The perfect winter risotto doesn’t exi… oh wait, it does! This Chestnut and Blue Cheese risotto is the ultimate winter indulgence.

The creamy, salty, stimulating flavour of the blue cheese works perfectly with the refreshing hit of parsley and earthy flavour of the mushrooms.

Let’s add chestnuts

The addition of chestnuts to this recipe offers great texture and an added nutty flavour. Which breaks up the strength of the cheese oozing throughout the rice.

It goes to show chestnuts aren’t just for Christmas and offers so much more to recipes than only being used in stuffing mixes.

If you are a consumer and looking to try this recipe, our European chestnuts can be found in Waitrose.

Prepared ingredients

Risottos are renowned for being time-consuming, they must be done low and slow to really get the rice plump and texturally perfect.

Save yourself some time by making sure your other ingredients are prepared ahead of time. This dish has pre-caramelised onions, pre-roasted chestnuts, and pre-chopped mushrooms, saving you time and resource.

Chestnut and Blue Cheese Risotto Ingredients

Serves a generous portion for 2 people.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 50g butter (for cooking)
• 150g caramelised onion
• 200g risotto rice
• 200ml white wine
• 150g pre-cooked chopped chestnuts
• 50g mushrooms
• 1200ml vegetable stock (keep lightly simmering as you add)
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 100g butter, diced, to finish
• 150g creamy blue cheese, diced (Gorgonzola or St Agur are perfect for this dish)
• 100g parmesan, grated

To garnish:

• Parsley
• Fried wild mushrooms

Let’s give it a go!

• Heat the oil and the butter in a pan on medium heat
• Fry off the mushrooms until they are softened
• Add the rice and sauté until the grains start to open up
• Pour in the wine and stir continuously until the wine has evaporated
• Sprinkle in the chestnuts and the onions and mix in well
• Start adding in the stock slowly, one ladle at a time, making sure the moisture is absorbed before adding the next scoop
• Once the rice is cooked to your desired texture remove from the heat
• Add most of the parsley (leaving some for garnishing)
• Stir in your butter and cheese
• Top with any remaining wild mushrooms, parmesan, and parsley

Talk to the team

If you are interested in hearing more about how chestnuts can enhance your product, talk to the team today on 01386 761 555 or info@brusco.co.uk.

Our friends over at Fat Mow Cooking are warming up our winter with this delicious parsnip and chestnut soup!

Not only do the chestnuts add flavour, but they also help thicken, creating a real hearty dish, keeping us nice and toasty until spring.

Gluten and dairy free

Although deliciously creamy, this soup has no dairy. It is also really healthy and low in fat on it’s own, so great as part of a healthy eating diet.

We have added all the naughties such as bacon and oil, because it’s Christmas. But if you want to make this soup vegan friendly, feel free to leave off the crispy bacon.

Lunch preparation for the week

The soup will last you a few days and can be frozen. So it is the ideal lunch to prepare in advance, leaving you to enjoy healthy lunches throughout the week.

Ingredients for your Parsnip and Chestnut Soup

• 1 large parsnip
• 100g chestnuts
• 1/4 white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Few sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 stock cube
• 1 pint of water

Season with:

• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Nutmeg

Let’s give it a go!

1. Fry the onion until it’s soft and translucent, it’s best to do this on a low heat.
2. Add the garlic and continue cooking for about 5 mins.
3. Dice the parsnip and chop the chestnuts before adding to the garlic and onion mixture
4. Sprinkle in your thyme.
5. Pour in your vegetable stock, stir and simmer until the parsnips are soft.
6. If the stock has reduced too much, top up with more water.
7. Blitz and season to taste!
8. Thin out with some water if the mixture starts to look too thick.
9. Top with crispy bacon, olive oil and thyme and serve with a chunky loaf of freshly made bread.

Interested in our chestnut ingredients?

For further information on dairy and gluten free recipes, or to discuss our range of chestnut ingredients, talk to our team today. Contact us on 01386 761 555 or info@brusco.co.uk.

Festive sausage rolls are the ultimate Christmas party finger food; they are savoury, tasty and perfect hot or cold.

This recipe offers a couple twists to really ramp up the festive feel, and according to Jamie Oliver, they were the ‘best sausage rolls’ he’s ever tasted!

Created by our friends over at Fat Mow Cooking, they include two new ingredients; cranberry and chestnuts to offer a delicious mix of sweet and savoury.

Ingredients for your Festive Sausage Rolls

• 8 good quality pork sausages
• 1 pack of puff pastry
• 50g cooked chestnuts, chopped
• 20g dried cranberries, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 egg
• Salt
• Pepper

Let’s give it a go!

1. Pre-heat your over to 190C degrees
2. Take your sausage meat to bring to room temperature
3. Chop up your chestnuts, thyme and cranberries
4. Squeeze out the sausage meat into a bowl
5. Mash ingredients together until well mixed, season and leave to one side
6. Roll out your pastry in a oven proof tray
7. Form your sausage meat mixture into two long sausage shapes and fold over the outside edges of the pastry to cover the mixture. (Cranberry sauce and mustard seeds are also delicious, so feel free to add this to your creation)
8. Seal the rolls with a clean fork. You should have two long sausage rolls on your tray.
9. Cut to whatever size you like.
10. Brush with egg wash or a little milk.
11. Bake for about 25 mins or until golden brown.
12. If still hot, put on a rack so the pastry doesn’t go soggy
13. Serve with a sauce of your choice

To order our whole chestnuts to make your own festive sausage rolls, simply talk to our team today on 01386 761555 or email info@brusco.co.uk.

The team at Brusco Food Group believes it so important to not only sell great quality ingredients, but to also learn about them and understand how they are used. This is why we booked an evening at The Foodworks Cookery School for team training.

Nestled in the Cotswolds, Foodworks Cookery School offers a variety of cooking courses, wine tasting sessions and private hire for corporate events and parties. With beautiful views from their huge windows and plenty of space to be socially distant, it’s a great location to learn, cook and eat.

Throughout the evening we cooked three delicious Thai recipes including this chicken satay recipe, created by Chef Manapai.

Why not give it a go!

Ingredients for Chicken Satay Recipe

• 200g Chicken
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp condensed milk
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• Pinch of white sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• Splash of whisky
• 12 – 16 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour

Chicken Satay Paste

• 4 tbsp chopped red onion
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp ground roasted peanuts
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds roasted
• 1 tsp cumin seeds roasted

Hot Chilli Dipping sauce

• 5 – 6 long red chillies, deseeded and rinsed
• Pinch of salt
• 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1-2 tbsp caster sugar

First step, the paste!

• Grind the paste ingredients together in a petal and mortar, to make it easier add one ingredient at a time

Now for the chicken

• Slice the chicken into strips of around 5cm x 2cm
• Mix the paste with the coconut milk, turmeric, condensed milk, palm sugar, white sugar, fish sauce and whisky and work into the meat until absorbed
• Put to one side to marinade for a few hours, or overnight in the fridge

While you wait… let’s make the dipping sauce

• Puree the chillies with salt and shallots
• Season with vinegar and sugar, taste as you go

This should create a sweet but sour sauce

Time to put together your skewers

• Thread your 3 pieces of chicken onto each skewer, pushing down tightly. Repeat until chicken is all used up.
• Grill under a high heat sprinkling excess satay sauce as it cooks

Serve with dipping sauce on the side

This chicken satay recipe serves 6 – 8, but you can adapt the ingredients to suit whatever size party you want.

Many of the ingredients are available bulk bought through Brusco Food Group. Simply talk to our team today on 01386 761555 or email info@brusco.co.uk and see what Asian Ingredients, coconut milk and spices are available in our range.

The weekend is creeping up, we are all looking forward to indulging in something yummy. For most, pizza is the ultimate weekend treat, but many haven’t tried making it themselves! This pizza sauce recipe can be used on any style pizza, and is unbelievably easy.

Designed by our friends over at Fat Mow Cooking the recipe uses our ambient chopped onions as a base for the pizza sauce. Resulting in a deep intense flavour with minimal effort.

You can add your favourite toppings, but to be honest, a sprinkling of cheese and a handful of basil is all your really need!

What you will need for the pizza sauce recipe

• 3 heaped tbsp of our ambient onions
• 1/2 tbsp garlic
• 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
• 1 can chopped toms
• 1/2 tin water

We are very excited by this pizza sauce recipe, as any left over can be used as a delicious pasta sauce!

How to make the pizza sauce

1. Gently heat the onions and garlic in a pan, stirring continuously to ignite the fragrance of these key base ingredients
2. Add in the puree after about 6-7 minutes and cook through
3. Stir in the tin of tomatoes, refill the tin with water and pour in. Don’t forget to season as you go!
4. Simmer for 30/40 minutes, stirring every now and again.
5. Add in chopped basil and more seasoning if required. Sugar can take away some of the bitterness of the tomatoes, so feel free to experiment. Just remember to taste as you go.

Whether you are making your pizza from scratch, using a pre-made base or a ready to roll solution, we know this pizza sauce will work beautifully.

From us all at Brusco Food Group, enjoy and don’t forget to post your efforts on our Facebook or Instagram page.

For further information on our ambient onions, get in touch with the team on 01386 761 555 or email on info@brusco.co.uk.

This onion bhaji recipe by Fat Mow Cooking is a must for Friday night dining!

Great food, plenty of inspiration

As you know, here at Brusco we love all things food, from creating our own delicious recipes to getting ideas from other food lovers within the industry.

Recently we have been working alongside food blogger Fat Mow Cooking to create series of recipes to inspire our customers.

Who is Fat Mow Cooking?

Fat Mow Cooking is an online food blogger who creates delicious, easy to cook recipes for healthy dining, fakeaways and weekly meal prep.

You will find all their recipes on their Facebook and Instagram page, website coming soon!

Easy to make Onion Bhaji’s recipe

We sent Fat Mow Cooking our ambient onions to see what they would use them for, and they did not disappoint.

Along with a delicious curry and the perfect pizza topping (recipes coming soon), they have put together this recipe for onion bhaji’s. No chopping, no tears, all the flavour!

Want to know more about our Ambient Onions?

Our ambient onion ingredients come pre-prepared, and are available chopped, pureed or caramelised.

They take out that timely chore of chopping, making production quicker and easier. Full flavour and ready to use.

Let’s get started!

This recipe creates 16 Bhaji’s and requires a deep pan for frying.

• 4 heaped tbsp ambient chopped onions
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 4 heaped tbsp gram flour
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1sp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• Water
• 1 tsp baking powder

Easy to make onion bhaji’s recipe

• Mix the dry ingredients together, including the ambient onions
• Slowly add in water to form a thick paste (keep adding until you create a humus-like texture)
• Heat oil in a deep pot/pan or use a deep fat fryer (heat to around 190 C)
• Spoon in ½ tbsp mixture (try not to let them touch) into the oil
• Cook until golden
• Drain on kitchen towel
• Serve with raita or chilli sauce

These onion bhaji’s are perfect as a snack, as a side dish or within a burger.

For more inspiration on what you could be cooking tonight, visit Fat Mow Cooking on their Facebook or Instagram page. Keep an eye out for more recipes including Brusco ingredients coming very soon!

The sun is out, we need something to cool us down and sweeten our palette. Our Chestnut Vegan Ice Cream recipe is the best way to do it.

We’d like to say this recipe is healthy and great for losing those lock down pounds, but it’s not.

However, it does contain healthy fats and less sugar than you would find in shop bought ice cream!

It’s also dairy free, but don’t worry, no creaminess was harmed in the making of this vegan ice cream.

Flavour galore!

Chestnuts in the UK are generally a seasonal thing, which we think is a huge injustice.

This gluten free, vegan friendly, tasty little treat really adds richness to this ice cream and goes beautifully with the rum and the coconut. You could also sprinkle marron glace chestnuts on top as a real sugar hit.

Vegan friendly, gluten free, worry less.

The great thing within this ice (coconut)cream recipe is that it’s vegan friendly, gluten free and only tested on the taste buds of Brusco staff.

It has all the creaminess and indulgence of a non-vegan ice cream, without any of the guilt.

We are always looking at ways to make recipes in the marketplace allergen free, so it is more inclusive for all dietary requirements. Check out our fantastic alternatives for an allergen free lifestyle here.

There are so many fantastic ingredients out there which come ‘worry free’. It just takes a little experimenting, an open mind and some research.

Just four simple ingredients!

Enough for 2 x 500ml tubs

• 250g (1 cup) chestnut puree (from a can or jar)
• 2 tablespoons of dark rum
• 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) coconut cream
• 50 grams (1/2 cup) icing sugar (Tate and Lyle is vegan friendly)

You could choose to make your own ice cream cone, however we didn’t. Ours were shop bought and dipped in vegan dark chocolate.

How to make chestnut vegan ice cream

The great thing with this recipe (apart from the fact it involves rum) is that you can make it without using an ice cream machine.

You just need a spoon, some tubs and a freezer… and a little willpower to wait until the ice cream has chilled enough to be more than chestnut coconut soup.

1. Mix the chestnut puree and rum together until smooth
2. Whip the coconut cream and icing sugar
3. Fold in the chestnut/rum mixture with the sugary coconut cream
4. Leave in an airtight container over night
5. Chop a handful of Marron Glace
6. Serve and sprinkle the Marron Glaces on top

Why not try our vegan ice cream for yourself? Don’t forget to tag us on Facebook or LinkedIn!

Talk to the team today on +44 (0) 1386 761555 or info@brusco.co.uk to discuss alternative ingredients to make your range more inclusive for customers with dietary requirements.