I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll sadly admit it again…we rarely go out to dinner anymore. It’s quite a change considering trying out the best or newest restaurant was pretty much my favorite thing to do in San Francisco. The problem with going out to dinner in Zürich is that it way too expensive to justify. To give you a good example, we went to the Asian restaurant down the street for a quick dinner. With two entrees, water, and a soda, it cost roughly $85 USD. It tasted totally fine, but $85 for some stir-fry?! I just can’t. We decided that we are going to save our money and go out to dinner once or twice a month, but only to restaurants that are highly recommended.
Because we save by not eating out, I don’t mind spending a little extra on high quality ingredients, including some organic produce (I use the dirty dozen rule) for our dinners in. When we first moved here, I had ample amount of time to grocery shop and make dinner, but these days I actually have a busier schedule (woohoo!). Some nights I simply don’t have the energy to think of what to cook, get the supplies, and make it.
That’s where Vidis Kochtüte comes in. I recently discovered the service and thought it would be fun to try. Basically, you get groceries for the week delivered to you on Monday, and you are supplied with perfectly proportioned ingredients for 3 or 5 different meals. Recipes come with each meal and each meal takes around 30 minutes or less to make. 
We tried it out a few weeks ago and it really made week nights stress-free. I could come straight home and have a healthy dinner on the table shortly after. The recipes were varied and easy to follow. I don’t plan on ordering this service every week, but I will definitely order it again when I know I have a time-crunched week ahead. My favorite meal of the week was this Indian beef stew. I have no doubt I will make this many times over and you probably should too. Scroll all the way down for the recipe.
The other meals included:
Chili Ginger Chicken with Celery Salad
The Asian flavors were just right. I’d never thought of making a salad with celery slices, but mixed with some chicken grease and seasonings, it was a perfect warm salad to pair with this meat dish.
Walnut Pesto Pasta
This is an easy step up from your everyday pasta with some fresh walnut pesto. This was the quickest recipe to get on the table and tasty too!
Potato Noodles with Berry Yogurt
This was the strangest combo for me, but I surprisingly enjoyed it. Jon will only eat savory for dinner, so I gave him leftovers and ate the second portion for breakfast the next day. Dinner for breakfast never tasted so good.
Beet Fig Salad
I never know what to do with beets, so it was nice to be forced to try a beet recipe. The beets were a little overpowering for me in this recipe, but I could easily leave some out next time. Overall, it was a nice mixture of taste and textures: sweet, savory, soft, and crunchy.
To make my favorite recipe, the Indian beef stew, it’s pretty darn simple. Get out your ingredients.
Follow the directions.
And you have yourself a delicious meal in under thirty minutes!
- 2/3 lb ground beef (300g)
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 small can of green peas, drained
- 1 red chile pepper
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 teaspoon paprika (4 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (1g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (1g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (1g)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato purée (20g)
- 1 cup beef broth (250 ml)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (20g)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 pieces naan bread (optional)
- Peel, wash, and cut the sweet potatoes into small cubes. Finely chop the shallots and garlic. Halve the chili lengthwise, remove seeds if you wish, and cut into thin strips.
- Heat your oil in a large pan. Sauté the shallots, garlic and chili, for about 1-2 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until crumbly. Add in the tomato purée and pour in the beef broth.
- Add the peas and potatoes to the meat mixture. Stir in the spices. Cover the pan and let everything simmer over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Warm your naan bread in the oven if you wish, and serve alongside the beef stew.
The owner, Marko, kindly gave me a free trial in exchange for writing a review, but all opinions are my own.
3 Responses
I’m going to make this this weekend. It looks awesome!
Oh, this is totally my type of meal – it looks SO good. Bookmarking to try!
good to hear! i’ve made it a few times in the past month- so easy and tasty! let me know how it goes if you make it 🙂