Tesco Finest Raspberry Roulade

I received a free voucher to be exchanged for a product from the Tesco Finest range in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As many of you will be aware, Tesco have introduced a new 'indulgent' range of products called 'Tesco Finest', providing luxury food at affordable prices. You can choose between chilled or frozen desserts and they come in varying sizes to cater for all needs. I did look at the single and double portions available but thought I'd be kind and opt for the Raspberry Roulade which serves 6, so that I could share the joy with my family.

My local Tesco is only a small one in which I couldn't find any of the Finest range, so I headed into town where we have a large store to see what else was available. The choice here was also pretty limited but I did manage to find this roulade in the frozen section.

The description read:
Meringue encrusted with amaretti biscuit crumb, filled with whipped cream, raspberry sauce, whole raspberries and raspberry pieces.

To defrost, I followed the instructions and removed all packaging and left on a serving plate for 3 - 3½ hours, after which time it was ready to eat. I have to say that the waiting period almost killed me - it stood there on the bench teasing and tempting me. I remained patient though and waited.

I'm not a huge fan of cream and the roulade looked so delicious that I ate it without anything extra added.

WOW!! When cutting, you can feel the slight crunch of the meringue and biscuit crumb and the raspberry can clearly be seen throughout the roulade - perfectly proportioned in my opinion.

The combination of flavours was absolutely delightful and the creaminess of the roulade was perfect. You get a lovely light crunch in your mouth, followed by the creaminess, then the punch of the raspberries - an explosion of flavours which dance on your tongue.
My partner isn't too keen on raspberries, but he absolutely loved this paired with a drizzle of cream and said that he would definitely be happy eating it again. My youngest daughter wolfed it down in nano seconds and came holding her plate looking for more, which is very unusual for her! I personally ate it slowly so I could savour the taste and make it last as long as possible.

Overall I would highly recommend this pudding either for a family tea or it would also be an indulgent treat to serve guests - and one I'm sure they'll thoroughly enjoy, making you the hostess with the mostest.

The Tesco Finest Raspberry Roulade costs £4 for 478g which serves 6 - depending on portion sizes.
(price correct at time of post)

Tesco Finest* Pasta Range

The Lowdown ....

A traditional recipe

To Giuseppe Di Martino, grandson of the Di Martino company’s founder, pasta isn’t just food, it’s his passion and his way of life. Their pasta is made to a recipe that has barely changed in decades using 100 per cent Italian durum wheat semolina. It gives the pasta a very high (14g) protein content and keeps it al dente for longer during the cooking process.

A passion for flavour and taste

Many types of pasta are dried in 3 hours. But our finest* pasta is left to dry for 30 hours to bring out the wheat’s subtle flavor.

In pursuit of perfection

Pasta with a coarser finish helps the sauce cling to it when cooked. So, while modern pasta makers have changed their ‘die’ (the pasta shaper) to Teflon, the Di Martino family continues to use bronze ‘dies’ that scratch the pasta making it rough and perfect for cooking with.

As a member of The Orchard, I recently received vouchers to cover the cost of some Tesco Finest* Pasta free of charge, in return for an honest review.

My first choice was the Fusilli Lunghi Pasta ...mainly because I was fascinated by the length and style of the pasta. 

My second choice was the Conchiglioni Rigati Pasta which looks like extremely large pasta shells.

Each bag comes with easy to follow instructions on the back and takes between 10 and 20 minutes depending on the style of pasta to cook. It really is that simple!

Now I'm not the world's most adventurous eater and I'm not a huge fan of pasta whereas my oldest daughter absolutely loves it so she was to be my guinea pig (so to speak). 

There is a serving guide on the back of each pack so you know just how much 1 person should have - something I personally find very useful as I often make my portion sizes way too big for the average adult. When the required amount of lightly salted water is boiling, simply add the pasta, give it a quick stir then leave. I did keep checking and giving the pasta a stir with a fork just to make sure it wasn't sticking together as I often find I have this problem when cooking pasta. After the recommended time, I sampled a piece of pasta and I have to say that it was cooked to perfection! Unlike some pasta, this didn't leave an unpleasant 'film' coating my tongue and even had a pretty nice flavour on it's own. My daughter however prefers tuna and mayonnaise with pasta so that's exactly what she got. She tried both pastas and preferred the Fusilli Lunghi ...she found the other pieces a little too large! For some reason, this pasta also seemed to be a bit more filling than normal as she couldn't quite manage the full portion size which I was amazed at as normally she's still hungry for more. 

Overall I would definitely recommend Tesco Finest* Pasta Range as it's not only extremely versatile, but it tastes great and looks superb too! The packaging also helps it retain its freshness and as it comes in 500g bags, there's plenty enough to last.