Review: Garden Gourmet's Range of Herbs & Spices

Garden Gourmet's Range of Herbs and Spices

Herbs are brilliant. They can make the difference between any old fuel and some delicious food in a instant.

For my review of Garden Gourmet's range of Herbs & Spices, I tried these in three different recipes. First in a no-cook Jackfruit Ceviche, next in warming Thai Curry and finally in an everyday Pasta Bolognese. The herbs performed well in each recipe bringing the flavour of fresh herbs but the ease of use of dried herbs.

I used the garlic in each recipe and found that I got the most even distribution throughout the dish if I added it to a liquid first, like coconut milk or vegetable broth - I also found that it made a beautiful aioli and garlic bread. But of the whole range of herbs I found the coriander to be most appealing. I have so often bought fresh coriander for one recipe only to have the rest of the bunch go off before I could get to it. Or worse yet, I've arrived at the shop to see them already past their best.  And the thing is that when you're hankering for guacamole, neither dried coriander, coriander seeds, nor ground coriander has the same impact. But not only does Garden Gourmet product delivers on flavour, but it also keeps for more than a week.

They're a great way to cut down on prep time if you're new to cooking and provide the extra special ingredient you need to make your next Thai, Mexican, or Chinese meal sing.

Thai  Coconut Curry with Garden Gourmet Spices 

Vegetarian Recipe: Thai Seitan Curry

Thai Seitan Curry

Thai food is a gift. All those flavours mingled together. The warmth of coconut, the heat of chili, the delicate aromatics of the basil and coriander (aka cilantro), the lime, the ginger - it's just beautiful. And a Thai curry is simply the classiest way to get a good mix of vegetables, herbs and spices into something tasty.

For my review of Garden Gourmet's range of squeezable herbs, I put this curry together to test the lemon grass, basil, coriander, garlic, ginger and hot chili all at once. The result was curry that was a fragrant, satisfying and brought a little bit of tropical heat to the winter chill.

Thai Seitan Curry

Serves 2 -4

1 sliced onion
1 tablespoon red curry powder
2 tablespoon oil
4-6 sliced button mushrooms
1/2 red pointed sweet pepper
400 ml coconut milk
2 teaspoons Garden Gourmet Garlic
1 teaspoon Garden Gourmet Lemongrass
1 teaspoon Garden Gourmet Ginger
1 teaspoon Garden Gourmet Basil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
100 ml water
330 grams seitan
juice of one lime
1 tablespoon Garden Gourmet Coriander
1 tablespoon Garden Gourmet Hot Chili
3 and 4 handfuls baby leaf spinach

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok, and add onion with curry powder. Cook until onions are soft and well mixed with curry powder, then add mushrooms and peppers. Allow veg to cook on a low/med heat while you prep the coconut milk.

In a mixing bowl, combine coconut milk, garlic lemongrass, ginger, basil, soy sauce and water. Mix until milk is even and seasoning consistent. Add to pan and bring to a simmer. Next add bite sized pieces of seitan and lime juice. Let simmer for about 10-15 mins. Finally add coriander & chili. And stir through. Add spinach to the curry just before serving with brown rice so that it's not overcooked.

Vegetarian Recipe: Jackfruit Ceviche Tacos

Jackfruit Ceviche

Jackfruit is something that relatively new in the West, but is a staple in throughout the tropics. Popular in central Africa, the West Indies, India, Thailand and Brazil, it comes from a tree that produces fruit about as large as a full size watermelon and is incredibly versatile.

Great for curries, sweet and savory recipes, jackfruit has recently become the darling of the vegan community because its flaky, fibrous texture makes it a great substitute for crab and fish recipes. And on top of all this it's also a really good natural source of B-Complex Vitamins. Generally speaking you'll find it canned at an international food shop.

Now, I've had jackfruit at restaurants, but as part of my review of the Garden Gourmet range of squeezey herbs & spices, I thought that a spicy jackfruit ceviche would be opportunity to try the chili and coriander in something where the herbs are uncooked and on show. The result was delicious and is something that I'm sure I'll be trying again soon.

Vegetarian Jackfruit Ceviche

1 10oz can of Young Green Jack Fruit in Brine
1 medium tomato,chopped
1 teaspoons Garden Gourmet Chili
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Garden Gourmet Cilantro
Juice of 1 lime

 To serve:
Raw baby leaf spinach-
4-6 Small Soft Tortillas or chapati

Directions

Drain and rinse jackfruit thoroughly. Shake off excess water, then coarsely chop the wedges and place in a mixing bowl.  Next add the chopped tomato, chili, onion, cilantro and lime juice to the jackfruit. Mix it all together until everything is evenly coated and with everything else. Once this is done, place the bowl in the fridge and let it marinate for 20-30 mins.

Serve with handful of raw spinach on a soft tortilla.

Upclose & Personal with Jackfruit Ceviche