Just Add range of squeezy tubes

I'm a busy Mum, and holidays are always a pretty hectic time for me, when both of my guys are at home and demand my attention. I'm not the biggest fan of takeaways or ready-made meals and prefer to cook most of our meals from scratch. As I don't want to compromise on taste or quality, I appreciate the shortcuts which allow me to spend less time in the kitchen and still prepare decent dishes. Just Add range of squeezy tubes consists of squeezy Ginger, Coriander, Basil, Chilli, Garlic and Sun Dried Tomato and is available from ASDA and OCADO.

I do grow my own herbs and have a chilli plant in the greenhouse. The problem with the chilli I have is it is pretty hot, so even one chilli turns the meals into a fire-eating experience. What do you do? use only half a chilli? The answer might be to use just the right amount of chilli paste from Just Add tube, it allows you to measure exactly as much as you like it to be. Some like it hot. Some, like me, are wimps and prefer a milder flavour.

And if you want to spend more time enjoying the garden or reading to your kids, "Just Add removes the fiddly task of chopping when cooking meaning that you can simply reach for the squeezy tube or one shot sachet to add your desired taste sensation".
The choice of squeezy tubes allows you to cook a wide selection of dishes, from many world cuisines.
Just perfect for a fuss free meal, full of flavours.

Pasta with clams is one of my most favourites types of pasta. Typically I would chop the fresh herbs like parsley or coriander, add the chopped garlic or onion and sometimes a bit of a chilli too (see my previous post Pasta with clams and sea beet). This time I was testing the squeezy tubes, using them instead of the fresh herbs.

Pasta with clams
Ingredients:
spaghetti (75-100g dry pasta per person)
clams (about 250g per person)
2tsp Just Add coriander
1tsp Just Add garlic
1tsp Just Add chilli
a handful of baby tomatoes
salt, pepper
80ml white wine

The other day I bought a bottle of Sicilian wine Inycon Terre Siciliane Fiano 2012. Having treated myself to a set of Montalbano books, I really fancied a bit of a Sicilian wine for dinner (we also had a guest coming). To be honest, I expected more from a bottle priced at £7.79. It was OKish but rather boring and totally forgettable. But it was fine for cooking. If you cook pasta with clams, choose a nice dry white wine.
Anyway, as usual, I digress.
Cook the clams in a deep pan (wash them first and check if they are all broken, if you find any broken shells, discard them.). Add the coriander, chilli and garlic and pour in the white wine. Scatter a few baby tomatoes around. Add the salt. Cook until all the clams are open (to speed up the cooking, you might put the lid on the pan). If any clams remain closed, discard them.
Cook the spaghetti as specified on the pack in the salted boiling water, it should still be al dente. Drain the pasta and mix it well with the clams in their sauce. Serve immediately.
Do not add any parmesan if you want an authentic flavour.

I have been enjoying "The snack thief" by Andrea Camilleri, and laughed aloud reading the scene when Montalbano has lunch with his second-in-command Mimi Augello:
"When the spaghetti arrived, Montalbano had fortunately finished his hake. Fortunately, because Mimi proceeded to sprinkle a generous helping of Parmesan cheese over his plate. Christ! Even a hyena, which, being a hyena, feeds on carrion, would have been sickened to see a dish of pasta with clam sauce covered with Parmesan!" (The Snack Thief, page 33)

I laughed because I think in the past I have committed the same "crime". Mea culpa.

If you have fresh herbs like parsley or coriander, scatter a few torn leaves on top.

Taste-wise, it was really good. Looks-wise, I think I would still like to see the freshly chopped herbs. Just Add squeezy herbs were a good substitute for the fresh herbs and delivered a flavourful meal, and it was completely fuss-free too.
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Another recipe that might inspire you to try Just Add squeezy tubes is
Chicken with kohlrabi and fennel

As I mentioned more than once on my blog, I am often having only a vague idea of what I am going to cook for dinner, it rather depends on what I have at my disposal or what catches my eye when I go shopping. I saw this pretty purple kohlrabi in Waitrose on offer, and got it for the chicken dish.

Chicken with kohlrabi and fennel
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
1 kohlrabi (a turnip could be a good substitute), chopped
1 fennel bulb, sliced
2 medium carrots
1 garlic bulb, divided into cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
2tbsp Just Add basil
1tbsp Just Add coriander
a handful of baby tomatoes
salt, pepper
1tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Chop all the veg. In a big tray place the chicken thighs and all the chopped veg. Scatter the tomatoes and garlic cloves. In a small bowl mix the oil, Just Add herbs, lemon juice and salt with pepper. Pour in the tray over the chicken and veg, mix well, all the pieces should be coated evently.
Place the tray in the oven preheated to 180C and cook for about 45mins-1 hour. Stir all the veg and chicken a couple of times when they are cooking, so that the food is browned evenly. Check that the chicken is cooked through with a wooden skewer.
If you don't have a kohlrabi or fennel, substitute with a turnip and a big onion, or add parsnips as well as baby potatoes. The choice is yours.
Just Add herbs add a lovely flavour to this easy dish.

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You could add the squeezy herbs to all sorts of dips and sauces.


Carrot and orange soup
Ingredients:
3 medium carrots
2tbsp red lentils
1 orange (juice)
1 small potato
1 vegetable stock cube
2tbsp Greek style yogurt (e.g. Chobani)
1tbsp Just Add Coriander

Roughly chop the carrots and put them in the medium sized pan with the chopped potato and red lentils. Add the stock cube as well, and a bit of salt if you want. Squeeze the juice of 1 orange and add to the soup. Once the carrot is cooked, blitz the soup until it is consistently creamy.
In a small bowl mix the plain yogurt with Just Add coriander (basil would work as well). When you serve the soup, add a generous dollop of the yogurt-coriander mix to the soup.
Very easy, light, low calorie and delightfully satisfying. All the flavours sing together, and the touch of yougurt with coriander adds a lovely sour and herby note to the sweet soup.

To find our more about this range, look at Just Add Facebook page.

Disclosure: I received a selection of Just Add Squeezy Tubes for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions and recipe suggestions are mine.