
A couple of weeks ago Riverford contacted me to ask if I would like to try one of their guest recipe boxes by Anna Jones. “Anna Jones, did you say?? Yes please!” I am a big big fan and love her recipes and cookbooks!
Anna Jones trained at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in London. She has worked with chefs such as Antonio Carluccio, Mary Berry, Stevie Parle, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sophie Dahl. Anna believes that vegetables should be put at the centre of every meal and is devoted to helping people make a long-term commitment to eating well and feeling amazing. She has published two fantastic cookbooks “A Modern Way to Eat” and “A Modern Way to Cook.”
Anna Jones is a natural match for Riverford that has been delivering organic vegetable boxes since 1987. Today the company has four sister farms that deliver to around 47,000 homes in the UK each week. Riverford also has a farm in France where they grow crops to plug the ‘hungry gap’ around May and June, when the UK winter crops have reached an end and the summer crops are not yet ready.
I had never tried a recipe box before. Recipe boxes are quite different from your standard vegetables box which come with a random selection of seasonal goodies. Riverford’s recipe box comes with three meals inside. The recipes are seasonal and organic. All the ingredients are there, measured and organised in tiny little boxes. All you have to do is pick up the recipe card and cook the meal.
Three recipes were included in our box:
- Puy Lentil & Sweet Potato Pie
- Beetroot Curry
- A Warm Salad of Roasted Kale, Coconut & Tomatoes

I asked my husband Graham to cook the first meal. He is a good cook, but he does not find the time to get behind the stove very often so it was the perfect way to put the Anna Jones’ box to the test.
He picked the “Puy Lentil & Sweet Potato Pie” and enthusiastically set off to make dinner. Being cooked for is a real treat. Thumbs up for the recipe box there! Also, as all ingredients are included in the box, there was total silence coming from the kitchen no “where is the cinnamon again?” “what is allspice?” or “how big is a small onion?”. Total silence, just wonderful smells filling up the house. Double thumbs up for the box!
Dinner was great and even if the recipe was made for two, we easily stretched it to four. Everyone enjoyed it (it was just slightly too dry to get full marks).

Next, I made the “ Warm Salad of Roasted Kale, Coconut & Tomatoes”. This was straightforward, easy and absolutely delicious. It disappeared in no time.
Next day we tried the last recipe. I had never had beetroot curry before and Anna Jones’ recipe gets top marks (again!) I also really appreciated having all the faff of planning, shopping and preparing ingredients taken care of.

Riverford’s recipe box is perfect for anyone who enjoys cooking but is short in time. As all the ingredients are ready for you, you just have to pick the meal that takes your fancy on the day. Each recipe card has easy to follow step-by-step instructions so that even if you are not an experienced cook you can prepare a delicious meal. There was also no food waste from our box as all ingredients are measured accurately. If there is a minor quibble it would be that the spices are packaged in plastic rather than a compostable card.
Apart from that, the quantities were generous so that the box for 2 people easily fed our family of four. It is really the perfect solution if you are short in time but still want to have home cooked organic food.
I am so glad that Riverford has offered 1 free recipe box for one lucky reader to win. To enter the competition simply go to Riverford’s competition page here. Good luck!
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