Archive for the ‘Real Food Vs. The Supermarket’ Category

Taste: Medium sized, slender, thin-walled, mild south Italian peppers that are perfect for frying. Their shape and sweet flavour makes them quite versatile, and we also love them stuffed with rice, quinoa, meat… anything you fancy!

Region: They are grown in Southern Italy, and are known under different names according the region of provenance. You could find them with the name of “friarielli” (which also refers to a particular kind of turnip tops – cime di rapa… confusing!), but they are most commonly referred to as “friggitelli”.

Quality: We only source the finest grade available on the market. Our buyers select what is looking and tasting best! The season of friggitelli has just started, and they will taste amazing for the next few months.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. You will struggle to find these peppers anywhere else!

Natoora “Friggitelli peppers” £1.95/500g  (£3.90/kg)

Taste: These wonderfully sweet and mellow plums are typically yellowy-green with hints of pink. The flesh, yellow and very soft, is firmly attached to the stone.  For the texture of the pulp they are best enjoyed as they are or used in jams, chutneys and cakes.

Region: Plums are said to originate in Asia, but the oriental varieties have been succesfully cultivated in Europe for centuries. We get ours from the Milan market, where plums are abundant in the summer.

Quality: July is the peak of the season for this variety of plum. Later in the summer we will get some amazing Reine Claude and Mirabelle plums from France, but for the moment the ones from Italy are the best on the market.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. You will struggle to find this variety for sale anywhere else!

Natoora “Sorriso plums“ £6.95/kg

Borlotti beans are an Italian speciality and are usually only found in British supermarkets preserved in tins. Ours are amazingly fresh, perfectly plump and creamy, and of course, fantastic quality!

Taste: Our fresh borlotti beans are incredibly nutty and creamy, the ideal addition to soups, stews and casseroles. And they can be enjoyed cold in salads with some Tropea onion and balsamic vinegar

Region: They are traditionally grown in Northern Italy, where they’re considered a staple food. The best varieties such as the Lamon beans grow on the Dolomites.

Quality: It’s almost impossible to compare fresh beans with dried or frozen. The flavour is significantly different. Fresh is always our first choice, perfect for salads, soups, purees and much more…

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. At the moment you will struggle to find them anywhere else!

Natoora “Borlotti beans” 250gr £1.90
Save 25% when you buy 1kg – just £5.70!

For more information and to buy, click here.

Despite the feeling that we might have hit British Monsoon season, the warmer weather in Italy means that summer veg such as refreshing courgettes are tasting amazing at the moment. Our courgettes are so fresh you can even eat them raw, they’re perfect in salads and are really superb quality! Read on to find out why they taste so great…

Taste: Crunchy, sweet and refreshing, this versatile vegetable is used in many recipes and can be cooked in many ways. Boiled, fried, stewed, grilled… and when courgettes are at the beginning of the season, they are fantastic eaten raw.

Quality: We only source the finest grade available on the market. Our buyers only select what is looking and tasting best!

Growing: Although courgettes are now available all year round, they are best enjoyed in the summer, when they are at their best.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. Our courgettes are not only superior in quality, but they are also better value than what is usually found in the supermarket:

Natoora “Courgettes“ £2.84/1kg
Waitrose “Courgettes” £3.18/kg

(prices checked on 13/06/2011)

For more information and to buy, click here.

Taste: Crunchy, slightly bitter and acidic, our  cucumbers have amazing refreshing qualities. The Sicilian variety in particular has a more intense and satisfying flavour and is ideal for any recipe where cucumber is the star of the show (like tzatziki).

Quality: We only source the finest grade available on the market. Our buyers only select what is looking and tasting best!

Growing: There are many varieties of cucumber, the most common being the Dutch (long and smooth-skinned, grown in greenhouses). We get ours from Sicily, where the warm weather allows an open air cultivation. Summer is the peak of the season of course, so take advantage.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. Our cucumbers are not only superior in quality, but they are also better value than what is usually found in the supermarket:

Natoora “Sicilian cucumber“ £0.78/300gr, £2.60/kg

Waitrose “Cucumber Essential“ £0.80 each (price per kg not given)
Abel and Cole “Cucumber” £1.75 each (price per kg not given)

(prices checked on 23/05/2010)

Taste: Sweet and juicy with a slightly bitter taste, the Sanguinello orange is less acidic than other orange varieties. The flavour is just beautiful – sweet and with a hint of raspberries. No wonder they are so popular for juicing, creating cocktails, marmalades and even ice cream.

Region: Our Sanguinello blood oranges are from Sicily, arguably the best orange producing region in the world. The Sanguinello variety are simply outstanding, grown on the rich soil surrounding Mount Etna.

Quality: We only buy the absolute finest grade oranges available in the market.

Season: Sanguinello are the last blood oranges of the year. Their season lasts only a few weeks, so make the most of them while they last!

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. These blood oranges are so special you will struggle to find them anywhere else!

Natoora “Sanguinello Blood Oranges” £2.48/kg

(price checked on 09/05/2011)

Taste: Much sweeter than their green counterpart, these beauties will turn into the much prized Tropea red onions when fully grown. Spring is a wonderful time of the year to make the most of their refreshing, intense yet delicate flavour. Try them in salads of course, or in a crudités platter to fully enjoy them.

Region: These can only come from Tropea, in the Calabria region of Italy.

Quality: We buy Red spring onions twice a week directly from the market in Milan, where our buyer only select what’s looking and tasting best. You can be sure they are extra fresh and that they haven’t been sitting on a shelf for too long.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. These superb red spring onions are not only better quality, but also cheaper than the most common variety found in the supermarket.

Natoora “Red Spring Onions” £2.80/400gr, £7.00/kg

Ocado “Trimmed Salad Onions Waitrose” £0.97/114gr, £8.51/kg

Prices checked on 13/04/2011

Taste: Sage is another essential for anyone with the cooking bug. It is one of the most versatile herbs and therefore used in many recipes. Its intense aroma and earthy flavour are particularly favoured when combined with fatty meats and buttery sauces.

Region: We get our sage from Northern Italy, where it’s been grown and used since the Romans for both its culinary and medicinal properties.

Quality: The leaves of this Salvia Offcinalis are larger and darker than what it’s commonly found in the UK. Packed with essential oils, they’re incredibly aromatic and  so full flavoured that you can even fry them in a tempura and eat them on their own.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. This superb sage is not only better quality, but also cheaper than what is found in the supermarket.

Natoora “Sage” £1.98/40gr, £49.50/kg

Ocado “Sage Waitrose” £0.79/15gr, £53.00/kg

Prices checked on 07/04/2011

Taste: These peppery and tangy little leaves are the perfect lift me up in many dishes. They add a kick to salads, soups, dressings or mashed potatoes. Try them with fish or meat, blend in a pesto, let you imagination free to improvise. You can’t go wrong!

Region: We get our spinach from France, where they grow in larger, darker and beautifully peppery leaves.

Quality: We buy watercress twice a week directly from the market in Paris, where our buyer only select what’s looking and tasting best. You can be sure it’s extra fresh and that it hasn’t been sitting on a shelf for too long.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. This superb watercress is not only better quality, but also cheaper than what is found in the supermarket.

Natoora “Watercress” £1.34/100gr, £13.40/kg

Ocado “Watercress Waitrose” £1.35/100gr, £13.50/kg

Prices checked on 13/01/2011