Asda Mushroom and Spinach Polenta Bakes

June 1, 2016May 31, 2016 | Rhiannon

This is probably the “burger” with the longest name I’ve tried yet. Not only does it have a long name in the first place, but it also has a subtitle. This is the Asda Mushroom and Spinach Polenta Bakes with creamy mushroom sauce – and believe me, the packaging is a lie. Yes, alright, the bake does look sort of like that, but that’s about one-tenth of the sauce there, and since there are only two bakes in the packet, I guess the other plate was swimming.

Asda Polenta Bakes

The preparation involves first putting the bakes in the oven, then defrosting the sauce in hot water. Finally, you combine the two by pouring the sauce haphazardly around, hoping that you aren’t ruining the taste by doing so. It’s a big trend at the moment to have this extra sauce packet, and I just hate it. It’s a waste of everyone’s time. We have the technology to put sauces INSIDE bakes, people. It’s been happening for a while now.

Asda Polenta Bake with mushroom sauce

So, about the taste. The bake itself has a nutty, warm flavour with a cheesy taste. I wouldn’t say that you would notice it’s made of polenta unless you read the packet and knew. It just seems more like potato or that “mystery substance” that most veggie burgers seem to be made of (especially the cheap ones). It’s quite a thick slice even if it is somewhat small, so it manages to be quite substantial. It’s not very filling, however. I found myself wanting a bit more to eat, though probably not more of this bake.

The mushroom sauce is quite rich and combines well with the flavours of the bake. I just still don’t get why they don’t make the bake that flavourful in the first place to get rid of all of this hassle. Notice also how the bake is not quite the perfect square as described on the packaging. Not that I’m surprised, it’s just that they really did a number on this one. They even served it on a tiny side plate to make it look huge, which it isn’t.

Asda Polenta Fake

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 6/10

Price – 6/10

Rest of experience – 4/10

February 24, 2016February 20, 2016 | Rhiannon

This nut bake from Asda has an interesting concept. Much like the Brazilian grills we tried last week, it comes with a sachet of sauce that you can pour over the bake in order to enhance the flavour. This allows you to try it with or without the sauce – though in all honesty I’m still dubious about this format. It’s little more than a gimmick in my eyes – and when you are creating something for the sake of a gimmick, it’s not always going to be the highest quality in terms of actual taste and enjoyment.

Still, we gave this one a try. We both love sweet potato and are often using kale in our recipes, so this one couldn’t go wrong, right? I’m always a bit wary of something that calls itself a nut bake or nut roast as these terms, in my mind, are usually associated with boring and unimaginative veggie options.

The sauce was not too spicy, just nicely sweet and tangy, so in this case it felt like a good addition. Not perhaps strictly necessary – but still nice. The square bake had strong nutty flavours and was actually quite rich; the kale taste was mostly indistinguishable from something like spinach, so there wasn’t really anything that screamed kale about it necessarily. The various layers were great and there were chunks of sweet potato to enjoy. It had a varied texture throughout to keep things interesting, especially where the nuts were concerned. As far as bakes go, this was definitely better than I expected.

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 7/10

Price – 5/10

Rest of experience – 6/10

February 17, 2016 | Rhiannon

This week we’re looking at the interesting proposal which is Asda’s red pepper and chickpea Brazilian grills. There are a few things about them that seem intriguing right from the start: first of all, what exactly is a Brazilian grill? Why is there a sachet of sauce inside the packet? Isn’t it just a red pepper and chickpea burger?

Asda Red Pepper and Chickpea Brazilian Grills

We can answer that second question right away, as this is one of a seeming rise in sauce-accompanied frozen goods in supermarkets. The grill goes under the, well, grill, and the sauce goes into a cup of boiling water to defrost it through the sachet. When all is finished, you serve it up by drizzling the sauce from the sachet onto the burger. It’s an interesting, if unnecessarily fiddly, way of doing things. Of course, if you don’t like the sauce and would prefer some good old mayonnaise, you’re going to be in trouble once it’s already served.

Much as could be predicted, the taste is like that of a slightly spicy bean burger, with the added tang of the red pepper. Nothing unusual there. The texture is interesting but it’s also quite dry, which I presume is why some innovative soul thought of adding the sauce to the packet. Actually, compared to the burger, the sauce is really quite spicy and has a very strong taste. It’s got an overwhelming impression that I can only describe as “green”. I have no idea what’s in it and I don’t think I want to, as it was not entirely pleasant. It also looks pretty horrible and was quite greasy. To be honest, these grills are much better without the sauce. I can see why they’ve included it – but maybe they should have dedicated more time to making sure the burger wasn’t dry instead of just going with the sauce.

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 6/10

Price – 5/10

Rest of experience – 4/10

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asda

Asda Mushroom and Spinach Polenta Bakes

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 6/10

Price – 6/10

Rest of experience – 4/10

Asda Sweet Potato and Kale Nut Bake

Asda Red Pepper and Chickpea Brazilian Grills