Asda Summer Food Challenge day 1

 

Askamum love my blog, ooo-errr how exciting!

 

I’m not going to be doing my usual blog entry this week because I’ve been set a challenge by Asda instead (plus they’re offering my readers a rather brilliant competition to go with it – read on for that)! Never one to shy away from something of this nature I have leapt head first at the task they have set me despite the fact it uses none of my natural skills! It’s a cooking one you see and I am not, in any way, a creative or indeed very accomplished chef. Nevertheless I am going to give it my best shot and over the next three days try to produce some food that not only will impress my family (it won’t take much, Jonny very often gets presented with a sandwich for his supper – if it’s toasted he considers that a hot meal) but also something which might be inspiring enough to be replicated by you, whoever you are!

First of all I have to let you know the ‘rules’ to the challenge! So, Asda have asked me if I will produce some recipes using fresh and seasonal fruit and veg and set the theme to be The Great British Summer! I have to tell you also that I have set myself some guidelines too. Firstly I want my recipes to be very simple and easy to do (like I said, I’m no chef), I want them to be appealing to children and I also want them to be adaptable so I will be offering alternate twists to change the dish slightly for differing tastes… Here goes then – and do let me know what you think! (Jonny once ate, and enjoyed, onion rolls with chocolate spread so I’m not entirely sure I can rely on his palette to give me an accurate score!) Oh and don’t forget to enter the competition below the recipe; it’s to win £50 of Asda vouchers – in the words of a lovely (proper) cook I admire (Ina Garten), ‘how good is that?’

As my starter of the week I shall be cooking summer tomato soup with basil jus

 

Ingredients

 

220g pack of ‘Asda Extra Special’ sweet vine ripened tomatoes (2 packs for £3) (These are SO delicious and sweet and taste like they have the sunshine in them – lovely!)

 

A 400g can of Italian chopped tomatoes with chilli from the ‘Asda Chosen by you’ range (£0.68)

 

5 tablespoons of Asda Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil (£2.50 for 500ml)

 

2 cloves of (finely chopped) garlic (£0.27 for a whole bulb from Asda)

 

1 (finely chopped) large onion (£0.90 per kg at Asda)

 

1.5 tablespoons of Asda red wine vinegar (£0.80 for 350ml)

 

1 pint of vegetable stock – I use 1 Asda vegetable stock cube (£0.66 for 120g)

 

2 teaspoons of Swartz fennel seeds (£1.62 for 28g from Asda)

 

A good handful of basil leaves – I have a pot of Asda’s growing basil which I water and it has lasted for 4 months now (£0.76 each)

 

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

 

Firstly select a pan which is both oven and hob friendly and pour in 4 of the tbs of olive oil. Place the tomatoes (still on the vine) and onions on top and sprinkle with the fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Place in a pre heated oven (225C/425F/Gas 7) for half an hour.

Remove from the oven and place on the hob over a moderate heat. Remove the vine and add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes before adding the red wine vinegar and can of tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the stock. Simmer for a further 15 minutes.

 

While the soup is simmering bash the basil together with the remaining olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. This can be drizzled over the top of the soup when served. Remove the soup from the stove, blend, chill and voila – ready!

 

Serves 4 as a starter at a rough cost of £1 per portion.

 

This is really punchy because of the vinegar but if you fancy something a bit different try my alternate recipes:

How about serving hot with a glug of fresh cream to give it a richer warmer feel in the winter?

 

If you fancy giving it an Asian influence then halve the vinegar and add a can of coconut milk and serve hot or cold!

 

Just try it as it is but warm and serve with crusty bread for a healthy evening supper in itself!

 

And onto the competition!

 

To allow you to go into Asda stores and pick up your own selection of fresh fruit and veg, Asda would like to give one lucky reader of my blog £50 worth of Asda vouchers! For your chance to win email me at [email protected] by midnight on 23^rd August 2012 stating your name and address. For more chances to win follow me on Twitter @rocknrollerbaby and see my Tweets for instructions! 

 

See you back here tomorrow for my main course recipe!

 

(All opinions and words, apart from those in green, are my own. I have not been paid for this article although I did receive some products to keep after I had reviewed them.)