Wouldn’t it be great if you were not spending hours in the kitchen peeling and slicing a mountain of vegetables for a family of 4? Mash Direct is taking away the hassle by providing us a range of award-winning premium vegetable accompaniments. I often find it hard work just to prepare vegetables. I do have lot of kitchen gadgets to help me along but depending on the quantities, sometimes it’s not worth the trouble of getting it out the cupboard and also adding it to the washing up pile. This is my first time trying out Mash Direct and I’ve been looking forward to checking out their products. Their products are available from Ocado, Booths, independent retailers nationwide and http://www.mashdirect.com.
Each product contains specially selected heritage vegetable varieties, chosen for their flavour rather than appearance, grown and prepared on their family-run farm in County Down. The vegetables are gently steam cooked immediately after harvesting to ensure an unrivalled fresh flavour and texture, whilst retaining their natural nutritional benefits. Their products are gluten-free, with no artificial additives, preservatives and colourings, and low in salt.
I have received this range of seasonal favourites:
- Honey Glazed Parsnips – Freshly steam-cooked parsnips coated in butter, honey and light brown sugar for a deliciously sweet taste. (RRP £1.59)
- Roasted Root Vegetables – A tasty mix of parsnips, carrots and beetroot, marinated in a delicious mix of herbs. (RRP £1.79)
- Duck Fat Roast Potatoes – These sumptuous potatoes are coated in duck fat and cooked so they’re crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, and deliciously moreish. (RRP £1.89)
- Red Cabbage and Beetroot – One of Mash Direct’s most award-winning products, delicately steam cooked and blended to create a delicious mix of flavours and textures. The winner of two Great Taste awards, a Grocer Gold Award and a Quality Food Award. (RRP £1.89)
- Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and a Butter Glaze – A delicious take on a Christmas classic: freshly steam-cooked Brussel Sprouts with an indulgent bacon and butter glaze. (RRP £1.89)
Each packet provides a nice portion for two persons. They are also suitable for home freezing. If you look carefully on the packaging, you will probably notice that some of these are in foil trays which require you to warm in the oven. Whilst the black plastic trays are suitable for oven and microwave. Cooking time varies between 15-25 minutes in the oven.
First, we tried the Roasted Root Vegetables which come in three different vegetables. I love that it comes with beetroot as this is one of the vegetables I hate to prepare because of all the stains. These vegetables are very well seasoned and tasty. They were slightly soggy but they taste great.
Next was the honey glazed parsnips and duck fat roast potatoes. The parsnips come in shaped like French fries. I love that I can still taste the honey on the parsnips and they smell gorgeous! My children on the other hand weren’t keen on the parsnips but that’s in general. They’re missing out on great food here!
The roast potatoes are coated with duck fat. Initially I thought it will be quite greasy but they were not. The potatoes were fluffy inside and crispy on the outside, just the way they should be. We all enjoyed these. Lastly, we tried the Brussels sprouts. They were crunchy and yet soft. The taste is great especially with bacon! I love the combination!
Unfortunately we weren’t able to try the cabbage products as they were damaged during transit. Nevertheless, the pack looks very appetising. Overall I would recommend these to anyone. They are very tasty, good value for money and saves you time from the kitchen. Do look out for them!
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review however all thoughts and opinions remain our own.