All That I'm Eating

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

Thai Vegetable Noodle Soup

By 9 Comments

I am still making an effort to have interesting lunches. Soup is perfect at this time of year as it freezes well and just needs heating through for an (almost) instant lunch. This is my Thai Vegetable Noodle Soup and I make it with plenty of chilli. I love the heat of the chilli with the creaminess of the coconut but you can make it as hot as you like.

This is a great recipe for using up any vegetables you have in the house. I like to use a few different colours if I can to brighten up the soup a little. The lime and coriander really lift the flavours and give it a zing and freshness which is just what I want from this soup. 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

Smoked Bacon and Kale Soup

By 11 Comments

There’s something special about watching the steam rise from a hot bowl of soup after you’ve been working in the garden all morning; you just know it’s going to fill you up. My smoked bacon and kale soup came about simply to use up some ingredients in the kitchen. I cooked up enough for six portions so there’s plenty in the freezer for a wet and windy day. We have rather busy weekends and when lunchtime comes it’s nice to stop, take some time and eat something nourishing. read more

Gnocchi, Kale and Spinach Gratin

By 16 Comments

gnocchi, kale and spinach gratin

Sometimes I end up with an awful lot of veg in my fridge. I use bits and bobs throughout the week but despite my best brassica consuming efforts I still get left with some of it. These leftovers often end up in a soup (my autumn minestrone is a great way to use kale) but recently I wanted to make something different. I really like green veg with pasta so I grabbed my veggies, some gnocchi and cheese and set about making a gnocchi, kale and spinach gratin.

ingredients

You will need (for two big portions):

  • 1 small broccoli, cut into florets
  • Handful kale, stems removed and shredded
  • 2 nuggets frozen spinach (you can use cooked, squeezed and chopped fresh spinach instead)
  • 500g fresh gnocchi
  • 25g butter
  • 25g plain flour
  • 300ml milk
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper
  • 25g grated Parmesan plus extra for the top

method

Start by making the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and then add the flour. Cook for a minute or two and then gradually whisk in the milk ensuring there are no lumps.

Continue whisking the sauce until it bubbles and becomes nice and thick. Remove from the heat, add a little salt and plenty of pepper and stir through the cheese and mustard.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi and frozen spinach. Place the broccoli and kale in a steamer over the top of the gnocchi, bring the pan back to the boil and cook for two minutes.

Drain everything well.

Add the broccoli, gnocchi, kale and spinach to a roasting dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the top; it will dribble down and mix into everything.

Sprinkle some extra cheese over the sauce and then place under a medium grill until the top is golden and bubbling.

Some parts of the broccoli and kale get stuck at the top of the dish meaning they catch ever so slightly under the grill and have that deliciously toasted flavour. The crispy cheese topping is so rich in savoury flavour from the Parmesan and the smooth cheese sauce coats everything nicely. And thanks to the short gnocchi cooking time and grilling rather than baking this dish it’s ready in under half an hour. I think a few cherry tomatoes dotted over the top would add a lovely pop and freshness and using a blue cheese or a strong cheddar would be delicious if you happen to have those in the fridge too.

Autumn Vegetable Minestrone

By 14 Comments

stirring the vegetable minestrone

The weather has certainly changed, although I do consider November to technically be in autumn things have started to get much wintrier. With ice in the mornings, digging scarves and hats out of the drawers and the fire blazing it’s definitely the time of year for soup. The more filling and comforting the soup the better and my autumn vegetable minestrone is exactly that; a restorative bowl of loveliness. Filled with six different vegetables including beans to bulk it all out it’s simple, speedy, cheap and delicious.

Ingredients

You will need (for four hearty bowls):

  • 1 large leek, ends removed, sliced £0.25
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced or diced £0.25
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced £0.05
  • 2 tbsp olive oil £0.10
  • 1 large handful kale, shredded £0.30
  • 1 mug frozen peas £0.15
  • 2 nuggets frozen chopped spinach £0.15
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock £0.20
  • 100g orzo (or other small) pasta £0.20
  • 1 tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed £0.55
  • Salt and pepper £0.02

Total £2.22

Method

Start by getting a large lidded saucepan on a low heat. Add the leek, carrots and garlic along with the oil to the pan and cook on a low-medium heat. Cook with the lid on, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes.

Increase the heat of the pan slightly and add the kale, frozen peas and spinach. Leave for a minute or two to bring the pan back up to temperature before pouring in the hot stock.

Bring the pan to the boil then add the orzo. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for six minutes.

Add the beans to the pan along with some salt and pepper and cook for four minutes more.

Check the seasoning before serving.

I love that this minestrone is so full of veg and is really substantial and hearty too. The pasta and cannellini beans really fill you up and because it’s not blended each of the vegetables retains its own texture and flavour. This recipe is a great way of using up all those autumn vegetables in the fridge; you could add diced tomato or pepper for a beautiful hit of red too. It freezes really well so it’s ideal for a bit of batch cooking and when it comes to summer, there’s a delicious summer version to try too!

P.S. If you haven’t discovered frozen chopped spinach yet it’s a great freezer staple. I chuck a couple of the nuggets in all sorts of food for extra veg; so convenient!

Summer Green, Smoked Bacon and Potato Bake

By 9 Comments

Summer Green, Smoked Bacon and Potato Bake

Potatoes, sliced and baked with cream have to be one of the best things ever. At least in my opinion. Maybe a little bit of garlic, or some sliced onion, even some smoked bacon added for extra deliciousness. Although undeniably tasty they always feel more suited to the colder months than in the middle of summer. Don’t worry though, I’ve found a way round this; and I had a swanky new baking dish to try out. By adding some summer greens and using a lighter sauce my summer green, smoked bacon and potato bake fills that dauphinoise hole perfectly.

For two (very generous portions) you will need:

  • 500g Jersey Royal potatoes (or new potatoes), scrubbed and sliced (2-5mm ish)
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 6 slices smoked streaky bacon, cubed (or lardons)
  • 6 big leaves from summer greens
  • 25g butter
  • 25g flour
  • 400ml milk
  • Small handful Parmesan, grated
  • Salt and pepper

Start by getting the bacon on a low heat in a frying pan and cooking until the fat starts to melt. Add the onion to the pan and cook with the bacon for around 20 minutes. Add the garlic and turn the heat up a little for another five minutes until the bacon and onion are golden brown.

While you are waiting for the onion put the sliced potatoes into a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for 6-8 minutes or until the potatoes are just soft, drain and set aside.

Remove the middle stalks from the summer green leaves then roll and slice the leaves. Put the sliced greens in a steamer above the potatoes. Steam for two minutes then set aside with the potatoes.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan on a medium heat then add the flour. Cook for a minute before whisking in the milk. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Add a generous amount of black pepper, a little salt and the Parmesan.

Layer up the potatoes, greens and bacon mix in a dish finishing with a layer of potatoes on top. Pour the sauce over everything then bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20-30 minutes until golden brown on top.

You may notice that my potato bake is served in a very lovely Le Creuset baking dish. I was sent one to have a play with as this colour, Ink, is new out. I think we all know that the Le Creuset brand goes hand in hand with durability and quality and this dish is going to be indispensible in my kitchen. I love cooking with really good equipment and it seemed fitting that I should cook up a new take on one of my favourite dishes in my new dish! I really like how the colour fades up the sides and although the same quality that you would expect from Le Creuset it is amazingly light weight.

I really enjoyed this as a meal with a cracking glass of Chablis. By keeping the skins on the potatoes the dish has a fantastic earthy flavour with the summer greens adding freshness, the bacon giving smokiness and the onion sweetness. I happily ate this on its own but it would be a very fitting side to all sorts of things.

Thank you to Le Creuset for the baking dish. All opinions expressed are my own.

Summer Vegetable Minestrone

By 16 Comments

I’m not sure you can ever have too many vegetables in the house at once but at this time of year with the peas in the garden, the veg box and whatever looks tempting at the farmers’ market I can find it a little challenging to close the fridge door. You know it’s got a bit excessive when your carrot fronds are getting in the way of the door seal. If you find yourself fighting some spinach to reach the butter or battling beans to get to the mayonnaise there’s only one thing for it: make a minestrone. read more

Jerusalem Artichoke Gratin, Buttered Spring Greens and Sausages

By 19 Comments

jerusalem artichokes

The daffodils are out which means Spring has sprung. Now is the time you might be considering giving your home a Spring clean. Coincidentally, Jerusalem artichokes are in supply at the moment and can assist with your Spring cleaning; that is, if you are also planning to clean your…for want of a better word…insides. Jerusalem artichokes will never win most attractive vegetable of the year but for what they lack in manners and appearance they more than make up for in taste.

The sausages I had for this were some lovely, local chipolatas from a fantastic butcher. My butcher not only knows everything there is to know about meat, he knows a fair few things about vegetables. I heeded his advice about cooking the spring greens and they turned out brilliantly – see below.  read more

Spring Green and Bacon Potato Cakes with Cheddar and Chive Sauce

By 23 Comments

Spring greens offer so much in their name. They suggest that either spring is here or is just around the corner, they have disguised their cabbage relations with their seasonal pseudonym. I happen to think that spring greens also deliver a lot. They look shrivelled and unwelcoming with their leaves closed to the outside world but once you start to snap them off and slice them up they are wonderfully versatile. As a relation to the cabbage, spring greens lend themselves particularly well to a pairing with bacon. Spring greens and bacon are a delectable combination but don’t make for much of a meal on their own. However, when mixed into some mashed potato and smothered in a rich cheese and chive sauce, what a meal it makes.  read more

Purple Cabbage Soup

By 15 Comments

Cooked cabbage and a wet flannel have an unfortunate amount of textures in common. Particularly if, like me, you were put off cabbage at school where it was boiled to what can only be described as wallpaper paste. Things have moved on 

since then and I wanted to give the cabbage a chance. I’ve baked it, boiled it, steamed it and fried it. Apart from frying, none of these yielded any spectacular, life changing results. Nevertheless I wasn’t about to give up on them; they are pretty much the only thing in season right now so I have no choice. If I have learnt anything about the cabbage it is that determination is key. read more


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