Gousto: a great way to learn new recipes
Every year I resolve to try cooking more new recipes, and every year that resolution seems to fall by the wayside because I’m too busy to think about what to cook next. Unsurprisingly, I was growing a bit tired of cooking the same old recipes week in, week out, and when my sister introduced me to the recipe kit box company Gousto, it seemed the perfect excuse to start expanding my culinary repertoire. We’d made scrummy mushroom burgers from her Gousto box together, and I couldn’t resist signing up myself.
The box was bigger than I was expecting, and this definitely won’t be fitting through your letterbox! However, the fresh stuff is insulated so that it stays cold for a few hours, so the box can be left in a safe place if you’re not at home to answer the door. It’s all very nicely branded, with a handy guide to where to store each of the different kinds of ingredients printed on the box.
In the box is all the ingredients you need to make the recipes you’ve chosen, perfectly measured out to match the easy-to-follow recipe cards that come with them. I chose three recipes for two people, and I was also chuffed to receive a rather nice free wooden spoon!
The first recipe I tried was Roast Veg, Feta and Lentil Salad with Dijon Dressing. The ingredients didn’t look like much, but the lentils obviously get a lot bigger when they’re cooked and this was enough for two very decent-sized portions.
I really loved this recipe, and I’ve since made it for vegetarian friends. It’s full of goodness, and you can’t beat the combination of roast butternut squash and red onion mixed with yummy feta cheese.
Next up was Smoky Chicken and Red Pepper Fajitas. As you can see, I had to buy some coriander for this and the next recipe because unfortunately they’d given me flat leaf parsley instead (they did credit my account to say sorry though!). I also needed a lot more cheese than that, but I’m a bit of a cheese fiend so perhaps that would be enough for a normal person!
This one, I have to say, was rather a faff to make compared with the fajita kits I normally buy in the supermarket. Instead of chicken breast, the recipe had chicken thighs, and you were meant to cook them in the oven and then ‘pull’ them (like you would with pork). I cooked this for a friend and it was quite stressful because the chicken took way longer to cook than the recipe said (maybe it’s just my oven though), and it was difficult to get the timings right with everything else. The end result was tasty, albeit a little on the small side.
The last recipe for this box was Miso & Sesame Chicken Noodles. I can’t even remember the last time I made noodles, if ever, so I enjoyed giving this one a try.
This one turned out really well. A lovely combination of flavours with the sesame, miso and coriander, and there was actually more than enough for two people – I cooked it for myself and had enough leftovers for two lunches! This isn’t a recipe I’d have tried normally, but having made it once, I would probably make it again.
I really enjoy cooking and found this a fun way to try new recipes without committing to filling up your cupboards with stuff you won’t use for other things. Overall, I’d say Gousto is good value for money because you’re not having to buy full-size ingredients that you’re never going to get through.
One word of advice: Gousto recipes are made from scratch and they’re really hands on – they’re not ready meals. I’d advise reading through the whole recipe and laying out the ingredients before you start cooking, and if you get easily stressed, don’t try out the recipes for the first time when you have dinner guests!
If you’d like to give it a try, clicking this Gousto referral link will get you 50% off your first two boxes, and I’ll get some credit towards my next box too.
By the way, I’ve not been asked or paid by Gousto to write this post – I just thought it was an interesting service and thought some of you might agree!