Stokes Sauces: Meals in Minutes - tasty mid-week suppers

Flavours to savour mid-week

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/ketchup-and-sauces

Mid-week cooking doesn't have to be a compromise between time and taste. And it doesn't have to be boring. We all have favourite ingredients to hand that we know will turn mere 'ok' into 'wow' in moments.

Not surprisingly the cupboard and fridge here always have Stokes 'taste enhancers' to hand.

Essentials are mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, chipotle ketchup, brown sauce and chilli jam. There's always a cream cheese, stock bouillons, celery, red peppers and tinned tomatoes somewhere too.

These tired mushrooms were cooking gently in foaming butter before being brought back to life with Stokes Brown Sauce.

Then the celery, onions and fennel that formed the vegetable trivet for yesterday's roast chicken were chopped into the pan with stock, Stokes Chilli Jam and a little cream cheese. In with the leftover chicken to warm through and serve as a pasta sauce.

Fabulous Flavour

Lamb & Chicory Tuesday

The fastest cut of lamb to cook is the neck fillet. Cut the meat into smaller fillets and fry them in butter with garlic and thyme, mint or rosemary for just 5 or 6 minutes, turning occasionally, rest and serve. Chicory, or endives, are at the peak of their season at the moment.

Grilled, their crunchy bitterness with this dressing sits well with the lamb.

Here's how:

First make the dressing by mixing 4 tbsp of olive oil, 2 tbsp of Stokes Brown Sauce, 2 cloves of garlic (grated), a dash of orange juice and 1 tsp of Stokes Mint Sauce.

Cut 6 chicory heads in half lengthways and brush with a little of the dressing. Pop the chicory under a hot grill for 2 minutes each side until they brown and begin to wilt.

Serve them with the lamb, drizzled with the remaining dressing. The chicory works well with a crumble of blue cheese or Stilton.

Also, as Conference Pears are in season, poach one, slice it and serve a couple of slices with the 'endives' to let the sweet pear balance the bitter leaf.

Crusted Cod Steaks

Nothing cooks quicker than a piece of fish. Nor is anything quite a good for you.

You'll need:

4 cod fillets (or 2 cut in half)
100 g of breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove, grated
The zest of half a lemon
1 tbsp of chopped chives
1 tbsp of chopped thyme leaves
1 tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/traditional-condiments

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7. For the crust, combine the breadcrumbs, garlic, zest, herbs and mustard.

Melt about 60 g of butter, pour it into and combine it well with the crust mixture, using it to bind everything together.

Grease a baking tray, put the cod fillets onto it and top each with equal amounts of the crust. Now roast the fish for 15 to 20 minutes (according to the size of the fillets) until the crust has crisped and browned.

Serve the cod with a delicious helping of Stokes Tartare Sauce.

Gnocchi with Tomatoes

A packet of gnocchi is a very useful thing to keep in the cupboard with your pasta, noodles etc. It usually has a long shelf life and cooks in moments.

Here's how:

First, cut a dozen cherry tomatoes in half, drizzle with oil and pop them into a medium oven for half an hour.

Meanwhile, make a tomato sauce by softening 1 onion in olive oil for 5 or 6 minutes. Add 1 garlic clove (grated), a tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp of Stokes Chilli Jam, 3 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup and 1 tbsp of chopped thyme.

Pour a splash of red wine into the pan and simmer, reducing the liquid for 10 minutes or so.

Cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions. As soon as they begin to rise in the boiling water use a slotted spoon to lift them into the tomato sauce.