Cooking using real ingredients isn’t hard to do. But sometimes on busy nights we all could use a little inspiration, a bit of convenience and about half the prep-time when making our own meals. Enter: Meal kits. They’re one of the newest food trends taking over dining with intention of making eating easier, healthier and much more convenient. Recently, we took a break from recipe development and ordered from Fresh City Farms offering farm fresh, local, organic produce bags & meals including juices, and jarred salads like their spicy and flavourful Samosa Salad (which inspired us to create our own version below).
Fresh City makes it simple to eat a healthy and seasonal diet. From sourcing from organic farms, to packing in reusable tote bags, to delivering in electric bikes, they take pride in serving people & planet.
While Fresh City Farms isn’t the first meal plan service we’ve ordered from, it’s definitely become one that pairs best to our cooking and eating style. Last year, we received meals from Chef’s Plate, a Toronto meal service providing pre-portioned ingredients with easy to follow recipes. A really smart and timesaving choice to weeknight diners, we found Chef’s Plate a bit safe for our cooking level as it lacked the tiered food option we found with Fresh City Farms. With them you’re able to select items that fit the needs of you and your kitchen, no matter the time of day, occasion or quantity.
Fresh City Farms Offering
1. Vegetable and Fruit Bags: local and organically grown vegetable and fruit bags. This bag offers home cooks the satisfaction of organic and local ingredients to be eaten on their own or in addition to your usual grocery list.
2. Recipe Kits: like Chef’s Plate, this option provides pre-portioned ingredients with easy to follow recipes. Perfect for home cooks that need cooking inspiration, or simply want to try new recipes with new ingredients.
3. Salad Jars: ready to eat salads served on their own or with local cold-pressed juices, this option makes bringing your own lunch to work effortless, no waste and incredibly tasty. All ingredients can be found labeled clearly on the jar.
4. Fresh Meals: made from scratch using organic ingredients. Like traditional takeout, this choice delivers remade meals to your door with no cooking required, just heating up. Ideal for busy nights when cooking isn’t an option.
5. Fresh City Market: basically your local online farmer’s market using Ontario partners and brands you already love and trust. This option is great for reoccurring pantry items or trying our a multitude of local vendors and delivered right to your door.
Our favourite pick is definitely the Salad Jar + Juice option. Perfect for sharing or bringing to work, we found the salads punchy, flavourful and satisfying like their Raasted Beet Salad, Asian Noodle Salad and their Samosa Salad, and when paired with a cold-pressed juice from Village Juicery, the meal was well-rounded and offered a ton of nutrients. Taking inspiration one of their salad ideas, we used a few of their ingredients (found on the jar) and created our own version of the Samosa Salad. Spicy and flavourful, the Samosa Salad uses all the inside ingredients found in a traditional samosa like green peas, potatoes and curry with additional fixings like carrots, cabbage and red onions to mimic a salad, without any deep frying.
PREP TIME | 15 Minutes
COOK TIME | 30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS | Makes 6 Servings
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 can of chickpeas (540ml)
- 3 medium potatoes peeled and small diced (¼”)
- ½ small red cabbage, shredded
- 2 small carrots, shredded
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup green peas
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
- 1 tsp fresh minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 limes juiced and zest of one
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp salt
No. 1 | Preheat oven to 350°.
No. 2 | In a small bowl, mix together the curry powder, cumin, garam masala and salt.
No. 3 | Peel and dice the potatoes into ¼” cubes. Coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of spice mixture. Place on a baking sheet. Drain the chickpeas and coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and remaining spice mixture. Place on a separate baking sheet from potatoes. Cook both the chickpeas and potatoes for 30 mins, mixing each 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.
No. 4 | Meanwhile, place 2 tablespoons olive oil, cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, lime juice, lime zest, honey, and salt in a blender or food processor. Pulse for 20 seconds and set aside.
No. 5 | Place the shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, peas, red onion, chickpeas, and potatoes in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing overtop and toss well.
No.6 | Garnish with a some fresh chopped mint and cilantro.
Bon appetit xo
Chef Sous Chef
Ready to eat this Samosa Salad? Get the full printable version of this recipe below.
Samosa Salad
Prep Time:15minutes
Yield:6servings
Cook Time:30minutes
