Frittata with Quick Pickled Salad

September 4, 2017August 30, 2017 / thuddirect / 1 Comment

This is a super September supper, great for a busy school night. It’s an easy frittata which you can throw together accompanied by a delicious quick pickled cucumber and radish salad.

Serves 2

Ingredients: 30g Samphire, 50g purple potatoes, 100g jersey royals, 1-2 shallot, 100g peas, 50g radishes, 1 baby cucumber, 1 tbsp chopped dill.

From the larder: 25g butter, 5 eggs, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp water, 2 tsp sugar, salt and pepper (optional extra: goats cheese).

Instructions:

Preheat the grill to 200 degrees C.
Slice the potatoes, place in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 mins to par boil.
After 10 mins, blanche with the samphire, by placing in the boiling water for 30 seconds and then drain along with the potatoes and running under cold water.
Shell the peas and chop the shallot. Fry the shallot in butter and if using bacon, cut into pieces and fry in the pan. When soft, add the potatoes, peas and samphire and fry gently for about 5 mins. Beat 5 eggs and pour into the frying pan and then crumble in the goats cheese.
Cook for about 5 minutes, pulling up the edges and letting the soft egg run underneath. Pop under the grill for another 5 or so minutes until the top sets, puffs up and starts to brown.
While the frittata cooks, make a quick pickling brine by mixing white wine vinegar, water and sugar in a small bowl. Thinly slice cucumber and radishes, chop a tsp of dill and mix it all into the brine.
When frittata is puffy and browned, serve with pickled salad and optional toast.

Green Goddess Salad

July 25, 2017July 20, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

We have recently discovered the green goddess dressing and fallen in love! This is our very own THUD version dolloped over lentils and yummy veg.

Serves 2

Ingredients: 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 1-2 tbsp chopped tarragon, 1tbsp chopped chives, 50g rocket, 1 baby cucumber, 1 beetroot, 1 carrot.

Larder: ½ C mayonnaise, ½ C plain yoghurt, 1 tsp mustard, 150g puy lentils or a tin/pouch of cooked puy/green lentils, 2 eggs, salt and pepper (optional: 3 anchovies or 1 tsp miso paste).

Instructions:

If using uncooked lentils, place them in a saucepan and with 3/4. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 mintues until tender.
Make the green goddess dressing: Finely chop all the herbs and if using, the anchovies. Combine herbs and anchovies/miso paste in a bowl with the mayonnaise and mustard and then whisk in the yoghurt. Season and adjust according to taste.
In a salad bowl, grate the beetroot and carrot, slice the cucumber, add the rocket and toss to combine.
Poach two eggs and when lentils are soft but still with a little bite, drain any remaining water.
While eggs are poaching, pile up your green goddess salad starting with lentils, followed by the veggies and large dollops of green goddess dressing. Finally, when the eggs are ready, pop them on top and enjoy.
Note: the dressing is quite thick so stir in as you eat.

Mediterranean Tart

July 25, 2017July 25, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

A simple summery tart for supper! What more can you want? Courgettes, tomatoes, cheese accompanied by new potatoes, make this a tasty weeknight supper.

Serves 2

Ingredients: 200g potatoes, 150g cherry tomatoes, 3-4 baby courgettes or 1 courgette, 2 shallots, a few stems of oregano, small bunch of chives.

From the larder: 1 roll ready-made puff pastry, tomato purée, 100g goat’s cheese or 1 ball mozzarella, 1 tbsp olive oil.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and bring a pan of water to boil for potatoes.
Slice the tomatoes, courgettes and shallots and chop oregano leaves.
Unroll the whole roll of pastry onto a baking tray. Leaving a 1cm border, spread with tomato purée, and sprinkle with the oregano.
Cover with the chopped tomatoes, courgettes and shallots and tear over the mozzarella.
Place in the oven and bake the tart for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
Meanwhile, halve potatoes and boil for 10-15 minutes. When soft, drain them and chop chives. Mix together with a splash of olive oil and season to taste.
Remove tart from the oven when puffed and serve with potato salad.

Asparagus and Hazelnut Risotto

July 19, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

Making the most of the last of this summer’s asparagus, here’s a simple risotto flavoured with summer greens, off-set beautifully with toasted hazelnuts and parmesan.

Ingredients: 2 shallots, 1 clove of garlic, 3 asparagus spears, 1 small courgette, 120g yellow wax beans, 8g lemon thyme.

From the larder: 20g butter, 170g Arborio rice, 700-800ml stock, 50g hazelnuts, salt and pepper, (optional: salmon fillets, 30g grated parmesan).

Instructions:

Peel and chop the shallots and a garlic clove. Sauté gently with a knob of butter for about 5-7 minutes until shallots are soft.
Add the Arborio rice and cook for 2 minutes, until the rice looks slightly translucent.
Prepare 700ml stock (use some white wine if you like). Add it to the rice ladle-by-ladle until it is all fully absorbed. Stir and allow stock to absorb between each ladle. Add more water if you run out of stock before the rice is cooked. This process can take up to 20 mins, so be patient. If using salmon, grill while the risotto cooks.
While keeping an eye on the risotto, heat a frying pan and dry fry the hazelnuts until they start to smell and brown. Set aside.
Using the same frying pan, heat a glug of oil and cut the asparagus spears into quarters, slice the courgette and top, tail and halve the wax beans. Sauté the veggies until soft.
Once the stock is absorbed and the risotto al denté. Remove from the heat, stir in the veggies, hazelnuts, lemon thyme leaves and parmesan and serve immediately, with extra parmesan grated on top.

Mange Tout and Pak Choi Stir Fry

July 19, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

This is a quick, easy and tasty stir fry, perfect for a busy mid-week evening, packed with Pak choi, mange tout and daikon radish (also known as mouli), along with fresh herbs, a touch of soy sauce and a nutty addition of cashews.

Ingredients: 2 Shallots, 1 garlic cloves, 10g ginger, 1 pak choi, large handful of mange tout, 100g daikon radish, a few coriander stems.

From the larder: 175g noodles, 3 tsp sunflower or sesame oil, 1-2 tbsp soy sauce, (optional: handful of cashews, prawns or chicken).

Instructions:

Prepare all the veg: peel and chop the shallot, garlic and ginger, thinly slice the daikon into batons, chop the pak choi, separating the leaves and stems.
If using meat, prepare by peeling prawns or chopping chicken into pieces.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil before starting to stir-fry the veg.
In a wok or frying pan, heat the oil on a high heat and if using, add meat, if using, and cook for a few minutes. Add shallots, and stir fry to soften. Add the ginger and garlic and then daikon, pak choi stems and mange tout. Stir-fry for around 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are just reaching the right level of crunch and then stir in the pak choi leaves. Remove from the heat and add soy sauce.
While stir-frying the vegetables, cook the noodles for about 3-5 minutes in boiling water or according to packet instructions.
Drain the noodles and mix into the stir-fried veg. Serve immediately with coriander torn on top and an optional handful of cashews.

10 Sensational Summer Dinners for Hot Nights

July 7, 2017July 7, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

In a bid to beat the heat, we’ve pulled together our top 10 sensational summer dinners to really WOW you and enjoy in the warm weather. They’re all easy to make, refreshingly healthy and sure to impress. And not one boring salad in sight!

Simply enter your email below, and we’ll send you our FREE delicious recipes. There may be an extra something special included too…

Everyone can agree that hot food in cold weather makes sense. As does spending time in our kitchens, using all of our favourite appliances. But what about summer, when the weather is beautiful (sometimes) and it seems like you have to spend every second outdoors to truly appreciate the warm weather? Surely, there’s more on the menu than a boring salad?

As well, is it just me or is summertime the season where ALL you want to do is eat out? Cue a cold glass of wine, a perfect table on a patio and something ridiculously refreshing that I could never have made myself. All because it’s just too hot to cook! The problem with this is that our kitchens quickly become irrelevant and inevitably turn into an empty wasteland. Another problem with trying new restaurants every night of the week is that my wallet will become empty quite quickly and isn’t the most budget-friendly solution. So what’s a hungry person to do?

Don’t sweat it.

Here at THUD, we’re more than just a recipe kit company. We create delicious recipes every week and send you the freshest herbs and ingredients to cook them with. Every kit includes unique ingredients that you can’t always find at your local supermarket that are also in season. This means you’re eating new ingredients that are at their most fresh every week!

We know you’re on a budget, so that’s why all of our kits range from £7.50 to £10. Head over to our website to find the best kit to fit your lifestyle but don’t forget your special discount code: “THUD75” FOR 75% OFF

How many times do you end up binning a good chunk of your weekly shop simply because you bought too much and it has all gone off? Often times the quantities of veg and fruit that supermarkets sell just aren’t realistic for many households. That’s why everything in your THUD box has been carefully selected to provide you with just the right quantities to cook your delicious meals with. Need exactly 12 baby potatoes? No problem, you’ll receive exactly 12 farm fresh baby potatoes in your THUD box plus the rest of your hand picked ingredients.

Order before SUNDAY at midnight and you’ll receive your choice of THUD recipe kit the following Wednesday. Don’t forget, our THUD boxes fit through the letterbox so there’s no need to be in to sign for it. Check out what’s on the menu next week and use your “THUD75” discount for 75% off!

Baked Tortillas

July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

If we could, we’d eat tortillas for almost every meal! We love the combination of jalapeños, borlotti beans, tomatoes, paprika, melted cheese and fresh coriander all wrapped up in tortillas for this scrumptious supper time treat.

Serves 2

Ingredients: Shallots, garlic, peppers, plum tomato, borlotti beans, jalepeño pepper, coriander.

Larder: 4 tortilla wraps, 40g cheddar cheese, 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1tsp paprika, 50ml water, lime juice (optional: sour cream).

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Dice garlic, shallots and jalapeño and sauté in a glug of oil for 5 minutes until soft. Deseed and slice the peppers into thin strips and chop the tomato. Add to the pan and sauté for a few minutes while you shell the borlotti beans.
Add the beans to the pan along with a tin of chopped tomatoes, 50ml water, cumin powder and paprika. Season and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes and then remove from the heat. Keep the beans submerged and if needed, add a splash more water to do so.

Place a tortilla on a baking tray or small casserole dish. Spoon just under a ¼ of the tomato mix onto the tortilla, grate over a little cheese and then roll up the tortilla. Place a second tortilla next to the first, fill and roll up. Repeat until you have 4-6 tortillas neatly lined up on the tray right next to each other so they are touching. Add any extra tomato mix on top of the wraps along with the last bit of grated cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and the tortillas are just crisping at the edges.

Serve the tortillas with torn coriander, a squeeze of lime and optional dollop of sour cream.

Grilled Aubergine and Peach Couscous

July 6, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

The summery sweetness of flat peaches combines beautifully with aubergines and other goodies in this delicious couscous salad.

Serves 2.

Note: Grill the halloumi right before you’re going to eat, it tastes so much better fresh from the pan!

Ingredients: 150g cherry tomatoes, 2 baby aubergine, 1 flat peach, small bunch of flat and curly parsley.

Larder: 100g couscous, juice of 1 lemon, 5 tbsp olive oil, salt, 150g halloumi, dollop of yoghurt.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Slice the aubergines into ½ cm thick circles. Slice and chop the peach into 1-2cm chunks. Place peach and aubergine pieces on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle aubergines with salt. Roast for about 15 mins or until soft.
Finely chop the curly and flat parsley and quarter the tomatoes. Place in a salad bowl.
Place the couscous in a bowl and pour 175 ml of boiling water/stock to cover the couscous. Cover with clingfilm or a plate and leave to stand for about 5 minutes. Then stir with a fork and add to the salad bowl, mixing the couscous with the tomatoes and parsley.
Slice the halloumi into ½cm slices. Grill in the oven, or fry in a pan, until golden on both sides.
Make a dressing by combining juice of 1 lemon, 5 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add to the salad and mix.
When aubergines and peaches are soft and starting to crisp around the edges, remove from the oven.
Serve couscous and tomatoes with halloumi, aubergine and peaches piled on a plate with an optional dollop of yogurt on the side and more lemon or seasoning to taste.

Summer Kale and Pepper Pasta

July 4, 2017July 3, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

There’s not much we like more than a simple pasta and a good kick of garlic, oil and salt. When summer kale gets involved along with a sweet red pepper and invites parsley and lemon to the party it makes this a corker of a comforting mid-week meal.

Ingredients: 50g kale, 1 romero pepper, small bunch of parsley, 4 garlic cloves.

Larder: 200g spaghetti, generous glugs of olive oil, pinch of salt, pepper, juice of a lemon (optional extras: parmesan cheese).

Instructions:

Bring a large sauce pan of water to the boil.
Finely shred the kale, deseed and finely chop the pepper, mince the garlic and finely chop the parsley.
Add the pasta to the boiling water.
Meanwhile, add a generous glug of oil to a sauté pan and sauté the veggies, starting with the garlic for a minute and then add the pepper and kale for another 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the parsley, the juice of a lemon, a healthy pinch of salt, and pinch of pepper.
When the pasta is ready, drain, add a glug of olive oil and then combine with the veggies.
Serve in bowls with grated parmesan on top and add more lemon juice, salt and/or olive oil if desired.

Rhubarb Panzanella

July 4, 2017July 3, 2017 / thuddirect / Leave a comment

This panzanella is a summery delight of a salad. Tart rhubarb, leafy greens, refreshing cucumber, crunchy radishes and sweet tomatoes are all topped off with crusty chunks of bread and a delicious balsamic dressing.

Ingredients: 50g rhubarb (1 stick), 1 baby cucumber, 50g radishes, 120g cherry tomatoes, 50g yellow cherry tomatoes, bunch of rocket, handful of spinach, 2 stems of mint.

From the larder: 2 slices of bread, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, salt, pepper, (optional: 3 pieces of cooked bacon).

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Roughly tear the bread into approx 3cm pieces. Lay on a baking tray and place in the oven to dry out and crisp up for about 15-20 minutes.
Wash the rocket and spinach and place in a salad bowl.
Quarter the cucumber lengthways and then slice the quarters into chunks. Halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the radishes and chop the mint leaves. Add all to the salad bowl.
Slice the rhubarb very thinly (approximately .5cm or thinner) and add to the salad bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust proportions as desired.
Pour the salad dressing over the salad and toss to dress well.
Add the bread into the salad and briefly toss. If using bacon, chop into small pieces and add to the salad.
Serve the panzanella in bowls and enjoy.