HelloFresh’s 1st Cookalong: What we learnt from Victoria

Hello! Did you guys tune in for our very first cookalong with our wonderful chef Victoria? She cooked our Roasted Curried Parsnips with Cumin Quinoa Pilaf and Pomegranate Seeds.

If you fancy cooking it, just download the recipe (see the link above) and click the video below to get started!

Our Top 10 Learnings:

1. Turmeric is extremely good for you – it’s anti inflammatory
2. Quinoa is a seed, not a grain. HURRAH! It’s full of protein too!
3. When you’re roasting vegetables, add oil to your tray and pop in a preheated oven for about ten minutes before you put your veggies in. This will make the vegetables extra crunchy on the outside. Cold oil will be absorbed and make your vegetables soggy.
4. Don’t boil spinach – just wilt it using steam or the residual steam from your quinoa pilaf
5. Wash your grains and your quinoa! A lot of people complain that they don’t like the flavour of quinoa, it’s because they’ve not rinsed it and have a lot of the saponins still on it, which has a bitter taste.
6. Toast your grains after you’ve rinsed in, in a pan without water. This gives it a nice nutty flavour! Then add water!
7. To cut mint, pull the leaves off the stalks. Then use your fingers to “squidge” the mint leaves together (technical chef term), and then chop with your knife.
8. Try and have a massive variety of things in your diet – different grains, different meats, different vegetable, different herbs and spices! Eating the rainbow is a very good nutritional guide to live by.
9. Cous Cous is pretty much the same as pasta – it’s not a whole grain like quinoa!
10. Don’t overstir things in your pan. If you move things around the pan, they tend to sweat or not cook properly. Stir a little… but don’t be obsessive!

We’ve got a cookalong every Wednesday at 6pm for the rest of September.

Tune in on:

14th September for Andre’s sensational Coriander Spiced Pork with Couscous and Herby Salsa

21st September for Mimi’s epic Courgette, Broad Bean and Feta Orzotto with Pork Meatballs

28th September for Patrick’s incredible Tuscan Pappardelle with Rich Fennel Pork Ragu

Happy Cooking!