Last week I shared my thoughts on the Gousto meals we enjoyed over the weekend, and mentioned I'd be back to discuss the next menu. So here I am!
This week we dined on:
Friday: Sticky Lean Beef and Broccoli Noodle Stir Fry
Saturday: Baity's Chicken Musakhan with Cucumber Salad
Sunday: Lebanese-Spiced Rice and Crispy Fish
And here comes the disclaimer before he shouts at me: Graham cooked all of these.
Here's how we got on!
Friday: Sticky Lean Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
I love a stir-fry. It's a go-to for us when we need a quick tea, but we typically make them with prawns so it was nice to try something a bit different.
And different this was, because despite my conviction that the beef was frying steak, it was in fact lean mince!
This was a really good Friday tea, because it felt a bit like we were having a Chinese takeaway. I'm not a big lover of 5 spice, but that didn't spoil things because, though there was a lot of it in this, there was so much else going on that it just tasted like a delicious, sweet, sticky sauce with the beef and the tenderstem broccoli.
And the beef mince was lovely too! Sometimes it can taste a bit 'meh', can't it? But in this case it soaked up the sauce beautifully, giving it an indulgent rich flavour.
My score: 9/10
Saturday: Baity's Chicken Musakhan with Cucumber Salad
I regret to say that I wasn't aware of Baity, an independent Palestinian restaurant in Didsbury, until we chose this recipe, but scrolling through their menu made my tummy rumble! We picked this one because it is so very different to the kinds of meal we usually cook at home, and it definitely inspired us to branch out.
The chicken in this dish was thigh meat, which I normally shy away from in favour of breast. But the thighs that came in the box were really good quality and tasted amazing cooked with all the spices (sumac, ground allspice, cumin, cardamom pods and ground coriander). It was served with sliced red onions, but one of the great pain points in our relationship is that I can't stand onions, whereas Graham would marry one if he could. I claim now that it's because they're not a friend to IBS, but my history of onion-hatred began much earlier than my chronic bowel condition did.
Anyway, I didn't have the onions. But I DID have the delicious yoghurt dressing, which Graham spiced up with a bit of paprika. I also enjoyed the naan bread the chicken was served on, because quite frankly, bread is everything to me.
My score: 9/10
Sunday: Lebanese-Spiced Rice and Crispy Fish
There's something so comforting about a bowl of spicy rice. And I mentioned my love of fish last week, so this option was a born winner. The fish (it was basa) was coated in cornflour and turmeric to make cute little fish nuggets. They were served on top of the rice, which had the most intense spicy flavour! Graham informs me that the onions sweetened the dish, but of course I wouldn't know about that. And anyway, I'm sweet enough.
The basa nuggets and rice were topped with a drizzle of tahini, which I've only ever had in hummus so I was kind of disappointed that it didn't taste like my favourite dip/spread/thing on earth. But it did taste nice when mixed in with the rice, fish and veggies and gave the whole meal a comforting quality.
My score: 9/10
Solid 9s all round this week! Next, we're having Chicken Katsu Curry (I've been craving this for months and I'm SO excited!), Lemony Crab and Pea Risotto and Harissa Lamb Hotpot with Minty Beans. Tune in next week to find out how we found them!
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