All That I'm Eating

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

Baked Cauliflower Curry

By 18 Comments

Baked Cauliflower Curry

I really like this curry sauce. A lot. I’ve been working on my baked cauliflower curry for a while now and I’m so pleased with it! Baking the cauliflower gives the curry a delicious nutty taste. The flavour and texture of the sauce when it’s blended is really similar to a sweet korma sauce, but all the sweetness here comes from vegetables. It’s a really flexible recipe too; there are some suggestions for changing it up at the end.

Ingredients

You will need (for four):

  • 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil, for cooking
  • Salt and pepper

For the curry sauce: read more

Chard and Kohlrabi Stir Fry

By 16 Comments

I can’t begin to tell you how many versions of this stir fry I have made over the years. This particular chard and kohlrabi stir fry was a combination of leftover veg from the veg box and a few items I had in the cupboards. It’s really a recipe where you can change pretty much any of the ingredients to suit what you have. Using a mix of different vegetables, sauces and meat (or veggie mince or tofu) means you get something completely different every time. This particular marriage of kohlrabi and chard works really well. read more

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

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Buffalo Chicken and Nacho Toppings

You know when you see a recipe and you can’t get it out of your head? It all started when I saw a recipe for buffalo cauliflower, it sounded so good. Then I saw an idea for some seriously loaded nachos. The combination of the two sounded like a dream. These pulled buffalo chicken nachos are everything I wanted them to be: spicy, slightly sweet, covered with cheese and full of texture. Perfect for sharing on the sofa.

Ingredients

You will need (for two greedy people):

  • Two chicken breasts
  • Salt
  • 3-4 tbsp buffalo sauce
  • 1 bag plain nachos
  • 1 small tin sweetcorn, drained
  • 4 spring onions, sliced
  • 1 green jalapeño chilli, sliced
  • 150g mild cheddar cheese, grated
  • Ranch dressing

Method

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a little salt. Drop the chicken breasts into the water, bring the pan back to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook the chicken for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. read more

Roasted Tomatoes and Burrata

By 17 Comments

Roasted Tomatoes and Burrata

When you get your hands on some truly spectacular ingredients they don’t need much interfering with. I picked up some sublimely sweet tomatoes and a small burrata at a market recently and I wanted these simple ingredients to shine. My balsamic roasted tomatoes and burrata were served with a warm olive studded focaccia which we enjoyed eating outside for the first time this year. When you’re serving up tomatoes, cheese and warm bread can you really go wrong?

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • Large handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  • Small handful fresh basil
  • 1 burrata (you could use a good buffalo mozzarella if you can’t get burrata)
  • Focaccia (you could use ciabatta instead)

Method

Arrange the cherry tomatoes in a baking dish cut side up. Drizzle over the oil and vinegar and add a little salt and pepper. read more

Tandoori Chicken Flatbreads

By 8 Comments

There’s no denying that this is a plate full of colour; it’s also absolutely bursting with flavour. These Tandoori Chicken Flatbreads are a recipe of two halves: you can make it all at once, or alternatively, do as I did and batch cook the tandoori chicken and keep it in the freezer to make weeknight meals like this. The flatbreads are topped with a whole load of fresh salad, spiked yoghurt, mango chutney, the warm chicken and fresh chillies. They are really flexible too; you can add or leave out anything that you prefer. read more

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

    • read more

    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

    • read more

    Sticky Chilli Chicken with Avocado Rice Salad

    By 11 Comments

    sticky chilli chicken with avocado grapefruit rice salad

    I have to admit that I turn to a chicken dinner in some form or other most weeks. Especially as the evenings get lighter and warmer as it’s an easy meal to pull together and so flexible on the ingredients used too. My latest offering, this sticky chilli chicken with avocado rice salad, is full of colour and vibrant flavour and ready in 30 minutes. Trust me on the grapefruit. If you don’t fancy using chicken in this then I think tofu, halloumi or aubergine would be great alternatives.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    • 2 chicken breasts
    • Rapeseed oil for cooking
    • Salt and pepper
    • 2-3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
    • 150g brown rice
    • 1 large avocado, skin and stone removed, roughly chopped
    • 1/2 grapefruit, peel and pith removed, roughly chopped
    • 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped

    Method

    Pop a pan of water on to boil and once boiling add the rice and cook according to packet instructions. I find it normally takes around 20 minutes.

    Then, put the two chicken breasts between two sheets of clingfilm and whack them with a rolling pin to make them a little thinner; around 1-1.5cm thick is ideal. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.

    While the rice cooks prepare the avocado, grapefruit and onion. Mix them all together in a bowl and add a little salt and pepper. The grapefruit juice will stop the avocado from turning brown.

    Around 10 minutes before the rice is cooked heat up a frying pan on a medium/high heat and add a little oil. Add the chicken and fry on both sides until cooked through and starting to turn golden brown. Pour in the sweet chilli sauce and leave it to bubble up, turn sticky and coat the chicken.

    Drain the rice well and stir in the avocado mix. Serve up with the chicken on the side.

    The chicken is so good! It’s sticky, spicy and, depending on the sweet chilli sauce you use, garlicky too! The brown rice brings a lovely wholesomeness while the avocado works to smooth everything out. Adding the grapefruit means there’s a fantastic sharpness to cut through everything. You could use so many different ingredients like mango and quinoa, miso or aubergine! And if you’re a fan of quick recipes during the week you might like to take a look at my other 30 minute recipes.

    Elderflower, Cucumber and Mint Fizz

    By 27 Comments

    Elderflower cucumber and mint infusion

    The elderflowers are here and it is the best time of year. If I was more of a poet I’d have come up with a second line to go with that. I’ve been shoving elderflowers into various different things for years: cordial, gin, crumble and sugar to name a few. I wanted to try something a little different, and a bit less time consuming this time round, to get that wonderful elderflower fragrance down my neck as soon as I could. A celebration of late spring flavours my Elderflower, Cucumber and Mint Fizz is just the ticket for a sunny afternoon.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two glasses):

    • ½ cucumber, grated
    • 1 lime
    • 3 heads of elderflower
    • Small handful mint leaves
    • Sparkling water

    Method

    If you can pick your elderflowers on a sunny morning it is said to be better for flavour. Having picked in all manner of different weather I can confirm that sunny mornings are actually better; they certainly smell more intense anyway.

    I leave my elderflower heads on my draining board when I have picked them to allow time and opportunity for any bugs to escape (it’s next to the window so they can go back to where they came from). I then follow this with a good shake outside to get rid of any others that are clinging on.

    Squeeze the grated cucumber into a small lidded container to collect the juice. The leftover grated cucumber is excellent for making a raita.

    Squeeze the juice from the lime into the cucumber juice. Bash the mint leaves up a little, either in a pestle and mortar or just whack them with a rolling pin, and add these to the cucumber juice too.

    Pick the elderflower flowers from the heads, leaving as many stalks behind as possible, and add these to the container. Put the lid on and give everything a good shake. I prefer shaking it as I feel this more violent approach helps to release more oils and flavour.

    Leave to infuse for an hour.

    Strain the cucumber juice into two glasses and top up with sparkling water. Decorate each glass with a little mint leaf if you’re feeling suave.

    This would be really rather delicious if topped up with some Cava or added to a gin and tonic. On its own it is so refreshing and has all the flavours of an English summer; I really like it with sparkling water, or just tonic, sat outside with a good book. It looks so delicate but don’t let that fool you, the cooling cucumber, sharp lime, refreshing mint and elegant elderflower all come through so well. If you are thinking of heading out to pick some elderflowers, check out my beginner’s guide to wild food!

    Wild Garlic and Crispy Fried Salami Potato Salad

    By 17 Comments

    Wild Garlic and Crispy Fried Salami Potato Salad

    Meals that are made from a few simple ingredients are invariably some of my favourite dishes of all. A quick scramble around the cupboards and fridge pulling ingredients and ideas together always feels more satisfying; like you’re getting a meal for nothing. My evening meals are always planned in advance so it’s lunchtime where I get my Ready Steady Cook hat on. Sometimes however the scrabbling approach doesn’t yield any particularly tasty sounding results; ham and chocolate spread tostadas anyone? This time however, the combination of ingredients I had resulted in Wild Garlic and Crispy Fried Salami Potato Salad and it was brilliant.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for two):

    • 400g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
    • Handful green beans, topped and tailed, halved
    • Small handful wild garlic
    • 12 slices Italian salami (I used finocchiona which has fennel in), roughly chopped
    • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • Juice 1 lemon
    • Salt and pepper

    Method

    Start by putting the potatoes into a large pan of salted water. Bring the pan to the boil and cook the potatoes until they are cooked through, cooking time depends on how big you have chopped them. If you have a steamer add the green beans to the steamer over the potatoes for the last few minutes of cooking, or boil separately for a few minutes.

    While the potatoes are cooking put the wild garlic (after a thorough rinse) into a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt. Bash everything up together well until you have a thick paste then add the olive oil, a pinch of pepper and the lemon juice.

    Get a frying pan on a medium/high heat and add the salami. Dry fry until crispy, plenty of oil will come out of the salami.

    Drain the potatoes when they are cooked (and the green beans if you have cooked them separately) and mix with the beans, salami and wild garlic oil.

    The grassy and faint garlic whiff from the wild garlic is so good with the slightly fatty salami. The fennel in the salami works really well but any salami would be delicious; it’s a different flavour to something like bacon. The potato breaks down after it’s cooked so the wild garlic oil nestles in the little nooks and crannies and turns everything a wonderful green. The beans add a little freshness and the lemon finishes it off with its zesty acidity. A meal as good as this from a few leftover ingredients and a bit of a rummage in the hedgerows; perfection. Something else equally as potato filled and garlicky are my wild garlic gnocchi if you fancy trying something veggie!!
    If you want to have a go foraging for wild food, take a look at my beginner’s guide.


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