Marks & Spencer King Prawn and Asparagus Risotto

Whilst browsing in M&S (as you do), I was thinking to myself "Mack, what can you try out today for those lovely people out there?" and hey presto, right in front of me in the refrigerated cabinet appeared this lovely vision. What clinched the deal for me was it was on special offer (or as special as Marks and Sparks get!) which was buy one, get one half price.

So I picked a couple up, and off I we went to the checkout!

* It's got the look *

In an oval shaped box this has the Italiano colours at the top and a large picture of the risotto on a plate, temptingly adorned with a sprig of parsley. A fork is placed nearby, willing you to try it.

Inside the cover, the risotto lies in a round black plastic tray. Be sure to keep this upright when you're transporting it home.

* At home for dinner with the Macks *

As this was an emergency hunger situation, the microwave was called in to speed things up. It's the usual kind of thing, pierce the film lid and cook it on high.

Cat B 650W - three and a half mins
Cat D 750W - three mins
Cat E 850W - two and a half mins

After it's beep, beep, beeped at you, leave it to stand for one minute and of course give it a good old stir and ensure that it's piping hot before you attempt to eat it!

In the oven it's only 18 mins on 180C (fan 160C), 350F or Gas mark 4 so whichever way you decide to cook it, it's going to be on your plate before you know it!

* The look after it's cooked *

There is plenty of carnaroli rice, this really overshadows anything else on the plate but it's fluffy and plump and the consistency is heavy - the sauce binds it together so it's very easy to pick up on the fork.

The Honduran prawns are large and a good pink colour, shame there are only a few of them perched on top. After flicking through with the fork, there aren't any lurking under the rice either. Hmph!

There are bits of herb sprinkled on top and the asparagus bits are cut into fairly small sections, again there are just a few visible.

* Taste test *

Strangely, the overriding taste in the first mouthful is of parmesan cheese! The rice is mixed with leek, onion, fennel and celery and has a bite to it because lemon juice, white wine and cracked black pepper have been teasingly added in.

The asparagus, although sparse (I can only see 6 small bits) looks decidly limp, but once in the mouth it has a crunch to it and is cooked to perfection.

The prawns are succulent, meaty and very tasty.

From the first bite, Mack found this rather delicious! Unfortunately it was all over before it had begun!

* Warnings *

This product contains cow's milk and shellfish. Remember there may still be some small bits of shell in there.

* Nutritional info *

This is a 350g pack and has a whopping 470 calories and 27.3 grams of fat. Salt is 2.7g. Did I mention I'm an 8 stone (and a bit) weakling and don't care about these things?!

* Other info *

Marks and Spencer PLC
PO Box 3339
Chester
CH99 9QS

www.marksandspencer.com

* Did I enjoy? *

Well it has to be prett-eeee bad for the Mack not to like it! And of course she enjoyed this very much. It was an easy meal, and soft to eat. All you need is a fork and you can dig in! If left in the plastic carton, there's no washing up involved either! How lazy?!

The one disadvantage is that it can't be frozen so I probably couldn't take advantage of the 'special offer' too often and at £2.99 per pack, this isn't a cheap option.

* Verdict *

It's a fairly small 'meal' - more of a snack to me as all pre-packaged foods are. To bulk it up I added some bread and butter. Hey if you're going for the full carb thing, do it in style is what I say!

Mother Mack ate the other pack. She enjoyed it too - in fact when quizzed on the ingredients she said it tasted very lemony and cheesy.

I wouldn't make this top of my shopping list - at £3 for a few bites this isn't what I call a bargain but it's a bit of a treat for now and again when you fancy something a little different.

I will take one star away because really the asparagus was decidedly thin on the ground and if you're going to include that in a title then the least you can do is cough up and be generous with it! By the time you stir the risotto the asparagus has all but disappeared!

Overall go for it if you like this kinda thing but have dessert!

Lastly - a MackTip: Be checking those toothy pegs for any green/black bits after consumption. It ain't pretty and it ain't clever!

Yummy. Recommended.

Thanks for reading.