September last year I was sent an organic Riverford Organic Recipe Box to review. The contents were absolutely fantastic, so many many thanks for the opportunity!
The Riverford boxes come in three varieties –
- Vegetarian with three meals for two or four
- Quick with three meals for two
- Original with three meals for two
- Original with two meals for two
Mealtimes are quite important times in our household, it’s the one time we spend together and although we have no dining table at present (much to my dismay) I do look forward to the day when we have a lovely one set up! We opted for the Original Riverford Organic Recipe Box with three meals, as we always take our time when cooking. Believe me, nothing seems to be “quick” in our kitchen. We are firm believers in slow food, and both of us find the process of cooking and preparing a meal meditative.
There are several advantages to receiving a Riverford Organic Recipe Box. Firstly, all the ingredients you need to create delicious organic home-cooked meals are delivered direct to your door; the ingredients are the freshest, seasonal organic produce; and there is no waste as all the ingredients in exact quantities.
Because Mr BB works from home, cooking tends to fall into his remit, but for the purpose of this review I cooked the meals! I actually miss cooking so it was a nice change to be able to do so. Here’s the meals we cooked –
Riverford Organic Recipe Box Recipe #1 Ham Hock Leek & Potato Gratin with Savoy Cabbage
This was seriously tasty, and not the kind of food we usually cook at home (we tend to opt for creatively blended spices when either of us cook – we like the flavour sensation!) This was a very hearty meal, and something I will definitely recreate with any pulled pork leftovers.
The ingredients and recipe card.
The potato gratin.
The ham and herbs being added to the creamy leeks. 
Thickening the sauce ready for the oven.
The end result prior to serving.
Riverford Organic Recipe Box Recipe #2 Baked Ricotta with Roasted Vegetables
Meat-Free Monday is definitely not something that exists in our house, so for the veggie option I got creative! This is something that Mr BB and I have both commented on – whilst the produce in the recipe boxes we have worked with is delicious and fresh, we both miss the creativity that naturally comes with our cooking.
With these ingredients I added organic mince, passata, chopped tomatoes and a splash of red wine vingear (my secret ingredient when making tomato sauce and mince dishes) and created a cannelloni! Genius, and this was absolutely delicious!
The Riverford ingredients
My added extras (plus the Riverford Ricotta!)
Instead of roasting the veggies, I gently fried in a pan, then added to the mince and onions I had already browned off.
Here is the final result. It was quite possibly the most delicious cannelloni I have ever made – the flavoursome veggies really complimented the dish. 
And here’s the money shot – just before eating! Uuuuuuummmmm cheese!
Riverford Organic Recipe Box Recipe #3 Beef Massaman Curry
The third and final recipe, this did not disappoint! We eat a lot of curry in our house, we both love a bit of heat and flavour (or should that be a lot of heat and flavour!)
All the ingredients lined up and prepared.
Frying up the flavour.
Cooking up the curry.
Serving up the curry. Now, technically you don’t need rice with this dish as there are potatoes, however to make the food go a bit further we included rice, as it meant that I had some to take to work the next day.
All in all this was a really positive experience with the Riverford Organic Recipe Box. I would recommend it for those who like cooking but need a bit of inspiration, or for those who don’t have time to plan meals for the week but want to eat healthily. For us, we like to experiment in the kitchen so we found the box a little restrictive in this area. Nevertheless it was a highly enjoyable experience, and the quality of the food was impressive.