Archive for the ‘Newsletters’ Category

Spiky Artichokes, just £1.76 each

The spiky Sardinian artichoke might look menacing with its streamlined shape and long, sturdy thorns, but don’t be fooled. Inside is a delicate heart, packed with tenderness and superb flavour. In fact, the reason why its exterior is so sharp is to protect this precious prize, and once you peel away the outer leaves and cut off the spikes, it is one of the few artichokes which is so tender you enjoy the heart raw.

Spiky Artichokes, £1.76 each - buy now

These incredible Piennolo tomatoes are in a league of their own. They are protected by the slow food Presidia and have PDO protected status since 2009. They are grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. The volcanic soil gives them an incredible fresh flavour, with a good contrast of sweetness and acidity. which is best enjoyed in tomato sauces.

In Winter in Naples these tomatoes are traditionally hung in home attics and cellars to intensify the flavour, and if you are lucky enough to have a cellar at home, you can try this yourself! Otherwise they will keep for a good few days in the fridge.

Please note: These tomatoes taste incredible but they typically have a wrinkly skin and soft texture.

Piennolo Tomatoes, from £3.33/250g

This weekend marks the beginning of British Food Fortnight, a time to celebrate the best that British producers have to offer.

Britain’s culinary reputation has had a chequered past. We’re not sure who’s idea it was to put jelly with eels in the first place, but British food has come a long way since then.

Luckily at Natoora, we have some of the best fresh food that Britain has to offer, and to celebrate British Food Fortnight, we are offering 10% off our top 10!

Choose from sophisticated Scottish smoked salmon, juicy Jubilee strawberries from Kent, vibrant purple sprouting broccoli, succulent organic chicken from Herefordshire and much more…

SHOP NOW FOR 10% OFF OUR TOP TEN!

French Carrots de Sable – Save when you buy 1kg

Sand isn’t just for sandcastles, well not in France anyway. All along the beautiful coast of La Manche, they use this seaside favourite to grow a very special carrot. Known in France as ‘carottes de sables’ or ’sand carrots’, they are sweet, crunchy and lightly tender. The sandy soil gives the carrots perfect drainage, resulting in a sweeter flavour. They are appreciated by the French (and by everyone at Natoora) as the very best variety of carrot, and are sold with their light sand coating as proof of origin.

They are perfect enjoyed raw as crudites, or roasted to bring out their incredible flavour and sweetness. Try them in our recipe for roasted root vegetables with honey and parsley.

What’s more, save 10% when you buy a kg!
Natoora “French Carrots de Sable” – £3.06/1kg

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Black Figs – just 70p each

Fresh in this week is a real Natoora favourite – gorgeous, moreish, and simply incredible black figs. We source ours from France, renowned for producing the best figs in the world. They are sticky sweet, with a jammy, luscious centre. We simply can’t get enough of them!

They are tasting wonderful at the moment, and will only get better as the season progresses. They are at their best when you start to see a dewy honey starting to escape from their beautiful black skin. They are simply incomparable to the under-ripe versions you might see in the supermarket – what’s more, they are even better value:

Natoora “Black Figs” – 70p each
Waitrose “Fresh Figs” – 75p each

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The Queen of Plums – just £2.95/250g

This week we welcome back the incredible Reine Claude plums. The finest dessert plum, they have a confectionary sweet juicy flesh which is absolutely full of flavour, and a lightly tart skin – in our book, the perfect plum.

We source ours from Moissac, near Toulouse in France, which is generally considered to be the home of the true Reine Claude plums. They are available for a short time, starting now until September.

Known in England as Greengages, their French name (in some areas they are called La Bonne Reine – the good queen) is said to be in honour of Claude, wife of François I of France.

Natoora “Reine Claude Plums” – £2.95/250g

Explore our whole range of plums here

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Succulent, plump, juicy cherries are one of our favourite stone fruits. They have the feel of luxury, from their rich regal colour to their incredible flavour. It’s a wonder then that in 1998, they were thought to be a fruit under threat and in the last 50 years, 90% of our British cherry orchards have been lost. National Cherry Day (16th July) was hence born to get people to grow, cook with and most of all, enjoy, this juicy favourite…as if we needed any persuading!

Thankfully, there is certainly no shortage of cherries at Natoora. We source the finest cherries direct from small producers, including a specialist fruit farm in Kent. Wellbrook Farms cherries are the best English cherries we’ve ever tried… Buy them today – just £3.68/500g

At the moment, you can also enjoy our wonderful French cherries from Moissac, the fruit capital of France… Save 50% when you buy 1kg!

SHOP FOR CHERRIES

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Baby Italian Watermelon – just £4.95 each

You know it’s summer time when you bite into a wonderfully refreshing, juicy watermelon. We get ours direct from a small producer in Mantua in South-East Lombardy. The Lorenzini family have been growing melons for generations. In Mantua they have the optimum growing conditions – gorgeous Italian sunshine and very little rain. The result, a sweet, plump, phenomenally juicy melon with a refreshing red pulp.
Natoora Baby Watermelon, £4.95 each

Explore our whole range of superb melons here

Summer has officially begun and with the sun finally out, it is definitely starting to feel a bit more like it.

At Natoora, we are passionate about good seasonal produce, and the warmer months make it even easier to uphold this with a bounty of luscious fruits and revitalising vegetables at our fingertips.

If you are also looking forward to eating your way through the season, here is our simple guide to what’s tasting great this summer…

Sumptuous Stone Fruits

Cherries by the bowlful, velvety apricots and the first yellow peaches…all our stone fruits are indulgently delicious. This week marks the arrival of the first ‘Sorriso’ plums and more varieties will come as the season progresses. SHOP STONE FRUITS

Bountiful Berries

Pick your way through Jubilee strawberries, Gariguettes and coming soon Mara des Bois strawberries. Raspberries are also great this season along with British gooseberries. SHOP BERRIES

Courgettes, Peppers and Aubergines

The Italian sunshine has given these essential veggies an extra hit of flavour. SHOP PEPPERS AND AUBERGINES

Beautiful Beans

The timid British sunshine has given us pods a plenty – try crunchy fresh peas and broad beans this month. From Italy there are also creamy borlotti, cannellini and new this week, fine yellow beans. SHOP PEAS AND BEANS

Perfectly Ripe Tomatoes

The summer tomatoes are richly coloured, full of flavour and particularly sweet. Datterini are tasting superb this week. SHOP TOMATOES

Bocca di Lupo, hidden in the heart of Soho, is an Italian trattoria with a major reputation. Fruits and vegetables are supplied by Natoora and tables are booked weeks in advance by diners who are after a taste of real Italian cuisine.

“I weep with joy every time I receive a delivery from Natoora, then again when I cook it, and again when I eat it. Their Italian fruits and vegetables are of a calibre I used only to be able to enjoy in the street markets and hidden shops around Italy.”
(Jacob Kenedy)

With “Bocca,” chef Jacob Kenedy finally brings his own brand of Italian regional cooking out of the restaurant and into the home – and one of 10 signed copies is up for grabs in our competition!

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Jacob’s cooking is simple and delicious. He covers the full range of regional specialities: Tuscan porcini soup, Venetian tagliatelle with pigeon ragu, Lazian asparagus and prawn frittata, Sicilian fried mullet, Lazian suckling pig and Napolitan coffee with zabaione…