All That I'm Eating

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

Keema Rice

By 8 Comments

Keema Rice - All That I'm Eating (2 of 2)

I don’t know about you but during the week when it comes to cooking dinner I want something quick, easy and full of flavour. It’s also a winner if it’s cheap to make and uses up a few bits and bobs I have hanging around in the fridge too. Keema rice is one of my guilty pleasures; I love the heavily spiced lamb, golden onions and fragrant rice. I thought it was about time I attempted to make it at home.

You will need (for 4):

  • 250g easy cook, long grain rice  £0.35
  • 2 cloves  £0.02
  • 2 cardamom pods  £0.02
  • 1 bay leaf  £0.02
  • 300g lamb mince  £2.40
  • 1 small tin peas, drained  £0.30
  • 1 onion, finely chopped  £0.10
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed  £0.10
  • Handful mushrooms, chopped  £0.35
  • Oil for cooking  £0.02
  • 2 tsp garam masala  £0.02
  • 1 tsp ground cumin  £0.02
  • Salt and pepper  £0.02
  • Fresh coriander £0.15

Total £3.89

Gently fry the cloves, cardamom and bay in a saucepan with a little oil. Add the rice and stir well to coat in the oil and spices. read more

Beetroot Tzatziki, Beef Koftas and Quick Flatbreads

By 9 Comments

Beetroot Tzatziki with Quick Flatbreads and Beef Koftas - All That I'm Eating (2 of 2)

Beetroot can be a bit of a pain in my house, other than putting it in a salad or putting it on the side with something I am sometimes at a loss for what to do with it. When I get a bunch I find the easiest thing to do is to cook it all at the same time then peel it and keep it in the fridge for when I need it. Using the beetroot for a beetroot tzatziki was a great discovery and was so good with the beef koftas and super quick homemade flatbreads.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

For the koftas:

  • 200g beef mince
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper

For the beetroot tzatziki: read more

Pulled Duck Ramen with Gressingham Duck

By 17 Comments

I really like duck; usually in a pancake with plenty of spring onion, cucumber and hoisin sauce. If it’s on a menu in a restaurant I will normally order it because I love the flavour. Gressingham (the remarkable duck people) got in touch to see if I’d like to come up with a recipe with some of their duck and I thought it was a great opportunity to have a go at cooking something I enjoy eating but don’t cook that often. Ramen is something that I find both cleansing and filling and love that you can add whatever you like to it. This pulled duck ramen is a great way to use leftover duck and is really quick and easy to make. read more

Broad Bean and Feta Smash with Cucumber, Lettuce and Dill Salad

By 4 Comments

Broad Bean and Feta Smash with Cucumber Dill Salad
It’s all about green beans and peas at the moment and a veg box delivery last week left me with beans coming out of my ears! I wanted to put them on toast to make them go as far as possible so I tried out a broad bean and feta smash. I like the slightly odd bitterness from broad beans and it goes so well with salty feta cheese. The cucumber and dill salad on the side adds real sweetness and freshness to the meal. It’s super quick to make too so you won’t be stuck in the kitchen when you want to be outside; perfect for summer.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • Large handful broad beans, podded
  • 100g feta, cubed
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • Salt and pepper
  • Small handful mint leaves, finely chopped

  • 1 ciabatta
  • 1 small cucumber, sliced
  • 1 lettuce, shredded
  • Small handful dill, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Start by adding the broad beans to a pan of lightly salted boiling water and cooking them for 3-4 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water before peeling off the grey skins on the outside.

Put the broad beans into a bowl with the feta, a drizzle of olive oil, the garlic, salt, pepper and mint. Mash it all together so it is slightly combined but still chunky. Put to one side.

Bake the ciabatta according to packet instructions then cut into slices.

Put the cucumber and lettuce into a serving bowl. read more

Summer Vegetable Minestrone

By 16 Comments

summer vegetable minestrone
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.

Ingredients

You will need (for two big bowls or four smaller ones):

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 small courgette, diced
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 1 handful summer greens, shredded
  • 1 handful broad beans, podded
  • 1 handful fresh peas, podded
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock
  • 90g small pasta
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Prepare the broad beans by adding the beans to a pan of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 3-4 minutes before removing, running under cold water and then squeezing the beans out of their grey skins. Set aside.

Put a large pan on a low heat and add the olive oil, garlic, carrot, onion and courgette. Put a lid on and leave to soften for around 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the tomato, summer greens and peas then pour in the hot stock.

Bring to the boil then add the pasta and a little salt and pepper.  read more

Wild Garlic Gnocchi with Mozzarella and Wild Garlic Oil

By 21 Comments

wild garlic gnocchi with wild garlic oil
It all got a bit serious last weekend. I went all out for a foraging expedition; books, bags to carry what I picked and bigger bag to carry all my things, wellies, I was prepared for anything. While out I found a few new things I didn’t realise were edible but I headed straight to my favourite patch of wild garlic to get picking before the season is over. I did have to travel a little downstream to get to the good stuff and there was a wobbly moment where I thought I might have to go for an accidental swim but otherwise it was a very successful trip. I carried home my bounty and set to work on some Wild Garlic Gnocchi.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 300g waxy potatoes
  • Small handful (roughly 20-30 leaves) wild garlic, blended or very finely chopped
  • 100g plain flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • 25g Parmesan, grated
  • 125g mozzarella
  • 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

If you’re not sure where to find some take a look at this to find places where wild garlic grows near you.

Method

Peel and dice the potatoes to roughly the same size then boil them in salted water until tender.

Drain the potatoes then leave them to cool (take the lid off the pan to allow steam to escape). 

Mash the potatoes well then add the flour, most of the wild garlic, plenty of salt and pepper and the Parmesan. Mix together until you have a dough.

Knead the dough lightly then roll into sausage shapes and cut into roughly inch sized pieces. I pressed the top of each gnocchi with a fork, for looks more than anything. read more

Chorizo, Pepper and Potato Hash

By 17 Comments

I’ve always liked the idea of a hash; various bits of food all chopped up and cooked together. I tried to make a corned beef hash once which was somewhat eventful. I was at University in my student house with two of my friends. The can of corned beef was being somewhat stubborn so I used my intuition and tried to open the can with a can opener. Suffice to say there was some slippage and some slicing and next thing I know I’m running around the kitchen with all of us pretending to be braver than we are trying to wrap my hand in kitchen roll. Luckily we lived near the hospital so off we trudged, in the ice and snow, to sit in A&E with all the people who had dislocated something slipping on the ice. I ended up with four stitches and my two fingers bandaged up which provided much amusement for the following week. In my haste to leave the house I had left a pan of water on the hob; this was also the night I learned you can burn water. read more

Curried Lamb Pie with Bombay Potato Topping with Schwartz

By 18 Comments

Curried Lamb Pie with Bombay Potato Topping All That I'm Eating (1 of 3)
Dinner parties have a set of criteria that they should fulfil; the host doesn’t want to be stuck in the kitchen away from guests, the food should be tasty and the guests want to be relaxed and leave full. This is why I think something that can be prepared in advance and then finished later on is ideal. I love lamb curry and I have really been enjoying my new Hairy Bikers curry book so I fancied having a go at a curry using lamb mince. So when Schwartz got in touch to see what dinner party ideas I could think of using their spices I set about creating an ideal dinner party dish: Curried Lamb Pie with Bombay Potato Topping. I thought this would meet the above ‘Caroline Criteria’ very well.

Ingredients

You will need (for 4):

For the lamb:
  • Flavourless oil for cooking
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 1 tomato, seeds removed and chopped
  • 2 tsp tomato puree
  • 3-4 tsp Schwartz Curry Powder (I used mild but you could use a hotter one if you like)
  • 400g minced lamb
  • 100g frozen peas
  • Salt and pepper
For the potato topping:

  • 700g potatoes, peeled and diced
  • Flavourless oil for frying
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • Salt and pepper
    • read more

    Beef Braised in Beer with Onions and Carrots

    By 13 Comments

    As I rent a house I am in the unfortunate position of being lumbered with the oven and hob that I’m given. Don’t get me wrong; having a hob and an oven is certainly one up from having no heating implements at all but they definitely leave a lot to be desired.  read more

    Caribbean Spicy Bean Burgers with Pineapple Chilli Sauce

    By 22 Comments

    caribbean spicy bean burger
    I have been thinking for a while about posting some ‘themed’ recipes on here. The food I eat at home is rarely expensive so I know that almost everything I cook is reasonably priced. This means I can then buy the organic or free range versions of ingredients without breaking the bank. Most of the reason I eat cheaply is because I mostly cook vegetable based meals. If I do have meat I use cheap cuts, or less of it, but I do very occasionally have a fillet steak blowout. A new outlook for me recently is that humble doesn’t have to be hum drum. Hence the first in a new series of blog posts which coincide with my new Saturday morning radio slot on BBC Radio Berkshire (very excited!) where I will create tasty, easy recipes to feed 4 people for £6 or less. First up, these Caribbean spicy bean burgers.

    Ingredients

    You will need (for four):

    For the burgers –
    2x 400g cans of mixed beans, drained £1.58
    50g breadcrumbs £0.30
    2 tsp ground allspice £0.10
    Few sprigs thyme, leaves only £0.10
    1 egg £0.35
    3 spring onions, sliced £0.35
    Salt and pepper £0.02
    For the pinepple sauce –
    1x 227g canned, chopped pineapple in juice £0.43
    125g caster sugar £0.19
    175ml water £0.00
    4 tbsp white wine vinegar £0.18
    2 garlic cloves, crushed £0.05
    1/2 scotch bonnet chilli, roughly chopped £0.08
    2 tsp cornflour £0.03
    Salt and pepper £0.02
    4 crusty white rolls £1.20
    Total £4.98

    Method

    Put the drained beans into a large bowl and roughly crush them with a masher or the back of a spoon.
    Add all the remaining burger ingredients, except the egg, and thoroughly mix together.
    Taste the mixture to check the seasoning and when you are happy crack in the egg, mix well and then form into burger shapes.
    Put to one side while you make the pineapple sauce.

    Drain the pineapple and then put into a saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the cornflour.
    Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for around five minutes.
    Mix the cornflour with a little water to make a paste and then mix this into the sauce.
    Bring the mixture back to the boil then remove from the heat.
    Blend the pineapple sauce until mostly smooth but with some pineapple chunks still left.
    Put to one side to cool down. read more

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