Why not self-cater this summer holiday?

If you’re planning on having a UK staycation this summer, you might find yourself staying in a self-catering property. But even the most passionate foodie won’t want to be slaving away for hours in a hot kitchen or doing mad dashes around the supermarket. We deliver all over the UK so why not get a box delivered to your home for the holiday?

There is nothing like starting off a holiday morning with a Full English! Whether you’re on a romantic couples break or feeding 20 hungry friends, it’s a sure fire way to celebrate your getaway. We love having a long lie-in and then frying off some of our traditionally dry-cured bacon and enough sausages to ensure you have the energy to explore your surroundings. Then all you need to add are some local farm eggs and possibly some tomatoes or baked beans and you will have happy faces all round. Just remember to have the big pots of coffee and tea all ready to go!

We love creating the perfect no cook meal of charcuterie and cheese. It just works so wonderfully for an easy picnic lunch or a delicious al fresco dinner with a glass of cold white wine – unpredictable british weather permitting of course!

We like to have a good mix of cheese; one hard, one soft and one blue as a minimum for 4-6 people (you can’t go wrong with cheddar, a brie or Camembert and a Stilton) and a couple of cured meats such as our red wine and blue cheese salami and our three-month cured coppa.

Add a fresh crusty loaf of bread, a jar of ploughman’s pickle or sticky fig relish, some seasonal veggies (or go retro with some crudites!) and some fruit such as grapes, figs or peaches. If you are planning on taking lunch with you, make the most of the reusable ice packs in our boxes and you’ll have fresh tasting food even if travelled for miles!

Space is often at a premium in the suitcase (especially if your itinerary includes any souvenir shopping) so bringing loads of extra spices and sauces with you is the last thing you want. Anything pre-marinated is a recipe for success on our family holidays. How about taking our honey and mustard pork loin steaks and serving them with a combination of potato salad and some leafy greens? Or quickly frying the harissa marinated bavette steak before slicing thinly and filling flatbreads with a spoonful of tzatziki and some rocket.

And if you want to bring the taste of the caribbean to your UK holiday, try taking our jerk marinated chicken wings and cooking up some rice and peas before putting on the table with a big salad and some slaw and getting everyone to help themselves!

The last thing you want when you’re on the holidays is a sink full of dirty dishes. We always love making one pot dinners so we can spend more time enjoying the company and surroundings and less time with our hands covered in soap suds. Cooking fish in the french style of ‘en papillote’ is one of our favourite methods even at home but creating those tin foil parcels on holiday just makes dinner so easy! We like to fill ours with fish, par-boiled new potatoes, thinly sliced fennel, black olives, slices of lemon and some cherry tomatoes with a good glug of olive oil, salt and pepper and some dried oregano. You could also try our recipe for BBQ Hake with Chorizo which we love serving with some butter beans or chickpeas.

For a one pot wonder that’s a little meatier but still light and summery, try roasting (in a 200C oven) chicken thighs, halved new potatoes and a few garlic cloves drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper for 20 minutes. Add sliced courgettes, peppers and cherry tomatoes and bake for a further 20 minutes. Dollop on some good quality pesto and you’re good to go.

The ultimate british summer dinner of course is a barbeque! And it may be just us, but we think a gorgeous holiday surrounding make it taste even better. But how about mixing things up a little, our burgers and sausages are always a fail safe but adding a harissa marinated pulled pork shoulder to the mix? A sure-fire way to make anyone around jealous and hungry! As it’s cooked sous-vide (i.e. our chefs have done most of the hard-work, see blog post about sous-vide), all you really need to do is crisp up the edges and heat it through. Simply serve in brioche buns with chipotle ketchup or a quick sauce made of harissa paste and yoghurt and some wilted greens (try sesame oil dressed spinach or kale for a really tasty twist).

Or how about barbecuing some mackerel fillets and serving with a quick salsa verde (blend or use a mortar and pestle to combine 3 or 4 of your favourite herbs – we like parsley, dill, basil and fresh oregano – with a clove or 2 of garlic, a smidge of mustard and a squeeze of lemon). Simply add a fresh baguette or even some soda bread and you have a really quick meal.

So with the british heatwave set to be continuing into October this year, why not plan a last minute UK getaway and take us with you!