All That I'm Eating

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

Classic French Onion Soup

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Onions
For some reason I have a bit of a thing for French food. It’s the food that never fails to put a smile on my face; partly because of the flavours but also because it’s a great excuse to showcase local, British ingredients in different ways. It’s a funny time of year, I feel it’s almost time to crack out a salad but at the same time I still want comfort and warmth. What better than the absolute classic French onion soup?

There’s nothing quite like it, it wraps you up from the inside out but at the same time remains quite clean and almost guilt free. Considering it’s basically boiled onions in beef stock, which doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, it delivers on so many levels. There’s sweetness, depth and texture with every mouthful. There are so many different ways of making French onion soup/onion soup and after looking at several versions I was able to ascertain the most important ingredients are: onions, beef stock, alcohol and Gruyère. I went into soup making with full gusto. read more

Boeuf Bourguignon with Dauphinoise and Purple Sprouting Broccoli

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Boeuf Bourguignon ingredients
Beautiful, traditional and French; a perfect meal for Valentine’s Day. This one’s a winner because the bottle of wine you need for the boeuf bourguignon you can then drink with the meal or yourself during the preparation as a reward for all your hard work. Being a slow cooking dish means once it’s on the go you don’t need to worry about it and you can get on with other things. If that wasn’t enough, it’s also incredible and actually quite cheap. 

Preparing the meat can be as difficult or easy as you like. Valentine’s Day brings out our flirtatious side and, not that I would advocate it of course, projecting a little of this new found eyelash fluttering on your butcher may result in your chosen cut being prepared for you. I’m not sure it would work with your greengrocer though. I used brisket for mine which needed a fair bit of trimming and preparing but I quite like doing that. read more

Game and Root Vegetable Stew

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Game is a difficult food. It’s hard to convince people to try it when they are absolutely determined they hate it, if you’ve never handled it before it can be intimidating to try and skin a rabbit and despite your best efforts sometimes you wonder why you bothered buying venison when you might as well have bought beef. Regardless of all or any of these, game is tremendously delicious.

I don’t tend to have ‘healthy’ recipes on here, nor do I discuss the fibrous merits of the many vegetables I feature but game is a treat without that feeling of guilt. I heard tell that venison contains less fat than a chicken breast without skin. Marvellous news. Venison is obviously trumping the chicken right about now but not only is it pretty much making you lose weight, it is local and seasonal. This game stew makes the most of all game available at this time of the year and some wonderful seasonal vegetables. read more

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Walnuts

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The poor sprout. I don’t know of another vegetable that has to put up with as much ridicule. People turning their noses up at even the slightest mention of this poor brassica must be hard to deal with if you’re a sprout. Chances are those that turn up their noses have only tried them boiled to within an inch of their life. There’s much more to a sprout than as a soggy green mess at the side of the plate. There is a rumour that sprouts can cause side effects of the flatulent sort. This rumour is also rife for baked beans but it doesn’t seem to put people off. read more

Purple French Beans with Steak

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Purple French Beans
I planted eighteen broad bean seeds under their little cloches back in March and I had eighteen successful broad bean plants come up giving me lovely green pods all of July and early August. I planted eighteen French purple bean seeds under their little cloches and I had two plants come up. I’m not sure it was my year for these little chaps.

Fortunately the two little plants that managed to battle the elements (and the neighbours heavy pawed cat) were rather heavily laden and so I had enough to make a meal. They are such a dark colour and look so lovely in the garden it was a shame to pick them. The plant is also a fantastic purpley green. 

I topped and tailed the beans and steamed them gently. I was hoping this would retain some of their purple colour but, unfortunately, they went entirely green! I find that beans are extremely happy with a little lemon juice. I melted a little butter and fried some chopped shallot then squeezed in a little lemon juice to sharpen it up. read more

Broad Bean, Bacon and New Potato Salad

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Broad Beans in the pod
I planted my own broad beans back in February full of anticipation and excitement for that day when I could finally snap the pods from the plant, lightly cook them and enjoy them just as they are. To say I was jealous of the broad beans at the farmers’ market is an understatement. I couldn’t possibly buy any and cheat on my home grown ones…could I?  Some of my broad beans are at the mangetout stage and I enjoy the occasional one immensely straight from the plant. They’ve a bit more growing to do before I can make my broad bean houmous. Until then the big, fat, shiny green beans from the farmers’ market will keep me going. To make the most of the seasonal ingredients available I cooked up this broad bean, bacon and new potato salad.

One of my favourite things is popping the broad beans out of their fluffy pods. I love the smell. I used around 20 pods if not a few more to get enough beans for this meal. The more the merrier I say.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • Around 20 broad bean pods
  • 4 rashers bacon
  • 10-12 new potatoes, peeled and quartered (or halved depending on the size)
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • Fresh herbs, small amounts of each (I used chives and mint), chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed

Method

Remove the broad beans from their pods and boil them in salted water for about 4 minutes. 

Keep the water and then boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and put to one side.

When the beans have cooled you can begin one of the most satisfying pursuits imaginable. Squeeze the beans out of their grey, papery cases. Some will come out easily with just a small pinch whereas some require the insertion of a fingernail to get things moving.  read more

Baked Asparagus with Bacon and Cheese

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As asparagus is only around for a short time, it’s a good thing it’s so versatile. This is another recipe combining classic ingredients in a really easy, quick way.   You will need a bunch of asparagus, 4 or 5 rashers of bacon and a good handful of strong cheese.  

Start by placing the asparagus stem down in a pan of boiling water for 4-5 minutes. By placing them stem down the thicker, woodier stems are boiled while the fragile tops steam. While the asparagus boils, cut the bacon into pieces and fry. read more

Classic Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce

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I had been waiting and waiting until the asparagus turned up at the Farmers’ Market and last weekend it finally did. I had heard whispers and rumours that this fine vegetable had pushed its purple head through the soil but didn’t want to get my hopes up until I saw it with my own eyes. read more

Chicken and Vegetable Pie

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Chicken and Vegetable Pie mix

This is a perfect recipe for the long Easter weekend break. It’s a celebration of Spring vegetables in the best wrapping of all…pastry. This chicken and vegetable pie is extremely versatile as you can change the vegetables depending on what is in season. It is also great for using up leftovers.

Ingredients

You will need (for one large pie to serve 4-6):

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • Knob of butter
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • Handful kale, stalks removed and leaves sliced
  • 1 small glass white wine
  • 300ml double cream
  • 1/2 chicken stock cube
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • Readymade shortcrust pastry
  • 1 egg, for brushing

First of all, roast the chicken at 180C for an hour and a half or until cooked through. If you like, you can stuff half a lemon and half an onion inside the chicken before you cook it to give it extra flavour.  When the chicken is done and cooled down a little remove all the meat and set aside. I had never de-boned a chicken before and I can tell you that once you’ve done it, you’ll never look back. From now on I will always buy a whole chicken and divide it up – it’s so much cheaper. The meat just fell off and I was left with a clean pile of bones and a huge pile of chicken. Chop up the vegetables as the chicken is cooling. 

Start by frying the onion and leek in some butter until softened in a large pan. Add the chicken and fry for a few more minutes. Add the glass of wine and cook until almost completely gone and then add the cream and the chicken stock cube. Add the carrots, kale and bay leaves and season. If it is looking a little dry add some water. Leave the mixture simmering for 10 minutes or until it is as thin or thick as you like it. read more

Smoked Trout and Potato Salad

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Local smoked trout
I have been doing many things recently that I have not done before. I recently de-boned a chicken, which I was pretty apprehensive about because it was new to me, but I am pleased to confirm it couldn’t have gone better. This recipe is another example of trying to do something I was thoroughly convinced was complicated and time consuming.  I had never previously bought a whole fish and so I bought two strikingly golden smoked trout from the farmers’ market. I wanted something light and filling and so I made a potato salad where the dressing (I suppose you’d call it) was more trout orientated. 

Ingredients

You will need (for one large bowl of salad):
  • 2 smoked trout
  • 500g potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 250g crème fraîche
  • Wholegrain mustard
  • Fresh tarragon, dill and parsley
  • 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper

Method

I got home and I unwrapped the trout. I looked at it somewhat diffidently and with remarkable concentration. I lopped the heads off and was relieved that it was at least half complete. How do I take the skin off? By now there was a faint glisten of moisture about my brow. Due to its being gutted my life was made awfully easy. I took the bottom fin and gave it a pull. It was like peeling an orange.

I can’t tell you how simple it was. What I thought would be a right kerfuffle turned out to be one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done. Once the skin was off, the meat just fell off the bone and I was left with a pile of meat and a complete pile of bones. There were a few strays that I found amidst the pile but I got the blighters. 

During my adventures with the trout, a pan full of potatoes had been merrily bubbling away in the background. Once cooked they were drained and left to cool while the dressing was made.  read more

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