Chicken and Cannellini Cassoulet Riverford recipe box (AD)
I was kindly gifted the chicken and cannellini cassoulet recipe box from Riverford in exchange for an honest review*.
Like most people I’ve seen the adverts on TV for these amazing meals which you cook from scratch with ingredients delivered to your door in one magical box but I’d never tried one myself.
That was until the Riverford Newcastle team got in touch with this collaboration opportunity.
I’m not very adventurous in the kitchen and my culinary skills are basic at best. I hold my hands up to confess I’m much better at eating than cooking but I decided to use this opportunity to put on my apron, roll up my sleeves and make a hearty meal from scratch all by myself.
The Newcastle team have been up and running since Valentine’s Day 2007 and have built up a loyal customer base.
I perused the Riverford website for the recipe boxes available for that week and decided upon the chicken and cannelini cassoulet – no chopping or de-boning of meat required which I really don’t like doing!
I arranged for delivery to be made to my parents house in Newcastle for the Wednesday as I was going to our first Adventure Babies session and would collect it afterwards.
Once I got home I unpacked the box and was amazed at how well everything is packaged ensuring everything keeps fresh.
Some people might not be home when deliveries are made but that’s not a problem as the packaging used is very clever and keeps everything nice and chilled until you can pop it in the fridge.
The boxes are designed to be reused 10 times, massively reducing their environmental impact. Very impressive.
Inside the box was every single ingredient I would need to rustle up the dish bar salt, pepper and oil which I had in the cupboard ready to go.
I decided I couldn’t wait to get stuck in so once my husband was home I popped Elsie in her Snuggle seat, donned my apron and got to work.
First up was chopping up the organic veg including my nemesis the onion – fortunately there were no tears and I didn’t cut myself either.
Next I had to season the chicken, brown it off and add the veg.
While the chicken rested on a plate I added the beans, rosemary and thyme.
The chicken was then back in the game and it all simmered nicely. In the meantime I prepared the bread crumb topping.
While the oven finished off the dish for 20 minutes I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters.
While the finished article cooled I stir fried the kale.
And then dinner was served.
I found the recipe easy to follow with it being carefully broken down that even a cooking novice like me could manage to follow along competently.
My biggest pet peeve with cooking is all the mess and dishes that come with it which is why this recipe was so good for me.
There was minimal mess and dishes because I only used a wok and a ceramic dish, one chopping board and a few utensils. A few things needed to be washed by hand but the dish and cutlery were fine for the dish washer – brilliant!
Cooking time was 60 minutes but it took me a little longer – Elsie needed a bottle and needed to be settled before I could serve up which Steve did while I was cooking.
I was really impressed with how easy I found following the recipe and with the end result. It was delicious.
Admittedly it’s not a recipe I would’ve sought out myself but both my husband and I completely cleared our plates. It was wholesome and hearty and most important of all delicious (even if I do say so myself).
A massive thank you to the veg lady Newcastle Riverford for the opportunity to prove to myself and my husband that I can actually cook.
I can honestly say Riverford boxes are brilliant. This one would cost £16 for two people which is £8 per meal – cheaper than our Friday night Chinese takeaway – using organic fresh lovely ingredients to create a really tasty meal. Well worth the money in my opinion.
About Riverford
The Riverford box scheme began when Guy Watson started delivering vegetables locally to 30 friends in Devon. Now around 47,000 boxes are delivered a week to homes around the UK from their regional farms.
For more information visit the Riverford website.
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*Disclaimer
This review has been written with 100% honesty.
I was not financially compensated for this post. I received this recipe box in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.
If you would like your company/service featured on rachaelstray.com either in the form of review, sponsored post or an advertising slot, please feel free to contact me at rachaelstray@gmail.com
Please visit my contact/work with me page for more information.
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