All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Moussaka – without frying the aubergines

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Moussaka is one of my favourite dishes to eat. It’s a bit of an involved one to make, you need four different cooking pans going to make all the component parts; that’s why I don’t make it very often! Frying the aubergines, I think, is one of the most laborious parts of making the moussaka so I’ve got a different way of doing it. My moussaka without frying the aubergines is every bit as good as the original and you use far less oil than if you fry them. Win win.

Leaving the bay leaf in the sauce while it bakes really helps to impart a lovely flavour into the béchamel sauce. I’m not sure the potatoes on top are necessarily that traditional but I know so many people who add them to the top that I can’t imagine eating moussaka without them. This is a rich, full of flavour meal and cooking the moussaka without frying the aubergines does make things easier. The once or twice a year I make moussaka I try to make a double batch so that I can keep one in the freezer for a rainy day. read more

Simple BBQ Sides

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Simple BBQ Sides

We bought our first ever BBQ this year. Not knowing how much it might get used we went for a basic entry level one which has been great, and it’s getting used at least once a week at the moment. When the BBQ is on I like to be outside, nice cold drink in hand, to watch everything cooking. That’s why these simple BBQ sides are my go to recipes whenever we’re cooking al fresco. I can make them quickly in the kitchen so they are ready to go once the hot food is ready.

Mustard Pickled Cucumber

You will need (for two as a side):

  • 1 small or half a large cucumber
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 generous tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Black pepper

Peel the cucumber into strips using a vegetable peeler and put to one side. You could salt the cucumber if you wanted to, I have tried salting it and leaving it to drain then squeezing the water out but I don’t think it really makes much difference for this.

Put the vinegar, salt and sugar into a small bowl and whisk together. Add the mustard and give it another quick mix.

Pour in the oil and whisk until all the ingredients are combined; a big whisk and a small bowl are helpful for this.

Check the seasoning, add a little black pepper and then pour the dressing over the cucumber.

Variation

If you add a little dill to this mix with some very thinly sliced onion is makes a great Scandi inspired side.

Balsamic and Herb Tomatoes

You will need (for two as a side):

  • Large handful really ripe cherry tomatoes
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Black pepper

Start by halving all the tomatoes and putting them into a bowl. Sprinkle over the salt, mix it all together well and then leave for 10-15 minutes.

Add all the other ingredients and mix together well.

The reason I add the salt first is because it takes a little of the excess water out of the tomatoes which is delicious for two reasons: firstly it helps intensify the tomato flavour and secondly, you’re left with the tomato juice, oil, herbs and vinegar at the bottom of the bowl which is just asking to be mopped up with some bread.

Variation

I love adding avocado, torn mozzarella and loads of fresh basil to this. It’s also great if you roast this mix in the oven for 20 minutes if you want something hot.

Classic Potato Salad

You will need (for two as a side):

  • 400-500g potatoes, any will do but new potatoes (especially Jersey Royals) are best
  • 4-5 spring onions, ends removed and finely sliced
  • 3-4 tbsp good quality mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper

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    Aubergine and Ricotta Gnocchi Bake

    By 10 Comments

    aubergine and ricotta gnocchi bake

    What’s that? More aubergines? Yes actually, and I make no apologies because this Aubergine and Ricotta Gnocchi Bake is so good that I think we can all forgive if I’ve been a little heavy on the aubergine recipes of late. The key to this dish comes down to two things. Firstly, the aubergine has to be fried beautifully to make sure it’s soft, silky and golden brown. Secondly, adding a handful of cherry tomatoes really transforms the tomato base as it adds a wonderful freshness and sweetness. This is such a delicious vegetarian dish and one that feels at home as much now, in the summer, as it would in the autumn.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    • 2 medium aubergines, cut into length slices, then halved and chopped into finger sized pieces
    • 1 small onion, finely chopped
    • Olive oil for cooking
    • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
    • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
    • Handful really ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
    • 200g ricotta cheese
    • Pinch sugar
    • Few sprigs fresh basil and oregano, roughly chopped
    • Salt and pepper
    • Parmesan cheese

    Method

    Get a large frying pan on a medium heat and add a little oil, you need enough to just cover the bottom of the pan. Add the aubergine and fry until golden brown and soft. You may need to do this in batches depending on how much aubergine you have and how big your pan is. Once the aubergine is done place it on some kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.

    Add a little more oil to the pan and add the onion. Fry for around 10 minutes before adding the garlic. Continue to fry for a few more minutes then tip in the chopped and cherry tomatoes.

    Bring the tomato mixture to a simmer and continue to simmer until it’s reduced by around a third then add the sugar, salt and pepper, basil and oregano.

    Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi according to pack instructions; but drain them around 30 seconds before the pack says to. The gnocchi will continue to cook in the oven.

    Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and stir in the ricotta and aubergine.

    Drain the gnocchi and add to the tomato and aubergine mix, stir everything together well and then put into an oven proof dish. Grate over a little Parmesan.

    Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for around 20 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbling.

    You could definitely try using any shape of pasta rather than gnocchi if you wanted to.  I know you shouldn’t really cook with basil but I actually like the way the leaves wilt and give their subtle flavour over to the sauce once they are cooked. It’s great to dive into this dish and get a forkful of everything: sticky gnocchi, soft aubergine, creamy ricotta, a chunk of tomato, a bit of basil and a bit of punch from the Parmesan. I don’t think a few slices of fried courgette would go amiss either.

    Strawberry, Basil and Shortbread Mess

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    strawberry and basil mess

    When there’s strawberries in the house that’s how I know it’s summer. I never eat them out of season; I feel like it’s worth the wait to abstain from eating strawberries for nine or ten months of the year and then gorge on them from late May until they disappear again. Mostly I just eat them as they are but sometimes I like to make something a little more interesting. This Strawberry, Basil and Shortbread Mess is exactly that. Something that doesn’t take long to make but turns a weekday evening into something a little more special. And it does look rather lovely if I do say so myself.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two small puddings):

    • 1 shortbread wedge – see recipe below
    • Handful very ripe strawberries
    • 100ml double cream
    • Few sprigs fresh basil

    For the shortbread:

    • 225g salted butter
    • 100g sugar
    • 275g plain flour
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract

    Method

    There are two ways of making this. The first, and the best in my opinion, is to make your own shortbread. The second is to use some shop bought shortbread or other biscuits.

    To make the shortbread grease a 20cm tin with a little butter. I used a round one for this but I have used a square one for the same recipe, it just needs a slightly shorter cooking time.

    Beat the butter until pale and creamy then add the sugar and vanilla and beat again until very pale, smooth and creamy.

    Add the flour to the bowl and gently mix it in.

    Tip the dough into the tin and then press it down with the back of a spoon. Prick the shortbread all over with a fork and mark into wedges.

    Bake in a preheated oven at 160C for an hour or so or until the shortbread is golden brown.

    Leave to cool and then re-mark the lines for the wedges before leaving to cool completely and then removing from the tin.

    Marking and then re-marking the wedges will make it much easier to cut into pieces when you take it out of the tin.

    Whip the cream until you have soft peaks. Finely chop three or four big strawberries and some of the basil leaves and then stir this through the whipped cream.

    Divide the cream into two glasses or bowls then add some slices strawberries, crumbled shortbread and a little more basil.

    Strawberry and basil is one of my favourite flavour combinations; I love the sweetness of the berries with the aromatic flavour of the soft basil. There’s just a small amount of cream in this, it would be a little heavy otherwise. The buttery, crumbly shortbread adds a fantastic texture to this little pudding and it would work really well with other summer fruits too. Trying different biscuits is certainly something I’ll be trying too! And if you’re after some more really easy strawberry recipes you can find some here!

    Mint, Orange and Raspberry Ice Lollies

    By 9 Comments

    orange and mint ice lolly

    From time to time I get a real craving for something sweet after dinner. I could go and raid the biscuit tin; I have bourbons in there presently and they would go down a treat. But actually, I want something a little healthier and that’s where these mint, orange and raspberry ice lollies come in. They take moments to make and I can grab one from the freezer to cool down in this lovely summery weather we’re having and at the same time satisfy my sweet tooth. I have been growing some mint in the garden beautifully named ‘chocolate mint’ so I used some of that, you can use whatever mint you can get your hands on.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for 6 ice lollies):

    • 2 handfuls frozen raspberries
    • Orange juice, preferably one with bits that’s good quality
    • Few sprigs fresh mint, finely chopped

    Method

    Add the frozen raspberries to each of the lolly moulds. Sprinkle the mint between all the moulds too.

    Top each lolly up with orange juice until almost at the top before adding the stick and popping in the freezer.

    My lollies took about six hours to freeze solid.

    You could definitely use fresh raspberries for this if you’d prefer. I liked using the frozen ones as the fruit gets stuck in the moulds meaning you have even distribution of raspberries throughout the lolly when it comes to eating them!

    Other combinations of fruit, herbs and juice would be delicious. I’d like to try a strawberry, lemonade and mint combination and would really like to try one with blackcurrants too. The mint gives such a freshness to these lollies and it adds to the cooling too; I added a pretty generous helping so if you’re also a mint lover than add as much as you like! These lollies aren’t as sweet as ones you would buy; there’s no sugar other than that already contained in the fruit and juice so they pack a good amount of sharpness making them really refreshing.

    Roasted Aubergine and Tomato Pasta

    By 9 Comments

    roasting the aubergine and tomatoes

    There have been several aubergine themed recipes on the meal plan and blog recently, I just can’t seem to eat enough of them! The combination of aubergine and tomatoes is a hard one to beat, it’s one of my absolute favourites. Even better when the veggies are roasted to intensify the flavour and served with cheese. My roasted aubergine and tomato pasta is the culmination of many attempts to get it just right. Dicing the aubergine up like this not only means a quicker cooking time but more aubergine surface area to soak up all that olive oil.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    • 1 large aubergine, chopped into cubes around the same size as the cherry tomatoes
    • 2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
    • 3 tbsp olive oil
    • Salt and pepper
    • 3 garlic cloves, crushed but skins left on
    • 150g pasta
    • 125g mozzarella, torn or chopped into small cubes
    • 3 sundried tomatoes, finely diced
    • Few sprigs fresh basil, roughly torn

    Method

    Tip the diced aubergine, tomatoes and garlic onto a non-stick baking tray. Add a good glug of olive oil along with some salt and pepper and mix everything together with your hands so that everything is well coated in oil and seasoning.

    Roast everything in an oven at 190C for 25-30 minutes or until the tomatoes are just starting to split and the aubergine is turning golden brown.

    While the aubergine is roasting cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

    Drain the pasta well and tip in the roasted veg (discarding the garlic) along with the sundried tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.

    Dig in!

    The hot pasta will start to melt the mozzarella which in turn will get all tangled with any caramelised bits of tomato or aubergine that you scraped off the tray. The silky aubergine, sweet tomato, creamy mozzarella, fresh basil and intense sundried tomato are such fantastic flavours together. I am yet to try batch cooking this and freezing it and I think without the cheese it would freeze quite well. You can serve it over pasta or use it as a bruschetta topping; I would be the last person to judge you if you just ate it on its own. Another version with ricotta will be experimented with soon too. Any excuse for more aubergines in my kitchen.

    Tuscan Sausage Ragu

    By 8 Comments

    Tuscan Sausage Ragu

    The food in Italy was everything I wanted it to be and Tuscany in particular was filled with incredible locations to eat amazing food. We went to a restaurant in Montepulciano on our first night in Tuscany; it was in an old wine cellar and the food was sensational. I ordered the Tuscan Sausage Ragu and along with a glass of local red wine and Italian hospitality it was such a memorable meal. I wanted to try and recreate the flavours, if not the ambiance, at home and my version of this sausage ragu has been through a few different variations until I’ve reached the recipe below. It’s not exactly the same but it’s wonderfully delicious in its own right.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for eight portions in total):

  • 6 good quality preferably Italian sausages (a good herby one with a little spice would work well)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 large stick celery, roughly chopped
  • Good lug of mild olive oil
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • Sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 small glass white wine
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 600ml hot chicken stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • Gnocchi (or other pasta) to serve
  • Parmesan cheese to serve

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    Miso Glazed Aubergine with Pickled Cucumber Salad

    By 10 Comments

    miso glazed aubergine, cucumber pickle and red rice

    I’m not ashamed. I will admit it. I am an aubergine-aholic. Babaganoush, parmigiana, in a curry, moussaka, stirred through pasta there isn’t any meal I don’t love which has aubergines in. This recipe may sound familiar, as I have made something similar before, but this miso glazed aubergine when combined with a quick pickled cucumber salad really is a match made in heaven. Depending on the size of your aubergines this takes around half an hour to make, a little longer if they are large and need more time in the oven.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    For the aubergines

    • 2 aubergines, sliced in half lengthways and flesh scored in a criss cross pattern (don’t slice into the skin though)
    • 2 tbsp miso paste (the best you can get your hands on)
    • 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
    • 2 tsp runny honey (use agave or maple syrup to make it vegan)
    • 1 tsp water
    • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

    For the cucumber pickle

  • 1 small cucumber, sliced into a strip using a vegetable peeler
  • 1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 small piece ginger, finely grated
  • Few sprigs fresh coriander, roughly chopped

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    Chipotle Sweetcorn Hash

    By 10 Comments

    sweetcorn and potato has with chipotle and paprika chicken

    I love looking in my fridge and cupboards and finding ingredients and flavours to try together. Recently I wanted to try adding chipotle chillies to more than just chilli con carne and I thought it would be worth trying a pinch with sweetcorn. This chipotle sweetcorn hash came out of a mish mash of ingredients I happened to have to hand and the end result was delicious. Sticky, sweet, spicy and moreish I’ll be making this one again soon!

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    • Knob of butter
    • Rapeseed oil (for cooking)
    • 1 small onion, finely sliced
    • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
    • 1 tsp dried oregano
    • ½ tsp chipotle chilli flakes
    • 1 tsp ground cumin
    • 1 mug frozen sweetcorn
    • 300g potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1cm cubes
    • Juice ½ lemon
    • 2 chicken breasts
    • 2 tsp paprika
    • Salt and pepper
    • Plain yoghurt
    • Small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

    Method

    Heat the butter and a glug of oil together in a frying pan and add the onions. Fry for around 10 minutes on a medium heat before adding the garlic and all the spices and oregano. Continue to fry for a few more minutes.

    Add the potato and continue to fry for around 15 minutes with a lid on, stirring from time to time. After 15 minutes add the sweetcorn and continue to cook with the lid off for another five minutes.

    While the potato cooks put the chicken breasts between two sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin to flatten. Sprinkle the paprika and a little salt and pepper onto each side.

    Get another frying pan onto a medium heat and add a little oil. Fry the chicken on both sides until cooked through and golden.

    Add a little seasoning and the lemon juice to the potato pan. Stir the coriander through the yoghurt.

    Serve up the sweetcorn hash topped with the chicken and coriander yoghurt.

    This would be delicious with tofu rather than chicken if you wanted to make it veggie.

    The smokiness of the chipotle is so good with the sweetness of the sweetcorn, it would be great with a few peas too I think. I love how the golden strands of onion become entwined with the cubes of potato. The chicken is succulent and the yoghurt takes the heat off the chilli. All in all, for a few ingredients I already had and threw together, this was a delicious dinner!

    Artichoke and Red Pepper Gratin

    By 11 Comments

    artichoke and red pepper gratin

    It was one of those days where I wanted something simple but interesting. A dish which would take a few minutes to make and take plenty of time to enjoy eating it. I tried something similar to this artichoke and red pepper gratin when in France last year and have wanted to have a go at making it myself for ages. It’s a perfect recipe for a rainy Sunday afternoon and although made from a few simple ingredients is so much more than the sum of its parts.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two greedy people or four less-so-greedy people):

    • 2 red peppers, thinly sliced
    • 2 tins artichokes – see note below
    • 1 sprig fresh thyme
    • 1 clove garlic, crushed
    • 1 tbsp olive oil plus extra for roasting
    • 200g soft goats cheese
    • 150ml double cream
    • Salt and pepper

    Note – I used tinned artichokes in water. If I made it again I would use the chargrilled artichokes in oil because they would give a lovely, smoky flavour but they would need draining really well.

    Method

    Put the sliced peppers onto a baking tray and mix with a little oil and salt and pepper. Bake at 200C for 20 minutes until starting to char at the edges.

    While the peppers are roasting add a tbsp olive oil to a frying pan with the garlic and thyme. Add the artichokes and fry gently for a few minutes.

    Add the artichokes and peppers to a roasting dish.

    Gently warm up the double cream in a small saucepan. Stir through the goat’s cheese and a good grinding of black pepper and carry on stirring until the cheese has fully melted into the cream.

    Pour the cheese sauce over the vegetables then put everything back in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

    Serve with crusty bread.

    The best way to serve this is at the table with a plate each and a serving spoon. You can scoop up as many artichokes and peppers as you like onto your plate and then load them onto crusty, ripped off pieces of bread and enjoy every mouthful. The sweetness of the peppers with the delicate, slightly grassy artichokes and smooth cheese sauce is truly delicious. A little bit of added thyme finishes everything off beautifully and if I could have got my hands on a fougasse to serve it with it would have been even better.

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