a further half an hour on a high 245°C, gas 9.
Stairs Crumble- or 'apples and pears' if you prefer.
Peel, core and slice your collection of British apples and pears and soften in a large pan with sugar, butter and cinnamon.
To make a truly seasonal crumble, add some beautiful raspberries and intensify the flavours with two or three good spoonfuls of Stokes Raspberry Extra Jam.
For a foolproof crumble recipe and method, click on the image (right) - there's a useful 'how to' video too.
Ice cream, cream or custard?
It's ice cream for me. And to be truly indulgent, drizzle some Stokes Raspberry & Balsamic Dressing on the vanilla ice cream ... hello September !
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Earthy juliennes of
beetroot cook in claret
to tenderise the rich ruby shards.
No pickling, pure preserve, just
great recipes cooked superbly.
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This is a very tasty dish with vibrant colours and the earthy flavours of beetroot.
Peel and chop about 400 gms of beetroot into 2cm cubes.
In a roasting tray drizzle with olive oil and bake at 200°C, gas 6 for half an hour or until soft, then blitz with a hand blender - not too smooth, the texture adds to the dish.
Make up the risotto as you would normally: soften finely chopped red onions (in butter) with fresh thyme and a little garlic; add the Arborio risotto rice as directed; stir in a couple of glugs of dry white wine and, stirring constantly, add hot vegetable (or chicken) stock.
After 20 minutes add the beetroot mixture, heating through with more stock if necessary until the rice holds with just a light crunch.
Finish off with three desert spoons of Stokes Beetroot Relish and a generous crumble of feta cheese.
Try these tasty twists using our Creamed Horseradish to liven up your day. - Serve with scrambled or poached eggs - you can even add salsa!
- Add to hummus for a dip with extra zing.
- Pop a generous spoonful into your coleslaw for a side with a real bite.
- Stir into white wine and cream sauce, superb with smoked salmon!
- Mix into mash to make your roast super special.
- Turn tomato soup into a real winter warmer by stirring in a spoonful!
Velvety Celeriac Purée
You can also spoon Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce into a velvety celeriac purée. The sweetness of the celeriac sits beautifully behind the creamy textures and warmth of the horseradish.
DID YOU KNOW:
A chap called Robbie in Essex supplies our horseradish. He mixes half wild and half cultivated, shreds it and washes it and it's this combination that helps us get the 'smooth to wow' ratio just right.
September Matchmaking
Romance on a plate is pan roasted duck breast, fried skin down with thyme and cherries then finished in a hot oven for 7 or 8 minutes. Let the meat rest, slice (cheffy style) and serve it on the horseradish celeriac purée. Finally, finish with a glaze of Stokes Hoisin Sauce.
It's a sweet, rich, spicy, smooth and warming combination to make you smile.
Back to School
Simple really doesn't mean it has to be bland.
Stokes started with a passion for great tasting food, with full natural flavours that simply make us smile. This fuelled out enthusiasm for 'food made better'. So we created sauces, relishes and dressings that flatter the flavours of the food we eat - making mealtimes happy times.
'No fuss' Spanish OmeletteIt's 'no fuss' because it's not really an omelette, just the general components of one.
The trick is eggs (of course) and cooked potatoes (always cook far more waxy or new potatoes than needed and keep them in the fridge).
Now, get a wok and let your imagination do the rest. First heat some healthy oil in the wok, then:
Fry up spring onions, mixed herbs, sliced potatoes, a small tin of beans then add a couple of eggs. Serve with a salsa of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and a little Stokes Mustard & Dill Sauce.
Try sliced red onions in a little oil; one inch lengths of streaky bacon (smoked); chorizo sausage slices; cooked potatoes and broccoli spears; a few cherry tomatoes and a glug or three of Stokes Original BBQ Sauce - then add the eggs to bind it and serve.
It is actually a healthier option to chips and with endless possibilities ... it could even end up looking as healthy as this:
Tacos, tortillas or toast ?
Well it's unlikely to be toast when there is so much you can do to excite the after school palate with readily available tacos and tortillas.
Chicken slices, peppers, onions and tomatoes can be wrapped with a coating of Stokes Real Mayonnaise.
Sliced sausage, chorizo and fried onion is a wrap just asking for Stokes Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup - or perhaps Stokes Brown Sauce.
Make it fishy with breaded cod fillets wrapped with spring onion in little gem leaves, served on a taco with Stokes Tartare Sauce.
Tortilla Lasagna
This is a special treat indeed. Make a delicious savoury mince either with minced beef or Quorn - fried onions, garlic, ground cumin & coriander, a few herbs, tin of chopped tomatoes and tomato purée.
If you like it rich with tomato add Stokes Burger Relish. If you prefer a little extra zing, try Stokes Award-Winning Chilli Jam. You can add corn, chopped peppers, courgette - anything goes.
Bake at 200°C, gas 6 for 15 minutes and stand for 5 minutes before making everybody happy with generous slices and a salsa side.
When it comes to tortillas - you've got tea wrapped.
Simple, honest, delicious
FOOD MADE BETTER
01394 462150
