Great mayonnaise doesn't grow on trees - but the olives do.

A holiday in Crete is a constant series of questions: Poolside with a book? A swim in the clear blue waters? Lunch by the harbour or up in the hills? A snooze in the Mediterranean sunshine?

But for one week out of 52, everything changes.

Crete is closed to everything other than 'the harvest'.


The harvest.

Every single person on Crete has a stake in the olive harvest. Through ownership of a handful of trees on a parched hillside, to family connections with commercial growers, everyone takes to the hills. In a twist on Churchill's words recognising the stoic bravery of the Greek people ... 'henceforth, we will not say that Greeks harvest [fight] like heroes, but that heroes harvest [fight] like Greeks'.

Usually, there is one week between November and February when the olives are ready, just three quarters ripe, and the weather is perfect, no wind or rain, so the harvest begins.

Click the image above for a brief video 

Nets are spread out below the crop, people stand back and the harvesting machinery moves in. Tractors back up though the trees, a mechanical grip takes hold of the trunk and vibrates, shaking the tree with such force it releases its verdant fruit.

Hillier groves prevent mechanical access and more traditional methods have to be used. From hand combing to a series of generators to power hand held 'T' shaped rods spinning plastic flails to release resistant nuggets of essential oil to the nets below.

The noise is incredible, both the machinery and the excited chatter of families and friends as they gather the olives to be loaded and taken to the mill.

Policemen, bank clerks, waitresses, hotel receptionists - moms and sons, aunties and nephews all turn their hands to the harvest.

Each day ends with a simple feast and a good night's sleep before the same hard work and thrill of the following day's efforts and so on until the harvest is complete.

At the mill, the olives are washed to remove any dirt, then pass through a series of hoppers to remove the leaves and stems. The shimmering pearls of goodness are now ready for pulping and cold pressing to release their exquisite dark green liquid gold.


Get more from your mayo

Bloody Mary Rose Sauce - a delicious alternative to Marie Rose sauce.

The North Atlantic Prawn is a truly delicious thing. A pealed pile of the little beauties on crispy iceberg lettuce with this wonderful sauce is pure heaven. Simply use three parts Stokes Real Mayonnaise to one part Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup and enjoy.

Tuna baskets

Try these Tuna Baskets for a fun teatime snack. To make the tart base 'nests', cut slices of bread into circles and press them into the buttered moulds of a tart tray and bake at gas 7, 200°C for about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Use your own ideas for the fillings, but I like this - tinned tuna, chopped spring onions, diced cucumber and corn mixed in a bowl with Stokes Real Mayonnaise. Delicious.

The classic egg mayonnaise - made better

A firm favourite is egg mayonnaise. Free range eggs boiled (just), peeled whilst warm and coarsely broken up with Stokes Real Mayonnaise and some freshly snipped peppery cress. Try adding a teaspoon (or more) of Stokes Chilli Jam for a grown up kick.


Mixing and matching

Take Stokes Real Mayonnaise as your base and add a spoonful of this and a dollop of that to create a dip or a dressing to liven a lunch or a tastier tea. Mixing sauces and relishes is not only good fun, it opens the door to all sorts of new taste experiences.

Go on, try it, get them all out and let your imagination run riot. The exercise, pictured above, led to the making of 3 parts mayonnaise to 1 part chilli jam for a delicious accompaniment in a chicken and avocado sandwich.

The taller bottle at the back (left) is one of Stokes truly scrumptious salad dressings, it's the Mango & Orange Dressing. Add this to the mayo chilli jam combination to coat lukewarm new potatoes with it in a salad.


Some other tasty tips

• Halve hard boiled eggs and scoop out the yolk. Mash the yokes with mayo, mustard and parsley until smooth. Pipe into egg white half’s and sprinkle with paprika for delicious ‘Devilled Eggs’.
• Mix together grated cheese, onion, garlic and mayonnaise and spread generously over a halved loaf of bread. Grill for a cheesy bread that's great for dipping and perfect to accompany salads.
• Mix together equal measures of mayonnaise and apricot chutney, then add curry powder to taste for a curried mayo dip.
• Add mayo to your crab cake recipe for a creamy centre!
• Easy peasy mayo biscuits! Mix together 2 cups of self-raising flour, 1 cup of milk and 6 table spoons of mayonnaise. Spoon the mixture onto a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes.

Next time...

We'll return to Crete for dome 'to see and do' ideas - in case you are the lucky competition winner and return to the harvest as the island parties to celebrate 'first pressing'. And of course we'll share some more tasty tips.

In the meantime, if you haven't already entered the competition ... follow in Rick's footsteps:

... andi'o sas ...

'goodbye'

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Stokes Mayonnaise - the story of love in a Cretan olive grove

The secret of a great Mayonnaise

To make mayonnaise at home is a joy.

Why?

Because the ingredients are simple. All you need is a whole egg beaten with a dash of Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and the patience and skill to ever so slowly drizzle oil into the mix whilst constantly stirring to avoid it splitting.

Or, just get a jar of Stokes Real Mayonnaise, twist off the lid, scoop and dollop probably the finest mayo you'll taste from a jar.

Mayonnaise was the first of the Stokes product range that Rick (founder) decided to perfect because other mayonnaises just didn't deliver the quality he sought. "With a mere handful of simple ingredients to deal with, why do people get it so wrong."

Ingredients. That's it!  

Because there are so few, if the quality of just one fails, the whole thing fails.

Start with the eggs. We found a producer farming high Welfare Standard British Free Range hens whose eggs are perfect and can be delivered to meet our strict regime of hygiene and quality.

Dijon Mustard - even easier ... we make our own (which is pretty darn good).

Salt - after much testing of many varieties of salt, we decided that only the best would do.

So, without compromise, we import salt from the Dead Sea (left) which is natural, full of flavour yet without the harmful effects of sodium ... and we can and do use less of it than we would other salts.


Finally the oil - a story in itself.




Now for the oil

The majority of the oil we use is British, from British Oil Seed Rape, which paints the fields with a glorious sunshine yellow in May and June.

Great though this is, on its own it wasn't enough. It made a really good mayonnaise ... just not a great one.

We needed more. We needed to add extra virgin olive oil (or EVOO). Another huge challenge because there are so many of them. Spanish? Italian? Greek? And within all of these - which?

Which olives? 

Which olives? Which island? Which hillside? Which producer?

We quickly decided on Greece, tried over 30 different EVOOs in hundreds of different ratio permutations of extra virgin to rapeseed oil.

Eventually, we got it right and then quite literally stumbled on the producer in Crete who gave it just that edge.

3,000 years of history and its abundance on the hillsides of Crete can't be wrong - and nor were we.

Finally - adding 5% Cretan Koroneiki extra virgin olive oil to the mayonnaise made it good enough and us proud enough to call it Stokes Real Mayonnaise.

Koroneiki olive trees produce a small olive but in abundance. It creates an intense, rich green oil with a uniquely exquisite flavour. The have some of the highest polyphenol content possible, boasting powerful health benefits.

Polyphenols are natural antioxidants. They're high in HDLs (so called 'good' cholesterol) and low in LDLs (the baddy of the cholesterol world).

As well as all this, it tastes good too - it's an exceptional all rounder.


Next time...

Next time we'll look at the harvest, when every single able bodied person (and many less so) take to the hillsides to strip every last olive in just one week - and then they party.

In the meantime, if you haven't already entered the competition ... follow in Rick's footsteps:

... andi'o sas ...

'goodbye'

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

2 stylish tubes, 6 delicious preserves, 24 tasty tips - and more.

Last winter we created a special gift selection of Stokes preserves that are particularly good with cheese. It was so popular as gifts for friends and work colleagues, that we are repeating the collection again this year.

As well as the successful 'Selection for Cheese' gift tube, we've created the 'Taste of Luxury' offering that extra special touch of original fine festive feasting.

The 'Taste of Luxury' goes a few steps further though. It contains three unique preserves, each crafted especially for this gift tube.

We thought long and hard about the flavours, ingredients, textures and aromatics that sum up the very essence of Christmas - and put them in a jar.

Welcome to:

 The 'Taste of Luxury'     and      'Selection for Cheese'

Tasting Notes & Tasty Tips

The 'Taste of Luxury' collection has been conceived and created after much discussion about and tasting of exciting flavour combinations. Finding the perfect ingredients, as always, is crucial to the success of our award-winning range of products and these extra special taste sensations are a crowning festive glory.

The Blackcurrant Extra Jam with Claret is intensely fruity, sweet with sour berry notes and textures. Spread it on toasted crumpets with oodles of butter. 1 x 250g jar per tube.

• Add sweet depth to chilli con carne;
• Scones just adore it;
• Spread it on warm waffles topped with ice cream.

Stokes Spiced Winter Chutney gives us every essence of Christmas fruit spices in a jar. It adds jingles to sausage and bells to cold beef. 1 x 240g jar per tube.

• Make even the best pork pie taste better;
• Add 'Christmas' to steak casserole;
• Bring cold cuts to sweet spicy life.

And the Orange Cranberry & Cinnamon Conserve has a uniquely sweet intensity of structure, aromatics and taste.

Glaze the best bread and butter pudding - ever. 1 x 250g jar per tube.

• Add lavishly to apricot nut stuffing;
• Melt it over Cornish ice cream;
• Treat the turkey with reverence and the goose with joy.

 The 'Selection for Cheese' contains three of Stokes' favourites.

Fig Relish (1 x 250g jar), with its abundance of sweet, juicy figs - it's fabulous with smoked cheese melted over toasted baguette slices.

• It's at home on any cheese board;
• Add it to Moroccan spiced lamb tagine;
• Mix with mayonnaise for a fruity dip.

  
Chilli Jam (1 x 250g jar), deliciously rich with a vibrant finish - try a spoonful in hot chocolate with a shot of Baileys.

• Add zing to shepherd's pie;
• Spoon sweet chilliness into gravy;
• Mix it with mayo for a calamari dip.

Last but by no means least, our Red Onion Marmalade (1 x 265g jar), lusciously thick and sweet caramelised onions - it's amazing with just about anything - cheese loves it.

• Crown the perfect cheese on toast with it;
• It's very moreish in your mash;
• Perfectly partnered with a vintage Cheddar.

These limited edition collections are available in good independent retailers or on-line here.


They make wonderful gifts - but - don't forget to treat yourself to one (or both) too.


Pumpkin Pleasures

Remember - a pumpkin is not just for Halloween. It and its 'squashy' friends should be enjoyed throughout their season. We use them in 'Sensational Sausages' below and offer a few additional thoughts here.

Before we go on though, if you want to learn more about the glorious pumpkin, click on the image (right). It links to a site called hubbub.org.uk where you can learn 'how to eat pumpkin' - the basics. Follow their own 'gourd-eous recipes' link.

 Let us know what you think.

I ran out of Tomato Ketchup last week (ridiculous but true) and ran into my nearest stockist #aubreyallen. In my hurry I reached for a couple of bottles only to find when I got home that it was Stokes Chipotle Sauce. Gosh - does it like squash (and vice verca).

It has unique flavours that truly tantalise the taste buds - sweet, smokey, spicy, chilli, rich in tomato and velvety smooth.

Chicken in squash chipotle sauce.

Peel, core and slice a squash into wedges and place in a roasting tin with chicken breast pieces, drizzle with oil and bake on a gentle heat until the chicken is cooked and the squash soft.

Set the chicken aside. Cut the squash into one inch chunks and put them in a pan with any juices from the tin. Add cream and chicken stock to cover the squash and blitz with a hand blender until smooth.

Thin it out with more stock (to a pouring consistency) and stir in Stokes Chipotle Sauce for a sweet, smokey flavour. Soften some mushrooms in a pan with fresh thyme; add the chicken and any juices; pour over the squash chipotle sauce; season, warm through and enjoy.

It's particularly good with mashed potatoes and Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce.


Baked whole pumpkin

This makes a great starter or side dish for a Halloween supper. For six people take 6 fist-sized pumpkins or similar round squash. Cut a lid off each and scoop out the pippy core and discard.

For the filling: gently soften 2 x chopped onions in butter with one trimmed and chopped leek; then add a teaspoon each of chopped sage, chopped thyme and ground coriander. Add 125 ml of double cream, about 50 g of grated Cheddar cheese and half as much again of bread crumbs.

Season well adding Stokes Chipotle Ketchup to taste. Spoon into the scooped out squash, replace the lids and bake on a tray at 180°C, gas 6 for 40 to 45 minutes until a shark knife runs smoothly into the flesh.


Sausage Sensations

Whether they're your butcher's award winning pork and herb combo or an honest pack of simple pork sausages - who doesn't like the great British banger.

Roast Bangers & Roots

A simple and tasty way of preparing a sausage based supper is to bake them on a tray of 'fruit & veg'. The pork fat from the sausage (particularly good, high meat content butcher's sausages) seep gently into the vegetables adding lusciousness throughout.

You can use and add anything you like, but the basic rule is to chop the vegetables evenly, drizzle and coat well with olive or rapeseed oil, and roast at  180°C, gas 6 for 15 to 20 minutes before adding the sausages. Mix the sausages and vegetables together well and return to the oven for a further 35 to 40 minutes until the sausages are cooked and the veg has softened.

The variations are endless. Try:

• Squash, sweet potatoes, onions, thyme, garlic and beetroot with chilli jam for vibrant colours.
• Or carrots, fennel, celery, apples, our barbeque sauce and garam masala.
• For a North African twist use potatoes, onions, carrot and squash with our brown sauce and ras el hanout.

Sweet chilli sausage pasta.

This uses simple meatballs made by squeezing the sausage meat out of their skins and rolling it into small balls for frying. Add a pinch of ground cumin and coriander to the pan together with a couple of good glugs of Stokes Sweet Chilli Sauce. When cooked, add the cooked pasta with a cup of pouring cream and finish off with several sprigs of watercress.

The three leaf salad packs work well too, using watercress, rocket and baby spinach for peppery taste and fresh green colour.

Sausage fusilli with tomato sauce

Cook whatever sausages you prefer, cut into inch sized chunks and set aside. Cook, drain and rest pasta such as fusilli. For the sauce, soften a diced onion with garlic and the zest of half an orange. In a pestle and mortar grind a teaspoon of caraway seeds and the same of fennel seeds, then add it to the onions with the contents of a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes.

Season and flavour with equal amounts of Stokes Brown Sauce (for spice and molasses), Stokes Chilli Jam (for sweetness and a chilli kick) and Stokes Tomato Ketchup (for added tomato concentration). Add the pasta and sausage to the sauce, warm through and enjoy.

TIP: You can vary the flavour by using one of our other ketchup sauces - try it with Curry Ketchup.


Inspired

Inspired by mini Cumberland sausages as a starter for lunch on the first visit to my son at Sheffield University, I thought - what could make their honey and grain mustard dipping sauce better ... Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard of course.

I just had to try it when I got home. One part runny honey to one part Cider & Horseradish Mustard over a gentle heat to improve the mix - perfect.

Give it a go and let us know what you think.


Gravy with a twist

Here's a tasty tip to add a delicious twist to your gravy. Whether you make your own from a stock, reduce it from a jus, or shake it from a jar, try this.

For an earthy sharpness stir in a spoonful of Stokes Brown Sauce; for a sweeter depth of flavour add a spoonful of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup; and for a richer hint of eastern spices add a good dollop of Stokes Curry Ketchup.

You'll know how much to add when it tastes ... yummy.


Leftover Chicken ? - give it a cool coronation

 

Before we get to the Coronation Chicken, to make your roast chicken taste better still, add a spoonful or two of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard to your gravy, stir it in to taste and enjoy the combination of sweet cider, hot horseradish and juicy pops of mustard grains running round the plate.

Coronation Chicken

For the perfect, speedy Coronation Chicken, mix two parts of Stokes Coronation Sauce with one part of Philadelphia cream cheese and fold to coat the shreds of cooked, cold chicken. Instant, smooth and oh so full of flavour.

It's great on a jacket potato, with a salad, or in a sandwich for supper.



Two fishy favourites

Whitebait makes a lovely supper starter or a crispy lunchtime snack. A bag in the freezer is essential in our house, just as a jar of Stokes Real Mayonnaise is essential for the larder. Less of an essential though more of a treat is a jar of our Mustard & Dill Sauce. It mixes the sweet dill with warming mustard in a smooth sauce just begging to be spooned beside a piece of baked cod loin.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Making mealtimes happy times

Stokes Award-Winning Fig Relish

September is a time of change as the kids go back to school, so too do the busy unsung heroes who are their teachers and support staff. The roads get busier, the nights longer and the barbecues are put away for another season.

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:

Let's show you how:

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.

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 !

Earthy juliennes of beetroot cook in claret 

to tenderise the rich ruby shards. 

No pickling, pure preserve, just 

great recipes cooked superbly.

Beetroot Risotto

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 Omelette

It'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.

Now, in a round spring form pan (the diameter of the tortillas) place the first tortilla. Spoon a third of the mince on the tortilla and a sprinkling of strong cheese. Add the next tortilla and repeat to the last tortilla on top with lots of grated cheese to finish.

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 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150