All That I'm Eating

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

Paprika Pepper Pasta

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Life is busy. I have a toddler. Dinner that can be ready in a flash is what it’s all about in my house. This paprika pepper pasta is a dish I keep coming back to, and variations of it, because it’s so quick and simple. The ingredients are easy to get hold of and inexpensive: exactly my kind of weeknight cooking. And, with three portions of veg in one meal everyone’s happy!

A smoky, sweet and savoury pasta sauce it is also delicious served with baked potatoes. The fresh basil really lifts the dish and parsley would work just as nicely. read more

Salmon Nicoise Quiche

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This quiche is full of vegetables and that is a great way to disguise the fact it’s actually got double carbs in. Potatoes AND pastry; who doesn’t love that? My salmon nicoise quiche is a great way to take leftovers to another level. I made the nicoise salad, so everything was prepped and cooked, and then assembled the quiche the next day. Served alongside some mustard flecked dressed lettuce, this is a perfect lunch for me.

Delicious served warm from the oven you can slice this nicoise quiche into portions and freeze them individually, ready to be defrosted and warmed up another day. read more

Kung Pao Chicken with Mushrooms

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kung pao chicken with mushrooms and rice

I remember the first time I tried Kung Pao chicken and how much I loved the numbing sensation you get on your tongue from the Szechuan pepper. In order to use up more of the vegetables from my veg box I made my version of Kung Pao chicken with mushrooms. This is definitely not a traditional Kung Pao chicken recipe, it doesn’t even have peanuts, but this version in particular is known in our house as: the best stir fry you’ve ever made. High praise indeed.

Ingredients

You will need (for two portions): read more

Vegetable Box Recipes

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If you’re sat there looking at your kohlrabi wondering why on earth you’ve been sent a vegetable that has tentacles, fear not. I’ve been getting an organic veg box for years and I wanted to share some of my favourite vegetable box recipes. Sometimes you can end up with a vegetable you’ve never cooked with before so hopefully you can find a recipe for almost everything here! In this post I’ll take you through the contents of my most recent veg box and how I used everything up. read more

Red Lentil and Tomato Soup

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Perhaps I should rename my blog ‘All That I’m Blending’ I’ve been making so much soup recently. But that’s the joy of soup isn’t it? You can pretty much throw what you’ve got hanging around into the pot and miraculously out comes a steaming hot bowl of marvellous soup. My red lentil and tomato soup is no different. Made using what I had in the cupboards and fridge this felt like a meal concocted out of nothing; and I have extra portions in the freezer for a rainy day. read more

Spring Vegetable Tray Bake

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There’s a certain time of year where the contents of the veg box are suddenly more vibrant. There’s something red or orange which isn’t a carrot and something green which isn’t cabbage. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against a good brassica but when the first spring vegetables come through you know that it’s not long until the spring and summer veg are in full swing. To mark this occasion I made a spring vegetable tray bake; to celebrate all that is delicious at this time of year. read more

Chipotle Sweetcorn Hash

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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!

Pea, Bacon and Sundried Tomato Risotto

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forkful of pea and bacon risotto

I love how a recipe evolves over time. Many risottos have been made in my kitchen over the years and I have to say a pea risotto has got to be one of my favourites. This recipe for pea, bacon and sundried tomato risotto is, in my opinion, the very best it can be. Other variations have included chorizo, fried speck, mint, goat’s cheese or spinach but this combination of ingredients gives such a variety and depth of flavour that is hard to beat.

ingredients

You will need (for two people):

  • 1 small onion, finely diced (preferably not a red onion)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • 4 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped or sliced
  • 175g risotto rice
  • 500-600ml hot vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 mug full frozen peas
  • Small knob of butter
  • 4 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 25g Parmesan cheese, grated

method

Start by adding the oil and onion to a saucepan and frying gently for at least 15 minutes until the onion is softened and not coloured. Add the garlic and sundried tomatoes and continue frying for a few more minutes.

Stir the rice into the onion mixture and cook for another minute or two before adding a little vegetable stock.

Add a little vegetable stock to the rice mixture at a time stirring well between each addition and ensuring the stock has been full absorbed before adding the next.

While the risotto is cooking you’ll need to get a small pan of water boiling for the peas and a frying pan heating up for the bacon.

Test the rice to see if it’s cooked and if so, remove the pan from the heat, pop the lid on and leave to one side for five minutes.

While the risotto is resting cook the peas in the boiling water and fry the bacon until crispy.

Blend the peas with a little butter to make a rough puree. If you’d rather add the peas whole that’s no problem, I just love the bright green colour blending them gives the risotto.

Stir the peas, bacon and Parmesan into the risotto, check the seasoning and add a little salt and pepper if it needs it.

At the heart of any good risotto is of course the perfectly cooked rice, cheese and onion combo. Adding the sundried tomatoes gives such a punchy, savoury flavour which coupled with the sweet peas and salty bacon is just the best. Slightly different to my normal weeknight recipes where I try to use as few pans as possible this recipe is definitely worth the extra washing up.

Artichoke and Red Pepper Gratin

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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.

Chocolate, Thyme and Lemon Shortbread

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chocolate shortbread after the baking

Adding herbs to bakes and drinks is something I really like to do. I like the botanical flavour that herbs can bring to various dishes and I think woody herbs really suit being paired with chocolate. These chocolate, thyme and lemon shortbread biscuits are a delicious combination of flavours if I do say so myself and if you’re unsure about adding herbs to a biscuit you’ll just have to give it a try!

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 squares):

  • 180g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150g softened butter
  • 50g dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1tsp dried thyme
  • Zest 1 lemon

Method

Preheat your oven to 160C and line a baking dish; I used a square one for this batch but round or circular dishes work just as well.

Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl, or mixer, and beat together until they form a dough. Remove from the bowl and knead lightly.

Press the dough into the tin, spreading it out evenly, then prick the top of the shortbread with a fork. Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven, mark into squares then leave to cool before removing the biscuits from the dish.

You can’t go wrong with a dark chocolate shortbread biscuit, and that’s certainly the case when they’re served warm from the oven. The added thyme gives a little warmth and herbal note which coupled with the fresh, zesty lemon is just the thing with a cup of tea. Dried thyme works well in this as I think the oils in fresh thyme might taint a little as it gets baked in the oven. I have previously tried a similar combination of flavours with my chocolate, rosemary and hazelnut biscuits. I would like to try infusing some bay with a white chocolate mousse or sauce at some point in the future too.


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