All That I'm Eating

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

Spinach and Potato Kofta Curry

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Spinach and Potato Kofta Curry

I love koftas in a curry. More often than not they are lamb based and I wanted to try and make a vegetarian version. My spinach and potato kofta curry came about because I wanted the main part of it to be roughly based on saag aloo. This is a bit more effort than some of my other recipes, but, I’ve made double batches of both the koftas and the sauce and frozen them so I can have it again with no effort at all!

ingredients

You will need (for four portions):

For the koftas:
  • 600g potatoes, peeled and diced
  • Oil for cooking (I use rapeseed)
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • Pinch turmeric
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • Thumb size piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 chilli, finely chopped
  • 5 nuggets frozen spinach (you can use fresh, wilt it and chop it before using)
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • Salt and pepper
  • Salt and pepper
For the sauce
  • 2 large onions, sliced
  • 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • Thumb size piece of ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground fenugreek
  • Oil for cooking (I use rapeseed)
  • 1 chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Salt and pepper
  • 200ml water
  • 75ml double cream (you can leave this out or use a plant based alternative to make it vegan)
  • Small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

method

For the koftas

Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for 8-10 minutes, or until they are cooked. read more

Easy Vegetable Lasagne

By 18 Comments

Easy Vegetable Lasagne after baking

There’s a very good reason why this is an easy vegetable lasagne: there’s no béchamel! One of the things I love most about lasagne is how comforting it is, all those layers of pasta and sauce, so I didn’t want to miss any of that by cutting out a few steps. It’s still creamy and cheesy but only uses one sauce. This is such an easy recipe and you can use whatever vegetables you have to hand.

ingredients

You will need (for four portions):

  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 aubergine, roughly chopped
  • 2 peppers (whatever colour(s)) you like, seeds removed and roughly chopped
  • Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Any other vegetables you like, such as courgette, carrot, etc. prepared and roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed but left whole
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • Salt and pepper
  • 600ml passata
  • 200ml crème fraîche
  • 1 tbsp red pesto
  • 25g Parmesan, grated

Method

Start by preheating an oven to 180C.

Put all of the prepared vegetables onto a baking tray and drizzle over enough oil to give everything a light covering. Add a little salt and pepper and give everything a good mix with your hands. read more

Sticky Soy and Chilli Chicken Thighs

By 14 Comments

sticky soy and chilli chicken close up

From time to time I get a recipe stuck in my head and I can think of nothing else until I make it. These sticky soy and chilli chicken thighs are exactly one of those recipes. There were several criteria that these thighs had to fulfil and anything short of my imagined flavour would not suffice. Most importantly they had to be sticky; properly glazed so that they left trails of marinade on the plate. Secondly, they had to have a salty soy base and a little chilli kick. The ginger, garlic, lime, onion and sesame were all added for depth of flavour. They were everything I wanted them to be.

ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce (I used a low salt one)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Juice 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 small piece ginger, around the size of a thumbnail, grated
  • Pinch dried chillies
  • 2-3 spring onions, sliced

method

Mix all the ingredients together except the chicken to make the marinade.

Put the chicken thighs into a roasting dish and pour over the marinade. Really mix the chicken and marinade together making sure you get some inside, over and under the thighs.

Put in the fridge to marinate for around an hour, longer if possible, but a shorter time wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Preheat an oven to 200C. Put the chicken into the oven with all the marinade and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, baste the chicken and return to the oven for another 20 minutes. Check the chicken is cooked through after 40 minutes total roasting time.

I served these sticky chicken thighs with a noodle salad full of fresh herbs.

Combining honey and soy together means you can’t go far wrong with a salty, sweet and sticky end result. The thing I love about roasting the chicken rather than frying it is that the chicken and marinade cook into each other and you’re left with a thick, unctuous sauce which is just asking to be spooned over the chicken. It would be delicious on the BBQ, you’d need to baste it often, and I think it would work really well with tofu too. This is my kind of comfort food. I can imagine a cold evening where I roast these, simply serve them with a bowl of white rice and let the leftover marinade mingle with the rice.

Tomato, Butterbean and Spinach Pesto Soup

By 11 Comments

spinach pesto

Sometimes I make something like a veggie stew or pasta sauce and realise that it could become a delicious soup with just a little extra water. That’s exactly how this Tomato, Butterbean and Spinach Pesto Soup came about. I had made it as a sauce for baking with gnocchi, similar to this recipe, and I thought it would make a great soup; something a bit different from a normal tomato soup. And I was right. Full of flavour, colour and easy to make from a few ingredients you probably already have in the cupboards.

Ingredients

You will need (for four hearty bowls):

  • 2 tbsp pine nuts
  • 4 nuggets frozen chopped spinach (or half a bag of fresh)
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • 15g Parmesan cheese, grated
  • Salt and pepper

 

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • 700ml tomato passata
  • 1 tin butterbeans, rinsed and drained
  • 200ml vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Start by making the spinach pesto. Add the pine nuts to a blender, or pestle and mortar, and blend until finely chopped.

Add the frozen spinach to a small frying pan and cook until defrosted and any excess water has evaporated. If you’re using fresh you’ll need to wilt it down and then chop it.

In a small bowl mix together the pine nuts, spinach, garlic, Parmesan and salt and pepper. Put to one side.

Add a little olive oil to a saucepan and add the onion, fry for 10 minutes until softened.

Pour in the passata and vegetable stock, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid partially off.

Stir in the butterbeans and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes.

Serve the soup in bowls and dollop the pesto on top. Serve with some warm, crusty olive studded bread if you like.

The tomato soup is comforting and familiar with the added butterbeans giving a lovely bit of substance. A good vegetable stock is essential for good soup. I liked scooping up the pesto and soup with crusty bread; getting different proportions of soup to pesto each time. This tomato and butterbean soup freezes well, I stirred the remaining pesto through before freezing it and it’s been delicious for warming winter lunches.

Blood Orange Posset

By 14 Comments

blood orange possets in individual glasses

Slicing open a blood orange has an air of anticipation about it. Will it be intense purple almost throughout, have a few red stripes or actually be mostly orange? Whichever colour you end up with they all have the same fantastic flavour. I love cooking with blood oranges; adding a splash to a cocktail or baking them into something delicious. This recipe for blood orange posset was something I had never tried before and I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make. Just three ingredients are needed for a pudding that tastes so much more than the sum of its parts.

Ingredients

You will need (for four individual possets):

  • 400ml double cream
  • 150g golden caster sugar
  • Zest and juice two blood oranges

Method

Add the cream and sugar to a large pan and bring the cream up to the boil. Stir it all the time to ensure the sugar dissolves and the cream doesn’t catch.

Boil the cream and sugar together for three minutes stirring continuously.

Remove the cream from the heat and add the blood orange zest and juice.

Pour the posset mix into four glasses or cups and then leave to set in the fridge for at least four hours.

When you are ready to serve grate over a little dark chocolate.

These are fantastic served with chocolate shortbread so you can dip the shortbread into the posset and scoop it all up!

Can you ever go wrong with chocolate and orange together? I don’t think so and this classic flavour combination is so honest in this dessert. Such simple flavours; no fuss or flair, just pure zingy orange mixed into thick cream and dark chocolate. It’s almost unbelievable how well it sets considering there are just three ingredients but it’s thick, rich and spoonable and perfect served with crunchy shortbread. For a pudding that takes just minutes to make this blood orange posset will be my go to dessert for any dinner party!

Orange and Rosemary Martini

By 16 Comments

Orange and Rosemary Martini

I’ll stick a herb in pretty much anything and adding or infusing herbs in drinks or cocktails is always delicious. My Orange and Rosemary Martini is particularly excellent for two reasons: first, it uses those fantastic big oranges that you can get at this time of year and second, that faint hint of rosemary is so distinctive it makes for a really refreshing martini. It looks inviting, it’s easy to make and the flavours take the edge of a plain martini (which I can find a bit harsh). This would work really well with leftover rosemary in the back of the fridge, or those sprigs you popped in the freezer. However you make it, and you should, make sure you’ve got a nice comfy chair and a book ready and waiting.

Ingredients

You will need (for one martini):

  • 80ml chilled gin
  • 20ml chilled vermouth
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 orange, sliced
  • Ice cubes

Method

Lightly crush the rosemary in a glass, to release the oils, then pour in the gin. Return to the fridge for around half an hour to chill.

Fill a glass, or cocktail shaker, with ice cubes then strain the gin into the glass and add the vermouth.

Shake or stir as you see fit.

Run a slice of orange around the rim of a serving glass then strain the martini into the same glass.

Top with a few sprigs of rosemary and a slice of orange.

Using different gins and vermouths will of course alter the flavour of your finished drink. The rosemary is so earthy, it’s just a little hint that you get from using it, but it’s so worth it. If you wanted a stronger flavour you could leave it to infuse with the gin for longer or use more rosemary. As lemon is such a classic with a martini the progression to orange seems logical and the little bit of sweetness from the orange really does take the edge off the harshness.

Fennel and Sausage Ragu

By 19 Comments

sausage and fennel ragu in the pan

I won’t lie to you. This is not a dish that’s light on calories. But my word it is worth every one of them. My fennel and sausage ragu is exactly what the doctor ordered for mid-February. It’s full of good, hearty ingredients and it can’t fail to cheer you up from the inside out on a chilly evening. This dish is all about the sausages; the better the sausages you can get your hands on, the better the finished dish. Head to your local farmers’ market, butcher or farm shop to get hold of something spicy and Italian, they may be a little more expensive but trust me, you won’t regret it.

Ingredients

You will need (for two big, comforting bowls):

  • 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 3 large, very good quality sausages (preferably spicy Italian)
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • 1/2 tsp each dried thyme and rosemary
  • 400ml tomato passata
  • 150ml vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp sundried tomato paste
  • 200g pasta
  • Salt and pepper
  • Parmesan

Method

When you slice your fennel keep the green frilly bits to one side for later.

Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan on a medium heat. Add the fennel and pop a lid on. Leave to soften for a few minutes.

Remove the skins from the sausages and break the sausage meat up in a bowl. Add this to the fennel and fry everything together (lid off, stirring every minute or so) for around 15 minutes until the fennel is well softened and the sausages have started to brown at the edges.

Add the garlic and herbs and cook for a few more minutes.

Add the tomatoes, stock, sundried tomato puree, sugar and a little salt and pepper. Bring the pan to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes until thickened.

While the sauce thickens, cook your pasta according to packet instructions. Drain when cooked and mix the pasta through the ragu.

Serve with plenty of Parmesan grated on top and tear the little green fennel fronds over too.

This has got to be one of my favourite pasta dishes I have ever had, including in restaurants. That’s not a backhanded way of complimenting myself, I swear, but it is a compliment to the excellent quality ingredients that made this dish so good. The fennel cooks down so well that you wouldn’t even know it was there (by sight) and the flavour mellows so that the whole dish has a background, savoury fennel flavour that’s in no way overpowering. The ragu is so spiked with pieces of spicy sausage, woody herbs and faint garlic it’s just the saddest thing when the bowl is empty. Adding the fennel fronds at the end not only gives a little colour but a lovely note of freshness too. Next time the veg box gives you fennel, you know what to do with it.

Three Easy Soup Toppings with New Covent Garden Soup

By 20 Comments

Mushroom Soup with Cheese and Crouton Topping

I like to look forward to my lunches; whether I’m using up some leftovers to make a quick salad, sticking all sorts of ingredients in a sandwich or slurping on soup. Sometimes it can be very tempting to just grab the quickest thing in the kitchen but if I do that I am invariably disappointed at lunch time. So say hello to my three easy soup toppings which can all be made in less than five minutes, using ingredients you probably already have and can be made in advance to enjoy at work.

New Covent Garden Soups are currently encouraging everyone to revive their lunch life, something I was really keen to get involved with as I think lunch can make or break a day. Below are my three easy soup toppings and the soups that I chose to serve them with. You can get creative and add any of the toppings to any of the soups and have a go at putting your own twist on them too.

Wild Mushroom Soup with Blue Cheese Croutons

You will need (per bowl):

  • One slice stale bread, crusts removed and cut into cubes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Blue cheese (you could use any other cheese if you prefer)

Mix the bread with the oil, a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper.
Fry the bread in a non-stick pan on a medium heat for a few minutes until lightly golden.
Leave the croutons to cool before mixing with as much blue cheese as you like, ready to top the warm mushroom soup.

Sweet Potato and Corn Soup with Toasted Seeds and Spices

You will need (per bowl):

  • Handful pumpkin seeds
  • 1 tbsp each cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds

Get a small frying pan on a medium heat. Add the seeds and spices and warm for a few minutes, stirring often, until they are smelling toasted and lovely.
They’re ready to pop on your soup, or store for later.

Tomato and Spinach Soup with Herb and Lemon Oil

You will need (per bowl):

  • Small handful basil
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice ½ small lemon

    • read more

    Kanelbullar (Swedish Cinnamon Buns)

    By 20 Comments

    Kanelbullar, Swedish Cinnamon Buns

    While in Gothenburg last year I think I had a Kanelbullar every day. When it’s cold and windy outside sinking your teeth into one of these alongside a hot cup of coffee is just perfect. Slightly sticky, full of cinnamon and normally covered with nibbed sugar you can smell them before you see them in the cafés of Sweden. After trying a few different recipes I have come up with my own Kanelbullar recipe; the ideal balance of bread, wholesomeness and sweetness.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for 12 Kanelbullar):

    • 40g butter
    • 225ml milk
    • 7g sachet fast action yeast
    • 30g caster sugar
    • Pinch salt
    • 250g wholemeal flour
    • 250g strong white bread flour

    For the filling

    • 1 tbsp butter
    • 1 tbsp caster sugar
    • 2 tsp ground cinnamon

    And

    • 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
    • 12 paper cupcake cases

    Method

    Heat the butter and milk together until the butter has melted and the milk is warm.

    While the milk is heating mix together the flours, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl or mixing bowl.

    Pour the warm milk into the flour bowl and mix well until it has formed a smooth dough.

    Cover the bowl and prove for 30 minutes.

    Knead the dough for five minutes or so then divide into two equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle.

    Mix the ingredients for the filling together until smooth then spread the mixture evenly over both rectangles.

    Roll each rectangle up along the long edge so you have two logs. Cut each log into six pieces so you end up with 12 buns. Put each bun into a case then cover and prove for another 30 minutes.

    Preheat an oven to 220C. Brush each bun with beaten egg then bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and make a hollow sound when you tap the bottom.

    I have to say that spreading the buttery, sugary cinnamon mix over the dough is one of the most satisfying things ever. The smell as they bake is just fantastic; a combination of bread, cake and cinnamon. They are best eaten while still warm from the oven, or warmed up again for breakfast with some hot tea or coffee, or in the afternoon with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate. Anytime, it seems, is ideal for enjoying these. A little bit of fika in your own home. If you like the sound of Swedish baking you could also try this recipe for Kladdkaka; a gooey Swedish chocolate cake.

    Coconut, Sesame and Chocolate Shortbread

    By 11 Comments

    Coconut Sesame and Chocolate Shortbread - All That I'm Eating

    When something just works it’s the best. It could be a combination of flavours you tried by accident or using something perfectly for a different purpose than it was designed for. I made this Coconut, Sesame and Chocolate Shortbread for both of the aforementioned reasons. Recently I was enjoying my chocolate dessert when another coconut and sesame pudding was on the table, and as I like to try everything, I took a scoop of the coconut and sesame and gobbled it down. The flavours were so good together I thought it was well worth a try recreating it at home. Also, I always make shortbread in a cake ‘tin’ rather than on a tray. I have a silicone mould for cakes which I once used for shortbread when I couldn’t find anything else and it works perfectly every time.

    You will need (for 12 pieces):

    • 170g plain flour
    • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
    • 50g sugar
    • 150g softened butter
    • 30g desiccated coconut
    • 10g sesame seeds (I used both white and black)

    Preheat the oven to 160C.

    Sift the flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl then stir in the sugar.

    Add the butter and mix it together roughly. Mix in the coconut and sesame and bring everything together to form a dough.

    Lightly knead the dough. Press the dough into a greased cake tin (mine is 20cm), or place on a lined baking tray and roll out to make a 20cm round.

    Prick the top all over with a fork.

    Bake for 40-45 minutes then remove from the oven and mark into wedges while still warm. Wait for the shortbread to cool slightly before removing and leaving to cool completely.

    These are the perfect Sunday afternoon bake. They don’t take too long to make and they are good to use up a few ingredients you probably already have as you bought them for something else and never used it all (I know that’s how I ended up with white and black sesame seeds!). The combination of coconut and sesame is so good and the house smells amazing while these bake. All rounded off with a hint of chocolate from the cocoa powder, what more could you want from a simple biscuit?


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