Ten years ago three friends former pupils at Exeter School, Myles Hopper, Giles Humphries and Rob Grieg-Gran had the idea of setting up a recipe box based on healthy eating and using ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients.
After helping on a fishing boat in the Exe Estuary, they’d been inspired by seeing how local people bought fresh fish straight off the boat in Lympstone, and that gave them the idea for Mindful Chef.
Their aim was to create healthy recipe boxes, working with sustainable suppliers, that were gluten free and dairy free and contained no refined carbs.
They started in 2015, packing and delivering boxes themselves and their first crowdfunding campaign, which saw then raise £1 million in a week, was backed by the likes of Andy Murray and Victoria Pendleton.
Five years after launching they had delivered five million meals and become a B Corp company. They also champion charity work, including a beach cleaning campaign, a ‘reverse advent calendar’ food donation scheme, and they donate a meal for every box sold to children living in poverty – over 18 million have been donated so far.
The range of recipes include vegan, fish and meat options, and there are one person portions too.
mindfulchef.com
Crispy sea bass, beetroot salad and herby chips
Recreate a romantic holiday dinner with sustainably-sourced sea bass. Seasoned with sea salt and pan-fried until deliciously crisp. Serve with a beautiful bouquet of red tomatoes, purple beetroot and pink pomegranate seeds. Plus, chunky chips with oregano and olives.
Serves 2
Ingredients
10g flaked almonds
250g pre-cooked beetroot
30g pitted black olives
½ (half) red onion
1 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
25g pea shoots
1 pomegranate (use half)
2 sea bass fillets, skin on
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sumac
200g tomatoes
6 baby potatoes
Method
Preheat the oven to 240C / gas mark 9. Quarter the potatoes lengthways and place on a lined baking tray. Toss with 2tsp oil, half the sumac, half the oregano, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 25-30 mins until soft and golden.
Halve the tomatoes and finely slice half the onion. Place both in a bowl with a pinch of sea salt and 1tsp oil. Mix and set aside. Slice the beetroot into 2cm wedges. Finely chop the parsley. Halve the olives. Halve the pomegranate and remove half the seeds.
Heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Add the almonds and toast for 2-3 mins, turning regularly, until golden. Remove and set aside.
Reheat the frying pan with 2tsp oil on high heat. Season the sea bass with sea salt, then add to the pan (skin-side down). Cook for 4 mins, until golden, then flip and cook for 2-3 mins more, until cooked through. Cook in batches, if necessary. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Add the beetroot, pea shoots and most of the pomegranate seeds to the tomato salad. Gently toss together. Stir the olives, remaining sumac and oregano into the roasted potatoes.
Serve the salad topped with the sea bass. Garnish with the flaked almonds and remaining pomegranate seeds. Serve the potatoes alongside with the parsley sprinkled on top.
Korean-glazed barbecue pork with jewelled rice
Free-range British pork steaks, glazed in a sticky barbecue sauce with miso and honey. Brown rice, studded with edamame, pepper and spinach for veggies. If you love Korean flavours, you’ll love this dish.
Serves 2
Ingredients
½ (half) cucumber
1 pak choi
1 red pepper
2 free-range pork loins
80g brown rice
2tbsp rice wine vinegar
1tbsp tamari
80g green beans
25g hot honey
1tbsp white miso paste
1tsp smoked paprika
1tsp sesame seeds
Method
Bring a medium saucepan filled with salted hot water to a boil. Add the rice and boil for 25-30 mins, until cooked, then drain.
Dice the pepper into 2cm squares. Trim and cut the green beans into thirds. Trim the pak choi and slice into bite-sized pieces.
Make the pickled cucumber: peel the cucumber into ribbons and place in a small bowl with half the vinegar, half the sesame seeds and a pinch of sea salt. Mix and leave to pickle.
Make the barbecue sauce: in a small bowl, mix the honey, miso, paprika, tamari, the remaining vinegar and sesame seeds.
Season the pork with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a medium frying pan with 2tsp oil on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the pork and cook for 4 mins per side. Add three-quarters of the barbecue sauce and cook for 2-3 mins, until slightly thickened and the pork is cooked through. Remove from the heat and leave the pork to rest in the pan.
Heat another medium frying pan with 2tsp oil on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the pepper and green beans and cook for 3 mins. Add the pak choi, cook for 2 mins, then add the cooked rice. Cook for 2 mins, tossing to combine.
Thinly slice the pork against the grain, then serve on plates with the rice and pickled cucumber. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the pork.
Quinoa and lentil salad with cumin yoghurt and pomegranate
This Cypriot-style grain salad is full of everything your body craves. Fibre-rich grains like lentils and quinoa keep it filling. Crunchy carrots and spinach for veg. Packed full of zingy capers, raisins and crunchy almonds. Sweet cumin yoghurt and pops of pomegranate seeds take it to the next level.
Serves 4
Ingredients
40g whole almonds
40g capers
2 carrots
1 lemon
80g dried brown lentils
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pomegranate
160g quinoa
160g baby spinach
80g almond yoghurt
40g raisins
1 tbsp ground cumin
Method
Bring a large saucepan filled with salted hot water to a boil. Add the lentils and boil for 10 mins. Then, add the quinoa and cook for another 12-15 mins, until soft, then drain altogether. Rinse under cold water and set aside.
Coarsely grate the carrots. Roughly chop the spinach. Add all to a large mixing bowl, and toss with 2tbsp olive oil and the lemon juice. Roughly chop the parsley and capers. Add the raisins, half the cumin, capers and parsley to the bowl.
Make the cumin yoghurt; in a small bowl mix together the yoghurt, the remaining cumin, maple syrup, 1tbsp olive oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper. Halve the pomegranate and remove the seeds. Roughly chop the almonds.
Add the now cooled grains and half the almonds to the large mixing bowl and mix well to combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Serve the grain salad on plates and top with the yoghurt, pomegranate seeds and the remaining almonds.
