We sat down to eat a short while later and boards heaving with canapés, a mixture of five products from the range were brought to the table. While we sipped Champagne, we nibbled on olives, sunblushed tomatoes, Parma and Coppa Hams and Felino Salami. These were a great, very tasty opening to the array of flavours and the feast that was to follow.
The delightfully presented courses then began to arrive, their preparation overseen by Asda’s head chef. First came the Hebridean Beech Wood Smoked Salmon, with samphire and crème fraiche l’Isigny, the salmon beautifully tasty and set off well by its accompanying Extra Special products. This was served with the 2008 Chablis, which has a grassy, clean, acidic nose and an acidic citrusy tingle on the tongue, a great refreshing dry white wine. Our next course was the King Prawn and Scallop Risotto which was voluptuous, the rice which had retained some bite, was packed with scallop and prawn; the dish had great flavour. This was served with the 2008 Chardonnay which had some nice body to it and a good tang, with some length on the palate. This fuller bodied wine was an excellent partner for the richer fish course.
A lighter Beetroot and Blue Cheese Salad followed, pairing the beetroot with honey and ginger with Cantorel Bleu D’Auvergne, which was lovely and matched nicely with the 2008 New Zealand Pinot Noir, a tangy almost effervescent red that is fruity with a peppery edge to it. On to the pumpkin Bauletto pasta, which had a delicate flavour and was paired with goats cheese that is seriously creamy and married beautifully with the pasta. This was served with a sharp dry acidic 2009 Soave Classico, which was a nice foil to the creaminess of the cheese with the pasta.
We didn’t get around to the final cheese course, probably as well, I was very full.
These were all excellent quality dishes – I would hesitate to just call them ‘ready meals’ – for you to cook at home. They are competitively priced, quite substantial dishes that are easily big enough for two normal appetites. However, I would advise careful selection. If you choose starter and mains dishes that each need oven cooking at different temperatures you could end up waiting 45 minutes between the two courses. So look at preparation instructions when selecting your Extra Special meal. I am very happy to recommend these dishes to anyone wanting a special meal at home without the faff of preparing it for hours. Their instructions are clear and straightforward, try them.
For more information about Asda and their Extra Special range go to www.asda.com