All That I'm Eating

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

Salmon Nicoise Quiche

By 6 Comments

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

Olive and Fontina Baked Courgettes

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Olive and Fontina Baked Courgettes close up with antipasti

A couple of courgettes turned up in the veg box this week. Although the days have been warm, borderline hot, recently the evenings are still cold reminding me that it’s firmly still spring. I’m certainly not complaining, I prefer spring in some ways; mostly that the heat (if any) is not muggy and there are many, many fewer insects. All the more enjoyable for al fresco dining I think you’ll agree; insects in summer mean I am forever swiping the air to deter a particularly determined fly or being chased round the garden by a wasp with a bad attitude. Not the epitome of glamour and demure that I aim for in every garden dining experience. But not to worry, ones absence from the dining table will hardly be noticed when a plate of these Olive and Fontina Baked Courgettes are served up.

Ingredients

You will need (for two or four as a side):

  • 2 courgettes, sliced lengthways
  • Handful pitted black olives
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 75g fontina cheese, grated (if you can’t get fontina you could get away with a comté or emmental)

Method

Preheat an oven to 200C. Scoop out some of the courgette seeds with a teaspoon then pop the halved courgettes onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

While the courgettes bake blend the olives and olive oil in a blender to make a chunky paste.

Remove the courgettes from the oven and spread the olive paste over the inside of each courgette. Sprinkle the grated fontina over the top and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

If you grow your own veg you’ll be aware of the ubiquitous gardening related melodramas involving too many courgettes, all ready at the same time and the culinary question of doom, “Courgette fritters anyone?”. Having been previously drowning in courgettes myself I have been through many of the available courgette relieving remedies: ratatouille, roasted or raw in salads, pasta sauces, fritters, omelettes and even cakes. This is certainly my new favourite way to dish them up, the salty olives and creamy cheese are fantastic with the grassy courgette, and I can feel several variations coming along for the summer involving different fillings and cheeses.

Chicken, Olive and Artichoke Stew with Risotto

By 11 Comments

Chicken, Olive and Artichoke Stew

I do like a tin of food. There’s something very humble about tinned fruit and vegetables particularly; and I am not one to overlook anything that comes in a can. My favourite canned good of all is the artichoke. That’s how this recipe for Chicken, Olive and Artichoke Stew with Risotto came about. Artichokes are very expensive, covered in oil (normally sunflower rather than nice olive oil) and quite small if you buy them chilled or in a jar; but in a can they can be half the price, bigger and once drained you get more for your money. So I wanted to make something comforting, filling and delicious and make the most of the wonderful artichoke.

Ingredients

You will need (for four, or two, see below*):

  • 6 small chicken thighs, diced
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 heaped tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 700ml passata
  • 1 tin artichokes, drained and halved
  • Large handful stoned black olives (if you can get some that come with sundried tomatoes then all the better as you can add those too)
  • Oil for cooking
  • Salt and pepper
  • Pinch sugar

Method

Heat a little oil in a saucepan on a medium-high heat. Add the chicken and fry quickly until it’s turning brown. Remove the chicken and put to one side.

Add a little more oil to the pan, if needed, then add the onion. Fry for around 10 minutes then add the garlic, rosemary and bay and fry for another few minutes.

Tip the chicken back into the pan then pour in the passata, add the artichokes and olives then simmer everything for around 20 minutes. You want the sauce to reduce and for the chicken to cook through.

Taste the tomato sauce and add salt, pepper and sugar as needed. It depends how salty your olives are and whether the tomatoes are a bit on the acidic side.

* Serve. This is where I love this dish even more.

This recipe makes four generous portions so on the day I cooked it up I enjoyed two servings over a simple risotto bianco; with loads of Parmesan of course. Then I refrigerated the other half to use the following day: stirred through some cooked pasta, into a baking dish and covered with mozzarella for a pasta bake.

Stirring the tomato sauce through the creamy, cheesey risotto makes it just divine. As there’s lots of ingredients in here it means every mouthful is different; a salty olive, a chunk of artichoke, some tender chicken, even just a little of the herby tomato sauce. Brilliant piled on top of the risotto and seriously tasty the next day as a pasta bake I can see plenty of variations of this being made throughout the year. You could add in a diced courgette or two, a tin of butterbeans or a little paprika, cumin and oregano for something a little spicier.

Spaghetti with Balsamic Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Olives

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Spaghetti with Balsamic Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Olives

Sometimes you end up with all sorts of bits and pieces in your fridge; half a bit of something there, a few nibbly bits leftover here and I find these little pieces a great source of inspiration. This recipe is a speedy one which makes use of a few ingredients I can find in my fridge more often than not. Lovingly referred to as ‘pasta with fridge bits’ this particular version was a delicious Spaghetti with Balsamic Tomatoes, Olives and Mozzarella.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 175g spaghetti
  • 1 ball mozzarella, torn into smaller pieces
  • Small handful olives, roughly chopped
  • Small handful fresh basil, large stalks removed, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat an oven to 200C. Put the cherry tomatoes into an oven proof dish in a single layer. Drizzle over the vinegar, olive oil, thyme and salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes into the oven for 20 minutes.

While the tomatoes cook bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente.

Drain the spaghetti and retain a little bit of the pasta water (two tablespoons will do) then stir through the tomatoes (and any juice in the dish), mozzarella, olives and basil.

Serve up and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil.

I like to serve this on a big dish so everyone can help themselves. It also leads to potential lady-and-the-tramp moments if you share the same plate. Perhaps not one to try on the new neighbours. I love how the cheese melts through the hot spaghetti and sticks everything together; every mouthful is different. The tomatoes are sweet and acidic, the cheese creamy, the olives salty and the basil adds its distinctive herb note. For a meal made out of odds and ends I think it’s a mighty fine dish.

Greek Salad, Hummus and Pitta Bread

By 9 Comments

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. read more

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