Stokes Sauces: Simple Starters

Simple & Delicious

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/mayo-range

You don't have to do too much to create a simple plate of food to excite the taste buds before a main course is served - exciting for the taste buds and dazzlingly pleasing to the eye.

Prawn Salad

Tinned segments of grapefruit and orange makes this even easier to prepare. Drain the fruit and sit them in a marinade of Stokes Mango & Orange Dressing. This accentuates the sweet fruits whilst adding slightly sharper tones of vinegar and pepper.

Form the salad with juicy prawns and dainty greens and serve it with a Bloody Mary Rose Sauce. The BM Sauce is simply 3 parts Stokes Real Mayonnaise to 1 part Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup.

Simple, pretty, delicious.

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

Smoked Trout & Beetroot

Sliced red chicory and apple colourfully balances bitter and sweet. Sliced cooked beetroot is as attractive as it is succulent.

These with a trimmed fillet of smoked trout make a wonderful combination.

BUT, more wonderful still is the perfect pairing of smoked trout and Stokes Creamed Horseradish which works so well with the smoky fish.

Then finish the dish with a dressing of rapeseed oil, a hint of cider vinegar, splash of orange juice and a teaspoon of our horseradish, whisked and drizzled over the salad.

Scallops & Chorizo Salad

Naturally sweet with their own unique flavour, scallops are quick to caramelise outside, leaving them soft in the middle. Cook them last.

First, prepare your salad and segment oranges to bring out the scallops' sweetness and contrast the spicy chorizo. Thinly slice your chorizo and fry it in oil until it crisps up. Remove it from the pan, setting it aside.

Add 3 or 4 tbsp of Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing, a squeeze of lemon and half a glass of red wine to the pan to deglaze the juices and set this aside to dress the salad.

In a clean pan of foaming butter, cook the scallops on one side for 2 minutes. Flip them over and give them 2 or 3 minutes more until they gently caramelise. Pop the scallops and crispy chorizo into the salad and drizzle with the juices from the deglazed chorizo pan.

Asparagus Frittata

British Asparagus is just coming into season so this is a perfect Spring starter. Because we are making this as a first course, it looks better served in squares rather than sliced wedges from frying pan.

Here's how:

Slice 2 or 3 spring onions and a dozen asparagus spears and fry them in butter for 5 or so minutes until the spears soften slightly. Beat 6 eggs together with 2 tsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard.

Butter a baking tray then add the beaten eggs, season and layer the asparagus, onions and slices of tomato. Pop this into a medium high oven for about 20 minutes (until the egg firms up). Grate mature Cheddar cheese over the top and grill the dish until the cheese bubbles and browns. Rest, slice and serve.

Dressing Smarter with Stokes