All That I'm Eating

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

Greek Salad, Hummus and Pitta Bread

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Greek Salad, Hummus and Pitta Bread
I don’t know about you but I find it difficult to know what to cook when it’s hot. I don’t want to be hanging around the oven or hob making unnecessary heat but I also don’t want to eat cold food all the time. The worst thing about it is having to do the washing up (no dishwasher in my house!) when all you really want to do is sit outside. I think this meal of Greek salad, hummus and pitta bread is a great compromise; there isn’t too much clearing up afterwards and the toasted pitta bread means that it’s not an entirely cold meal.

Ingredients

You will need (for four):

  • Pitta breads  £0.50

For the hummus:

  • 1 can chickpeas  £0.65
  • 1 garlic clove  £0.03
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil  £0.10
  • 1 tsp peanut butter  £0.10
  • Salt and pepper  £0.10

For the Greek salad:

  • 1/2 cucumber, sliced  £0.30
  • 3-4 tomatoes, sliced  £0.50
  • 1 small onion, sliced  £0.10
  • 1 small lettuce, chopped  £0.40
  • 1 pack mixed olives and feta  £2.20
  • 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil  £0.10
  • 1 tsp dried oregano  £0.05

    Total £5.13

Method

Start by adding all the ingredients for the hummus to a food processor and blending until smooth. If the hummus is a little thick you can add a little extra oil or a small amount of hot water.

Mix all the ingredients for the salad together, except the olives, then top with the olive and feta mix.

Heat up the pitta breads according to packet instructions.

Pour a little extra virgin olive oil over the salad and sprinkle over the chopped oregano and a little salt and pepper. read more

Summer Vegetable Minestrone

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summer vegetable minestrone
I’m not sure you can ever have too many vegetables in the house at once but at this time of year with the peas in the garden, the veg box and whatever looks tempting at the farmers’ market I can find it a little challenging to close the fridge door. You know it’s got a bit excessive when your carrot fronds are getting in the way of the door seal. If you find yourself fighting some spinach to reach the butter or battling beans to get to the mayonnaise there’s only one thing for it: make a minestrone.

Ingredients

You will need (for two big bowls or four smaller ones):

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 small courgette, diced
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 1 handful summer greens, shredded
  • 1 handful broad beans, podded
  • 1 handful fresh peas, podded
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock
  • 90g small pasta
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Prepare the broad beans by adding the beans to a pan of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 3-4 minutes before removing, running under cold water and then squeezing the beans out of their grey skins. Set aside.

Put a large pan on a low heat and add the olive oil, garlic, carrot, onion and courgette. Put a lid on and leave to soften for around 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the tomato, summer greens and peas then pour in the hot stock.

Bring to the boil then add the pasta and a little salt and pepper.  read more

Smörgåsbord with Swedish Salad

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Smörgåsbord with Swedish Salad

Scandinavian food interests me; cured salmon, pickles and dark rye are the things that immediately spring to mind. By coincidence I was sent two different crispbreads to try; some from Finn Crisp and some from Plain Tasty so it seemed the perfect opportunity to try and make a Smörgåsbord with a Swedish salad; Swedish style anyway! Something very different for dinner in the ATIE household.

Ingredients

You will need (make as many as you need): 

  • Pickles
  • Cheese and cream cheese
  • Crispbreads


For the salad:

  • 1/2 cucumber, diced
  • 1 small fennel, sliced
  • 1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
  • Handful fresh dill and parsley, chopped
  • 3-4 spring onions, sliced
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper

Method

I took inspiration for the salad from the Jamie Does book. Put all the prepared salad vegetables into a bowl and mix it together. Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper together then dress the salad. read more

Pulled Pork Ribs with Carrot & Ginger Slaw

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I’m often a bit slow on the uptake. Pulled food, more specifically pulled pork, has been doing the rounds for some time now and it’s not something that I had attempted. Yet. I wanted to make an Asian coleslaw that used some spring carrots (I demoed this at Eat Reading Live) but wasn’t too sure what to serve it with. It seemed an ideal time to attempt some sort of pulled pork. If, like me, you can’t be bothered with pulling anything I think this would be fantastic with some leftover roast pork or chicken in a nice soft roll. read more

Ultimate Cheese on Toast with Lea & Perrins

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Cheese on toast with caramelised onions

I can’t have cheese on toast without a dribble of Worcestershire Sauce. I’ve added it to countless different meals; cottage pie, risotto and spaghetti bolognese to name a few. Lea and Perrins are working with the guys from Sorted to show different dishes you can add your Worcestershire Sauce to and I was asked to see what I could come up with.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 3-4 medium onions, finely sliced
  • 3 tbsp Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
  • Salt and pepper
  • Oil for cooking
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 150g strong Cheddar cheese
  • 2 thick slices bread

Method

Make the caramelised onions by getting a heavy based frying pan on a low heat and adding a drizzle of oil. 

Tip in the onions, Worcestershire Sauce, a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Leave to soften for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until sticky. read more

Review: Norwegian Skrei Cod in a simple Butter and Parsley Sauce

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Skrei Cod in Butter and Parsley
I don’t get to eat much fish at home as the OH isn’t a fan of anything with gills and I certainly can’t be bothered to make something different for both of us! Now I’m working from home I can have all sorts of things for lunch. The mind boggles. In reality it’s almost always toast but I was offered some Skrei cod to try and I thought it would make my midday meal much more exciting.

Skrei is a much loved Norwegian delicacy. Skrei must be caught fully grown and meet the strict quality standards to be labelled as such. This source of cod is a sustainable one and most of the Skrei are line caught. You can read more about Hugh’s Fish Fight here.
I didn’t want to mess around and over complicate this delicate fish so I cooked it very simply. I fried a piece in a little olive oil and butter only flipping it once to prevent it breaking up.
When the cod was almost ready I added a little extra butter, some salt and pepper and a small handful of parsley to make a quick sauce. read more

A Belgian Croque

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belgian croque allthatimeating (1 of 2)
When I was in Bruges last year there were a few foods that cropped up on almost all of the menus: moules, frites, waffles and croques. There was one café which we went to more than once because their croques (monsieur, madame and various takes on these) were so good. It was something like €8 for one croque and salad but €10 for two croques and salad; a no brainer really. One of the croques they served was full of ham, cheese and tomato then served with a gargantuan amount of bolognaise on the top. Very handy when you want to be full for an afternoon of taking in the culture, or more accurately, beer tasting. Apparently.

ingredients

You will need (per croque):

  • 2 slices thick white bread
  • 2 slices Emmental cheese
  • 2 slices smoked ham (not wafer thin)
  • A few slices tomato
  • Cream cheese with herbs

method

Preheat a grill and toast the bread. Spread a nice thick layer of cream cheese on one slice.

Put the Emmental on the other slice. 

Top the cream cheese with the ham then the tomatoes and place both slices under the grill.

Keep the toast under the grill until the tomatoes are hot and the cheese has melted and started to bubble. 

Stick the slices together, cut up and serve.

If you have a sandwich toaster you can of course use that but sadly I don’t have one of these handy contraptions. A Corby trouser press would work equally well. read more

Luxury Leek and Potato Soup with Homemade Soda Bread

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leek and potato soup topped with chives
When I was younger I didn’t much care for vegetables. The one exception to this was my regular request for ‘Mummy’s Vegetable Soup’. I had tried soup in tins, in restaurants or at other people’s houses but nothing else came close. I think the thing that fascinated me about it was that no matter what amount or combination of vegetables went in (never potato) it would always come out somewhere between green and orange and it would be just right. No stock, no cream, no cheese it was just vegetables and water. It was my Mum’s way of clearing out the fridge, feeding me vegetables (willingly!) and it was even better after a snowball fight.

Ingredients

You will need (for two big bowls of soup):
1 medium onion, sliced
£ 0.10
2 large leeks
£ 0.90
Large knob of butter
£ 0.15
2 large potatoes (around 500g)
£ 0.50
100ml double cream
£ 0.40
850ml vegetable stock
 £ 0.10
Small handful chives
 £ 0.25
Salt and pepper
£ 0.02
For the soda bread:
300g spelt flour
 £ 0.66
10g baking powder
£ 0.06
5g salt
 £ 0.01
230ml buttermilk
 £ 0.75
Total
£  3.90

method

Wash the leeks and then slice them thinly. Heat the butter in a saucepan on a low to medium heat and fry the onion and leeks for around 15 minutes until softened but not brown. Peel and dice the potato then add this to the leeks and put the lid on the pan. Leave the potatoes to soften for around 10 minutes.

Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Boil with the lid on until the potatoes are tender then add the cream and some salt and pepper. Let the soup cool down before blending the soup until smooth. Return to the pan to warm through and then chop up the chives and use them to top the soup. read more

Review: Barber’s 1833 Cheddar and Twice Baked Cheddar Soufflés

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barbers 1884 cheddar cheese souffle
Who doesn’t like a bit of cheese? Over the last couple of years I think Cheddar has been getting a bit of a bad name. Indeed ‘cheddar’ can be used to describe any cheese where the cheddaring process had been used to make it; hence, a piece of chewy, nasty, plastic cheese can be called Cheddar along with lovely, crumbly, exemplary artisan Cheddars.
Barber’s kindly invited me to the BBC Good Food Show last year in Birmingham and I really enjoyed it. I had a good old chat to Barber’s about their cheese; they use their own starter cultures to make their cheese and I was amazed at the difference each culture can make to the end flavour of the cheese. Some will give it an earthy, Marmite flavour and others will give a slight sweetness. In order to enjoy their cheese Barber’s gave me all the ingredients and a recipe to make a delicious twice baked cheese soufflé.

ingredients

You will need (for 6 soufflés):
  • 225ml milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 40g butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 40g plain flour
  • 125g Barber’s 1833 Vintage Cheddar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 1 tbsp. chopped chives
  • Salt and pepper
  • 150ml double cream

method

Preheat an oven to 180C and butter six individual ramekins.

Put the milk, shallot, bay leaf and peppercorns in a saucepan and bring to the boil then strain into a jug. I always enjoy doing this as it smells so good.

Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk then simmer for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cheese before adding the egg yolks, chives and a little salt and pepper.

Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks then fold these into the cheese mixture. Divide between the buttered ramekins. read more

Stilton Scones with Sloe Port Jelly

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stilton scones
Is it just me or does everyone seem to open their fridge at some point in December and a wodge of Stilton has magically appeared? Cheese and biscuits is a must over the festive season but sometimes you can get left with an odd or and end of cheese that’s not only in the way but is also stinking the fridge out. Enter Stilton scones. They take minutes to make and around 10 minutes to bake so they are a quick and simple way to use up a bit of cheese. Delicious with any membrillo, redcurrant jelly or whatever else, I knocked up some sloe port jelly to accompany these powerful scones.

Ingredients

You will need (for 10-12 scones):
240g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
Black pepper
50g butter
60g Stilton
130ml milk plus extra for brushing

For the sloe port jelly:
100ml sloe port (any other port would be good too)
60ml water
30g sugar
2 sheets gelatine

Method

Make the jelly first.

Put the gelatine into some cold water to soften.

Get a small saucepan on a low heat and add the sugar and water. Once the sugar has dissolved squeeze out any excess water from the gelatine and stir the gelatine into the hot sugar syrup. read more

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