Oats - more than just a breakfast treat

Cooking With Oats 
- Savoury

Today is World Porridge Day - hmmm.

There are two types of oats used in savoury recipes and it's only trial and error that will establish your preference.

Rolled Oats, we all know as porridge oats - yum. Steel-cut oats (the American term) or coarse oatmeal AKA Irish oatmeal is a coarser grain with a more distinctive taste.

Rolled you might prefer in savoury patties, whilst coarse oatmeal suits risottos or this delicious breakfast.

Using 3 parts water to 1 part quick-cook coarse oatmeal, cook the oats until they absorb the water (see the pack instructions) then stir in 3 tbsp of grated Cheddar cheese and 1 or 2 tsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard.

Fry up chopped peppers and spring onions with 2 tsp of Stokes Chilli Jam (more if you like more chilli heat). Spoon these onto the oats with a fried egg and you have a fresh, healthy, tasty breakfast - with an oaty difference.

Oatmeal Pizza

This is a simple alternative to a standard pizza base using rolled oats.

To make one base, mix or blend together 100g of rolled oats, 60 ml of milk, 3 egg whites, a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking powder until smooth.

Butter a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet and form the batter into a 3 or 4 mm thick circle. Put the base into an oven, pre-heated to 200°C/gas mark 6 for 8 minutes.

Turn the base upside down on a work surface and assemble your pizza topping.

Try lots of Stokes Tomato Ketchup with spots of our Chilli Jam, topped with torn pieces of mozzarella cheese, chorizo slices, tomatoes and peppers (chopped) and a good grating of Cheddar cheese. Put the pizza back into the oven for 6 minutes or so until the cheesy topping bubbles and browns invitingly.

Served with Stokes Real Mayonnaise - it's a winner.

Oatmeal Risotto

Try this innovative alternative to mushrooms with the usual risotto rice base. I'm not saying it will convert you but it will give you another tasty string to your kitchen bow.

Prepare 900ml of chicken stock and let it simmer while roughly chopping 350g of assorted mushrooms which you cook gently in butter and set aside.

In a deep pan, soften 2 diced shallots in olive oil for 5 minutes then add 2 grated cloves of garlic. Immediately add 50g of butter, 2 or 3 tsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard and 2 tsp of chopped thyme leaves.

Now, pour 250ml of coarse, Irish oatmeal into the pan with 2 tbsp of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup, 2 tbsp of our Brown Sauce and half the mushrooms, combining all the ingredients together well.

Add 125ml of white wine and the juice of half a lemon, then gradually ladle half the stock into the pan. Stir well until the liquid is absorbed then gradually add more stock over 25 minutes or until the oats are cooked and you have a thick porridge.

Finally, stir in the remaining mushrooms and their cooking liquors for just 5 minutes (to warm up and share the flavours), season and serve with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley over the top.

Oat Crusted Chicken

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Cut 3 chicken breasts into goujons and set them aside. In a bowl, mix 5 tbsp of Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise with 2 tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tsp of our Classic English Mustard. Spread 200g of rolled oats on a plate. Rub a shallow baking tray with oil.

Now - coat the chicken pieces in the mustard mayo, then dip them in the oats, covering each piece thoroughly. Put each in the tray and bake for 25 minutes.

They're crunchy, juicy, deliciously moreish and go well with minted yogurt using Stokes Mint Sauce in plain yogurt - beautiful.

Oats Love Stokes

Order your 'love' - HERE

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Eggs - 
for World Egg Day we learn 'how to boil an egg' and other wonderful uses for these beautiful little things - here.







Mayo - 
simple you'd think, drizzling oil into beaten egg, but the implications are huge as you will see - here.







Share - 
the love of Stokes is spreading its delicious joy through national outlets of The Cornish Bakery. Share this and more - here.

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

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Making Mayonnaise - Real

The secret of great Mayonnaise


All you need is a whole egg, beaten with a dash of Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and the patience to ever so slowly drizzle the oil whilst constantly whisking to avoid it splitting.

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

Mayonnaise was the first of the Stokes product range that Rick (founder) decided to perfect, because other mayonnaise products 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!  

It's precisely because there are so few ingredients that if the quality of just one fails, the whole thing fails. So, each ingredient has to be the best it possibly can.

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 criteria for hygiene and quality.

Dijon Mustard - even easier ... we have 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 which is natural, full of flavour yet without the harmful effects of sodium. What's really important is that because of its concentrated flavour, we can and do use less of it than we would other salts.


Now for the oil

The majority of the oil we use is a really fine Rapeseed Oil drizzled into the other ingredients to create the base of our Mayonnaise.

Great though this is, on its own it wasn't enough.

It made a really good mayonnaise ... just not a truly 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 of 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 olive to rapeseed oil.

When we got it right, we got it so right - Crete.

3,000 years of history and its abundance on the sun-baked 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.

They 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, perfect for an exceptional Mayonnaise.

Stokes - Delicious ... Naturally

Order your 'Delicious' - HERE

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Eggs - 
for World Egg Day we learn 'how to boil an egg' and other wonderful uses for these beautiful little things - here.







Oats - 
discover the delicious versatility of savoury oat dishes, from pizza bases to tasty risottos - here.







Share - 
the love of Stokes is spreading its delicious joy through national outlets of The Cornish Bakery. Share this and more - here.

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

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

For the Love of Sharing

Don't miss the fun
on Facebook & Twitter & Instagram

Stokes at the Suffolk Food Hall.

A big 'thank you' goes out to Claire who took a moment from her busy day to tell us a little bit about the Suffolk Food Hall and how they use Stokes within the business.

The Food Hall is just one of our many fantastic independent retail stockists who all offer wonderful products from across the country.

Enjoy the video - HERE

Stokes Curry Ketchup is b-e-a-utiful, turning classic bangers 'n' beans into a thing of absolute joy. To our thick, luxurious Tomato Ketchup we add our own recipe of curry spices.

Of course, they include the classics: Coriander, Mustard, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Ginger, Cumin and Green Cardamon. But, we wouldn't be Stokes if we didn't add a few extra twists to make it better still - it's what we do.

If you missed last week's article 'From Bangladesh to Birmingham', a curry special, just CLICK HERE and drool.

 

The love of Stokes is spreading its delicious joy through national outlets of The Cornish Bakery. They are using our 'Proper Portions' easy open sachets of wonderful Stokes sauces to make their diners' smiles wider still.

Could you imagine a BLC. Bacon Leek & Cheese | The Award-Winning Traditional | The Beef & Stilton | The Pork, Apple & Cornish Cider | pastie without a squirt of truly grownup Stokes Brown Sauce.

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Eggs - 
for World Egg Day we learn 'how to boil an egg' and other wonderful uses for these beautiful little things - here.

Oats - 
discover the delicious versatility of savoury oat dishes, from pizza bases to tasty risottos - here.







Mayo - 
simple you'd think, drizzling oil into beaten egg, but the implications are huge as you will see - here.

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

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

For The Love of Curry

From Bangladesh to Birmingham

Did you know there's no word on the Indian continent for 'curry'. It is an English term for the spicy sauces created during the activities of the 17th Century East Indian Company.

The gently spiced gravy made meat and fish 'more palitable' for 'gentle English stomachs'.

Inevitably the concept gravitated west to Britain where the first curry recipe was published in a cookbook in 1747.

Roll forward many years and other thoroughly British intrusions created curry dishes never seen east of Hull.

Chicken Tikka Masala (British), Madras (British), Vindaloo (British) and as for the Balti - that was invented and developed in Birmingham in the early 70's.

Such is the balti's close association with Birmingham, that in 2015 it was given EU Protected Name Status !


'Ping' Curry Made Better

If you like your curries, but need an excuse to have one, National Curry Week runs from 7th to 13th October and should be all the excuse you need.

Takeaway, delivered, dining out or cooking in?

There is another avenue that works. Most supermarkets have ready meals offering 'authentic Indian flavours'. A lot of them are pretty good on their own - but - can be made even better in moments:

The next time you buy one, tip it into a pan, add natural yogurt, garam masala and Stokes Curry Ketchup (or Stokes Tomato Ketchup and 1 tbsp of Curry Powder). Let this simmer gently for about 20 minutes. This gives you more, thicker gravy, enhances the taste, and softens the meat.

Chicken Bhuna

The Bhuna is wonderfully spicy thick sauce with a moderate heat. It is intensely flavoursome and easy to recreate at home.

You'll need:

• 4 skinless chicken thighs
• 3 onions, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Curry Ketchup
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard
• 1 tbsp of medium curry powder
• 1 tsp of coriander, ground
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 lime, juice only 
• 1 tbsp of garam masala 
• 125ml of natural yogurt 
• a bunch or coriander leaves, chopped

Here's how:

Brown the chicken pieces then set them aside.

In the same pan, cook the onion for several minutes until it has softened. Add the garlic, ginger, all the spices, chilli jam, mustard and ketchup cooking for 5 minutes before adding the tomatoes, covering and reducing the heat for 5 minutes more.

Put the chicken and juices back in the pan with the yogurt, 300ml of water, garam masala and lime juice, stirring everything well together. Bring the heat up and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the coriander, cover and set the curry aside for the flavours to become better acquainted..

Lamb Rogan Josh

You'll need:

• 1 bunch of coriander leaves, chopped and stalks reserved
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Curry Ketchup
• 2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
• 2 tbsp of garam masala
• 5 cardamom pods, seeds only, ground
• 2 onions, chopped
• 600g lamb steak, cut into large chunks
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger 
• 4 tomatoes, quartered
• 125g of natural yogurt

Here's how:

Blend the coriander stalks, chilli jam, spices and ketchup to a paste. Fry the onions until soft, then add the garlic, ginger, cardamom and lamb.

Cook the lamb, turning frequently for 5 minutes to brown the outside. Now stir in the wet spice paste, cooking it through for a further 5 minutes.

Pour 400 ml of water into the pan, stir, cover and simmer for 45 minutes on a low heat. Add the yogurt, tomatoes and coriander leaves, stir and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it rest.

The longer you leave it, the better it is. 

Red Thai Salmon

This couldn't be simpler, nor could it be tastier.

As a supper for two - slice an onion then fry it gently for several minutes with assorted asparagus tips, baby corn, carrot and green beans - all thinly sliced. Add a splash of water to help the vegetables soften as the water evaporates.

Now stir in 1 or 2 tbsp of Thai Red Curry Paste and 3 tbsp of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup. Add 250ml of coconut milk into the pan with 3 or 4 Kaffir lime leaves. As the milk simmers, pop a skinless salmon steak each into the liquid - lid on and simmer gently for 5 or 6 minutes.

Serve with sticky rice, a good squeeze of lime juice and enjoy.

Extraordinary Taste - Deliciously Made

Order you 'bottles of beauty' & 'jars of joy' - HERE

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Tasty Tilapia - 
for British Seafood Week, our 'Fish Friday' article focuses on Tilapia as a simple, tasty fillet for every day delicious - here.







Dip, Spread, Cook - 
take a look at these true taste-busters with tasty tips to use them with, or as an ingredient in great food. Be different - here.







In the Mooood for Food ? 
the animals seem to have taken over as Ned here is always in the moood and Marvin (the cat) selects his favourite Mayo - here.

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

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Fish Friday - Tilapia

Tilapia on Trial

Combining Fish Friday with next week's National Seafood Week, we thought we'd focus on the increasingly popular fish - Tilapia.

Tilapia is a mild flavoured fish with firm flesh, widely sold as fillets, ready to go, for simple home cooking.


Tilapia Tortillas

Cut your Tilapia fillets into smaller 'goujons', paint them with Stokes Chipotle Ketchup and a good few twists of pepper.

Leave them for a few minutes while you make a salsa of chopped: avocado, tomatoes, red onion and greens such as pea shoots. Stir in 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of Stokes Mint Sauce (for a sweet minty twist) and set aside.

Fry the fish in hot oil for just 2 minutes each side and build your whole-wheat tortillas ... spread with Stokes Garlic (or Real) Mayonnaise, add the blackened strips of smoky Tilapia and spoon on the avocado salsa. Quick, healthy, fun, delicious.

Tilapia Linguine

Globally farmed, it is a lean source of protein that's also high in several healthy vitamins and minerals. 

'GrownUp', an urban farm in Becton, London, farms Tilapia and uses it's 'waste' (No 2's) to fertilise their adjoined aquaponic micro-greens, farmed for London's huge culinary demands.

Simply cook the linguine to the packet's instructions and gently fry the Tilapia fillets in a little oil (it grills well too).

Now, mix 4 tbsp of Stokes Real Mayonnaise with 1 tbsp of our Cider & Horseradish Wholemeal Mustard.

Dress the pasta with olive oil and some of the Mustard Mayonnaise, leaving a spoonful or two to dress the fish.

Tilapia with Pepper Sauce

For the Tilapia: break an egg onto a plate and whisk in 1 tsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard. On another plate, mix some dried thyme and seasoning into 2 tbsp of flour. Now dunk, dust and fry the fish.

For the Pepper Sauce: cut 3 sweet pointed red peppers in half lengthways, drizzle them with oil and pop them in the oven to roast for 20 minutes. Meanwhile skin half a dozen cherry tomatoes by pricking the skin and covering with boiling water for 3 minutes.

Scrape the blackened skin off the peppers and put them in a bowl with the tomatoes, 1 tsp of dried mixed Italian herbs and 3 tbsp of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup. Blitz with a hand blender, season and spoon over the fish.

BBQ Tilapia

This is an indoor, Autumn BBQ-flavoured fish dish with a delicious dressing combo.

This couldn't be simpler. First, brush a little (it doesn't take much to add the flavour we need) Stokes Original BBQ Sauce over just one side of the fish and this time, we'll grill it for just 3 minutes or so each side.

To balance the sweeter smoky flavours of the fish, the dressing needs to be quite sharp.

So, in a bowl mix 4 or 5 tsp of our amazingly smooth Tartare Sauce with 1 or 2 tsp of Stokes Mustard & Dill Sauce and the zest and juice of half a lemon.

The gentle 'gravadlax' flavours of the Mustard & Dill Sauce ease into the smooth creamy Tartare Sauce, jam-packed with coarsely-chopped gherkins and capers.

Tilapia ... Farmed Ethically 

- Flavoured Deliciously

We only do delicious - HERE

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Curries Galore - 
from Bangladesh to Birmingham, we look at the origins and developments of the Great British Curry - here.

Dip, Spread, Cook - 
take a look at these true taste-busters with tasty tips to use them with, or as an ingredient in great food. Be different - here.







In the Mooood for Food ? 
the animals seem to have taken over as Ned here is always in the moood and Marvin (the cat) selects his favourite Mayo - here.

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

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

It's a Queston of Taste

Dip, Spread, Cook

Classic Pub Grub is a very British thing, offering delights such as this classic gammon, egg & chips.

With Classic English Mustard for the gammon and Stokes Tomato Ketchup or our Real Mayonnaise (or both) for the chips, this is what Saturday lunchtimes are made for.

Saturday Lunchtimes
Made Better

More and more pubs, bars and restaurants are complementing their kitchen's efforts by serving Stokes sauces and condiments to reflect both the quality of their food and the more discerning expectations of their guests.

The smiles are broad when the food arrives and broader still when we realise the mustard, mayo and ketchup are Stokes.

FOOD MADE BETTER 

unquestionably Stokes

Order 'the classics' and the 'less so' - HERE

The Classics & The 'Less So'

Even our Classic English Mustard's secret recipe is a twist on the classic, smooth in texture and smooth in taste - hot without the 'burn'. It complements your meat rather than competes with it.

Stokes Chilli Jam is a deliciously sticky jam, bursting with sweet chilli peppers, red peppers and red chilli heat.

Be brave, be different. Chilli Jam in your beefburger gives it a real kick start.

Try stirring a couple of teaspoons of this fiery little jam into the patty mix for juicy chilli content.

A Change for the Good

Stokes Chipotle Ketchup brims full of real Italian tomatoes with a smoky, spicy kick! Chipotle Chillies are Jalapenos left to ripen on the plant to a deep red, before being smoked dry, giving them their distinctive flavour.

This beautiful cod loin poached on top of a 'soup' of celery, fennel and tomatoes, softened in chicken stock. We stirred 2 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup (to enhance the tomatoes) and 2 tbsp of our Chipotle Ketchup (to gently infuse a smoky heat) before popping the cod on top, with a lid on, for 6 or 7 minutes.

[TIP: If you want the chilli heat, but without the chipotle smokiness, use Stokes Chilli Ketchup instead.]

Different - it's the new classic !

If you Like Your Curries...

Stokes Curry Ketchup is b-e-a-utiful, turning classic bangers 'n' beans into a thing of absolute joy.

To our thick, luxurious Tomato Ketchup we add our own recipe of curry spices.

Of course, they include the classics: Coriander, Mustard, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Ginger, Cumin and Green Cardamon.

But, we wouldn't be Stokes if we didn't add a few extra twists to make it better still - it's what we do.

Now - if you do like curries and because it is National Curry Week next week, we have a special article on and recipes for classic and 'less so' classic curries - HERE.

Different - it's the New Classic !

Be different - HERE

More foodie thoughts for the week:




Curries Galore - 
from Bangladesh to Birmingham, we look at the origins and developments of the Great British Curry - here.

Tasty Tilapia - 
for British Seafood Week, our 'Fish Friday' article focuses on Tilapia as a simple, tasty fillet for every day delicious - here.







In the Mooood for Food ? 
the animals seem to have taken over as Ned here is always in the moood and Marvin (the cat) selects his favourite Mayo - here.

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

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

In the Moood for Food

Don't miss the fun
on Facebook & Twitter & Instagram

In the moood for food ?

We are always in the mood for food in and around the Old Stables kitchens at Rendlesham Hall. We're not just creating amazing ketchups, mayonnaise, condiments, relishes, preserves and more, we have a menagerie of over 250 rescue animals to feed. 

Each has been rescued from difficult circumstances and now enjoy 'the good life' here at Rendlesham thanks to the care and passion of Rick and family. 

They cluck, quack, squeak, brae and moooo their daily food orders and strangely, took no notice of friendly advice from Slimming World who visited last week.

This is a lovely little video assembling a simple cheese on toast, made better with our Red Onion Marmalade. We did a small feature on British Cheese as part of our British Food Fortnight celebrations in the Newsletter over the past couple of weeks.

Don't worry, if you missed them, CLICK HERE.

 Enjoy the video, HERE.

Well, A-Level Media, it happens to us all at some time or other. Which did Marvin prefer by the way - our velvety smooth Real Mayonnaise, or its Chilli Mayonnaise sister?

Thanks for the tweet Mr Media.

Thanks to Storm for this Instagram of delicious looking Wholegrain Mustard Pork Steaks. The greens themselves look amazing - did you think about stirring a little of our sweet, minty Mint Sauce into it?

For the recipe and to follow Storm, CLICK HERE.

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Curries Galore - 
from Bangladesh to Birmingham, we look at the origins and developments of the Great British Curry - here.

Tasty Tilapia - 
for British Seafood Week, our 'Fish Friday' article focuses on Tilapia as a simple, tasty fillet for every day delicious - here.







Dip, Spread, Cook - 
take a look at these true taste-busters with tasty tips to use them with, or as an ingredient in great food. Be different - here.

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

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150