We tested Ucook’s Savoury Baked Rice with Olives and a Walnut Salsa, and found it both easy to prepare and delicious.
What is Ucook?
Ucook is a subscription service that delivers meal kits to customers’ homes once a week. The company also sells fresh food, frozen foods, and wine.
The home delivery service gives subscribers many excellent options. For example, you can choose the number of meals you’d like each week, from two to four. You can also order enough ingredients for between one and four people.
Meal categories
As far as the meal types and styles go, here are just some of the options. (Prices shown here are for two meals per day for two people.)
Carb Conscious
“Plan your meals well with less than or equal to 10g of carbs per 100g.” R580/week
Veggie
“Get more of the good stuff with Veggie dishes, including two plant-based dishes weekly.” R510/week
Simple & Save
“Our no-frills option. Spend less on dishes that don’t compromise on quality and flavour.” R420/week
Which meal did you try?
The meal we taste-tested is Ucook’s Savoury Baked Rice with Olives and a Walnut Salsa. It’s a favourite among subscribers, which isn’t surprising once you’ve tasted it.
Why did you choose this meal?
Besides its appealing appearance, I often choose plant-based meals when they’re available. Many animal-free meals also have the advantage of staying fresh for a little while longer, which helps when something sabotages your dinner plans.
How does Ucook pitch this meal?
Here’s the spiel: “Yes, you read that right, Chef! Instead of the traditional stove-boil-steam method, here’s a creative alternative to make savoury rice. Dotted with onions and bell peppers, spiced with garlic and NOMU Italian Rub, basmati rice is baked until fluffy. Spoon over the mouthwatering medley of olives, cranberries, walnuts, crispy lentils, and lemon juice, and finish with a minty lemon-infused cashew cream cheese.”
- Hands-on time: 35 minutes
- Overall time: 45 minutes
- Serves: 2 people
- Chef: Jemimah Smith
- Suggested wine: Niel Ellis West Coast Sauvignon Blanc
Ingredients and preparation
- 60g cranberry and nut mix – roughly chop
- 1 onion – peel and finely slice
- 1 bell pepper – rinse, deseed and cut into strips
- 1 garlic clove – peel and grate
- 20ml Nomu Italian rub
- 200ml white basmati rice
- 5g fresh mint
- 240g tinned lentils – drain and rinse
- 100g cashew nut cream cheese
- 1 lemon – rinse, zest, and cut into wedges
- 80g pitted green olives and piquanté peppers
- From your kitchen: oil (cooking, olive, or coconut), salt and pepper, water, and tinfoil.
The allergens are allium, sulphites, and tree nuts.
Per 100g the energy value is 568 kJ or 136k calories and includes 5,4 grams of protein. (You can read this guide to the recommended daily protein intake.)
Total fat per 100g is 3,3g and total sodium is 109mg.
How hard was it to prepare?
It was easy. Ucook is all about having the ingredients available when it’s time to cook. This removes a big obstacle to preparing a healthy home-cooked meal.
- Most of the ingredients come in the exact quantities, so there’s no measuring required – just a bit of chopping and slicing.
- The recipe is straightforward and the steps are easy to understand. To ‘assemble’ this meal isn’t hard at all.
- Do note that there are Ucook meals that, in my opinion, require more effort to prepare, like the Citrus Chickpea & Halloumi Couscous.
Process
- The preparation was really simple, with no special knowledge of cooking required.
- The steps are logical and fit together in the correct order of preparation.
- Tip: Before you start, read through the list of ingredients and instructions 2-3 times to get a clear picture of the task and desired end result.
Did you enjoy it?
It was super enjoyable and I would definitely order it again. The ingredients are a little out of the ordinary, which made the dish exciting.
Conclusion and rating
The meal marries convenience and simplicity with originality and a wonderful taste. I wouldn’t change anything about it. It scores 5 out of 5.
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Footnote
The Ucook meal-kit service offers weekly deliveries on Sundays or Mondays, with each dish having an “eat before” date of four to five days. New features include adjustable portion sizes for meals and the ability to order more than four meal kits.
The service also provides four lunch options per week and additional items like craft frozen meals and pizzas for the weekend.
Weekend boxes are delivered on Fridays, serve four people, and need to be eaten within three to four days. Fresh produce and pantry essentials are available to order alongside meal kits.
Overall, the service provides meals for every day of the week.
