thai beef lettuce wraps - a gousto giveaway

... as you can imagine, being the international food blogger extrordinaire that I am, I receive a lot of requests from brands to review stuff and if i'm brutally honest... which I probably shouldn't be... most of the stuff is utter crap... which is why it's nice to have received an honest email from the good people at Gousto asking me to review their Gourmet Bag delivery... I was a little reserved at first as this is such a busy month for all of us and I really didn't know if i'd find the time to review anything but when they explained the concept behind their company I was intrigued...

... and Gousto is a simple concept... it's essentially a weekly organic food delivery service with added recipes...every week they create recipes on their website... you choose which recipes you like and they send you the ingredients for that exact recipe... most of the stuff is already portioned, all you have to do is prepare and cook it... it's like opening your favourite cookbook and the ingredients magically appearing... or if you still don't quite get the concept yet, imagine that annoying bit in Jamie's 30 Minute Meals, where Mr Oliver advises you to 'have everything prepared in advance'... well this is that bit... genius...

... the gousto gourmet bag includes 2 meals for 2 people... I had about 8 recipes to choose from and I went for thai beef lettuce wraps, which I made for lunch on Monday... and tagliatelle with artichoke hearts, courgette puree and capers, which The viking and I will had for dinner last night... the box of goodies was delivered to my door and was beautifully wrapped in eco-friendly swaddling to keep it nice a fresh... each recipe comes with it's own recipe card and very, very clear and user-friendly instructions, with pictures... it honestly couldn't be simpler and is ideal for us folk with slightly manic lifestyles... the food is all very fresh, the menu's are all healthy and delicious... the boxes are not cheap but at £42 for a couples pack, which equates to 3 meals for 2 people it works out at £7 per meal, which last time I looked is cheaper, healthier and probably tastier than a take-away so it actually isn't too bad...

thai beef lettuce wraps
i've never really made anything like this before and they were indeed delicious... I actually felt quite virtuous eating them... they were packed with flavour and I devoured them with glee... and it was also quite a relief to be eating something succinctly not christmassy... here's the recipe if you fancy making them yourself...

250g minced beef
15g cilantro
1 medium red onion - finely sliced and quartered
1 red chilli - finely chopped
1 lime
1 iceberg lettuce
160g rice noodles
2 cloves garlic - finely crushed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
30g peanuts - crushed
1 carrot - sliced thinly with a vegetable peeler

- place the beef in a bowl, squeeze the lime over it and let it marinade whilst you make the rest of the meal

- place the noodles into a pot of boiling hot water, off the heat, and let them sit for 15mins or until al dente

- put a pan on a medium heat and saute the beef in some olive oil until cooked, reduce the heat and add the chilli, onion and garlic... add the fish sauce and the soy sauce and simmer for a minute or two until the ingredients and hot

- peel off a few large iceberg leaves and place a handful of noodles in each one, add some of the meat mixture and then top with the carrots and cilantro... sprinkle with the crushed peanuts to serve

tagliatelle with artichoke hearts, courgette puree and capers

the giveaway
... the good people at Gousto have very kindly given me one of their Gourmet Bags as a giveaway prize... this consists of two, 2-person meals and the winner will, as I did, get the opportunity to choose from a selection of menu's.... Gousto delivers nationwide except for a few very remote places, this means that sadly the giveaway is only open to residents of the UK... or friends of people who live here... so please check here to see if they will deliver to you (or someone you know) before you enter the competition...

... all you have to do is fill in the rafflecopter thingamy below and we'll pick a winner before the end of the month...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

eat and of course, enjoy!