Tag: jamie oliver

Jamie Oliver was born in 1975 in Clavering in Essex, jumping straight into the kitchen of his parents’ pub. He swept through the River Cafe, was quickly spotted by TV crews and became an immediate celebrity with Naked Chef. He’s then used his celebrity status to increase the ranges of supermarkets, give disadvantaged youths a career in cooking, fights tooth and nail to improve school dinners and is passionate about everyone having at least one recipe up their sleeve. (Fun fact: I once fixed Jamie Oliver’s website over the phone.)

Categories
chicken coconut curry food tomato

jamie oliver’s cornershop curry

cornershop curry

Unashamedly lifted from one of his YouTube videos, I had to write down Jamie Oliver’s cornershop curry as it’s a blinder. It’s not complicated, but I’ve made it twice and people have begged for more.

The whole thing is up there, but I’ve written it out below so I can make it again without having to watch the video! Go and check it out though, lots of classic Jamie shortcuts that don’t compromise on flavour. The gimmick is – as you may have guessed – is it is made from all store cupboard ingredients, or things easily found from your local convenience store. Jamie Oliver’s cornershop curry has now entered my regular rotation as a crowdpleaser. His approach is a fusion of traditional Indian flavours and techniques with a modern twist, making it a popular choice for UK home cooks and foodies alike.

My recommendation – not sponsored! – is to use Geeta’s mango chutney. It’s so good. Sweet but really heavily spiced, it builds a great base for this gravy and serve more on the side for dipping. Terrific!

I make one significant change: I brine the chicken breasts. If you have the time dunk your meat in salted water for a few hours beforehand; the chicken will be moist and so tasty. Very difficult to overcook too. Completely optional but I always do that if I’ve had time to prep.

By using ingredients that are readily available in most UK convenience stores, this dish is very accessible regardless of location or cooking experience. What’s great about Jamie Oliver’s cornershop curry recipe is that it can be easily adapted to suit different tastes and dietary requirements. For example, you can swap out the chicken for tofu or chickpeas to make it vegan or vegetarian-friendly. You can also adjust the level of spiciness to your liking, by adding a more potent curry paste. The versatility of this recipe makes it a go-to for busy weeknights or impromptu dinner plans, and the fact that it’s both delicious and nutritious is an added bonus.

Want more midweek curries? Try my turkey tikka, or this cauliflower and lentil curry. Or for more of a showstopper, my whole roast chicken katsu curry.

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jamie oliver's cornershop curry

A dead easy weeknight curry recipe you can knock out with common ingredients.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword curry, easy
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Brining 6 hours
Servings 4
Calories 1300kcal
Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

For the chicken and brine:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1 star anise
  • table salt see method
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

For the curry sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon curry paste whatever you like
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 4 cm piece of ginger
  • 1 large pepper deseeded and diced
  • 1 heaped tablespoon mango chutney
  • 400 g tinned tomatoes
  • 400 g light coconut milk

Instructions

For the brine:

  • Cover the chicken with a sheet of greaseproof paper, and bash them to about 2cm thick. Take a bowl deep enough to carry the chicken and put on scales. Fill with water and note the weight. Work out 6% of that weight (I usually shout at Google for the answer) and add that much salt. Add the star anise and turmeric, stir well and submerge the chicken. Leave in the brine between 3 and 6 hours.

For the curry sauce:

  • Peel and coarsely grate the onions, garlic and ginger. Put a large non-stick pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and the grated onion, garlic and ginger, stirring regularly.
  • After a few minutes add the pepper. Once the veg has softened, stir in the curry paste, followed by the mango chutney. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid it catching and burning.
  • Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon and scraping up any sticky bits from the base of the pan. Simmer for a few minutes.
  • Pour in the coconut milk then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the consistency of your liking. You may wish to add a splash of water to get it right.
  • Drain and pat dry your chicken, discarding the brine ingredients. Either using a grill or frying pan, cook the chicken quickly on both sides over a high heat.
  • Remove the chicken to a board and thickly slice. If the chicken isn’t cooked through that's a good thing, as it will finish cooking in the sauce and not be overcooked. Stir the chicken slices into the simmering sauce for the last 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Season the sauce to your liking.
  • Serve the curry with rice and / or bread, and extra mango chutney.

Notes

You can sub out the protein for almost anything else, a piece of fish, cauliflower, tofu, seitan, whatever you want. Sub in a hotter paste for more fire in your belly.
Categories
cabbage carrots turkey

KellyBronze turkey rolls with winter slaw

I’ve been so, so lucky with this silly little blog. I’ve met all of my food heroes and worked with fantastic people, and eaten some great stuff.

Actually. Not all of that is true. I’ve not met all of my food heroes.

Despite sharing a county with him, despite cooking food similar to his, despite going for job interviews at his office, despite writing about him dozens of times, despite eating at his restaurants… I’ve never managed to meet Jamie Oliver.

Until now.

I had an invite to Jamie Oliver’s new(ish) headquarters, with no promise of him appearing, for a talk and demo of KellyBronze turkeys. Paul Kelly of KellyBronze was to host, and I have met him a couple of times – he’s a wonderful, fun guy: definitely knows his poultry, definitely loves what he does. Jamie or not I was sure for an entertaining evening.

As I arrived I started chatting to some of the people there, and I was chuffed to meet someone I’ve been following online for years: Elizabeth from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. By chance we were next to each other and started talking and it’s so lovely to finally meet her. (Click the link to read her version of the evening!)

And sure enough, Jamie appeared to say hello. He gave a quick intro on why he loves KellyBronze turkeys so much, then Paul Kelly took to the stage to wax lyrical on the history of the turkey and how his family has made it their duty to bring excellent turkeys back to tables across the country. In the early 80s the Kelly family brought together superior breeds to make the KellyBronze which is bred for longer, allowing it to reach maturity. A period of hanging after slaughter also breaks the collagen down and makes for a tastier bird.

.He then talked through a turkey that he’d cooked earlier. Despite being 6kg it took 1hr 55m to cook completely. By having a more mature turkey it has a store of fat under the skin that conducts heat through the carcass more rapidly. For the cooking itself, he advises cooking breast-side down at first. No stuffing, as it impairs the speed of cooking. After an hour flip the bird the right way up and continue until done, testing using a meat thermometer. And while resting meat is absolutely crucial, don’t cover with foil as you will continue to cook the turkey.

Paul then demonstrated his world-record setting carving skills, removing the legs, removing each breast then slicing to make perfect portions of meat. We then enjoyed the carved meat in a bun with a helping of slaw, which I’ve recreated here.

After eating, Jamie was chatting off to one side with Dhruv Baker. If I didn’t go and say hi to Jamie now, I’d be really disappointed that I’d missed the opportunity. So I took the chance to shake his hand and say how much he’d inspired me over the years. He was super down-to-earth, and happy to have a chat.

It’s just meeting a person – but it was really meaningful to me. So much of what I’ve done has fed from Jamie’s enthusiasm and ideas.

I’ve ordered my turkey this year from KellyBronze – there’s still time for you to order yours!

I’ve used a cooked turkey breast here, you could use leftovers on Boxing Day!

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KellyBronze turkey rolls with winter slaw

Servings 4 people
Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 1 turkey breast cooked
  • 4 brioche rolls or similar
  • 2 carrots
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 beetroot
  • 250 ml yoghurt
  • 1 lemon
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • Dijon mustard
  • green leaves such as spinach, lamb's lettuce

Instructions

  • Peel and finely slice the onion. Peel and grate the carrots. Grate the beetroot. Mix together the yoghurt with a few dashes of olive oil and add the juice of the lemon with a big pinch of salt. Mix the dressing thoroughly and season to taste. Combine with the veg.
  • Put the buns on to toast lightly. Slice the turkey. Spread the buns with mustard, then pile up the buns with turkey, green leaves and slaw.
Categories
food restaurant review reviews

review: the cricketers, clavering

What do you do for your eleventh wedding anniversary? It’s kind-of in the middle there isn’t it? Not a glitzy round number like ten. And it’s traditional gift is steel. Nothing says romance like cold, hard steel does it?

Luckily a friend gave me a great idea: staying at The Cricketers pub in Clavering.

What makes it special is this is the pub where Jamie Oliver grew up and helped in the kitchens – it’s still owned by his parents. They’ve had the pub since 1976 when Jamie was a year old and it was his education. As someone into their food and a love of Essex, this seemed like an obvious choice.

They do a deal where you get a three course dinner, a night’s stay in their accommodation and breakfast for £145 which seemed good to me.

The accommodation is situated adjacent to the pub itself. There’s a number of buildings surrounding it where guests can stay. We were in no. 19, directly over the road from the pub. The room was very pleasant, decked out in purple and green with a large, comfy bed in a generous room.

The en suite bathroom looked recently fitted, in a beige marble. Little extras like a portable radio and bottled water were nice touches. Even though it’s on a ‘main’ road (as main as it gets in this sleepy corner of Essex) we weren’t disturbed by traffic.

After checking out our room we were getting hungry so we went back to the pub for something to eat. We were served complimentary bread and butter straight away. I enjoyed the butter so much, I made it myself when I got home. See the recipe for home made rosemary butter here.

You could choose anything you liked off the menu as part of the stay. As I crossed the road I had the strangest longing for cauliflower and wouldn’t you know it, crispy roast cauliflower was on the menu.

This is one of my favourite ways to eat cauliflower. The cauli was crisp on the edges, scorched from the oven. Served with houmous and chimmichurri it was a perfect starter.

The main was a pan-fried cod fillet on mushroom risotto.

The photo comes out a little beige but it was a comforting plate with excellently cooked fish.

I finished with a chocolate and cherry brownie.

The creme fraiche on the side was the most tart I’d ever had, but was really welcome against the dense, fudgy chocolate!

Service was friendly though it could be hard to get some attention when you’re at the back of the dining room. And while I understood the deal we’d booked on, it would be reassuring if the staff pre-empted you to explain that anything on the menu was included, with drinks paid separately.

Breakfast in the morning was full English, and eaten way before I could snap it! Trust me when I say it featured all your usual suspects of bacon, mushroom, herby sausage, tomato, eggs as you like them served with toast, hot drinks and juice. All of it was very tasty.

It was an excellent night’s stay and a really good value meal. Nothing was mind-blowing but it was all really comforting and very enjoyable. The accommodation was well-maintained and felt like a secret escape. All in all well worth a trip.

Oh and happy anniversary Mrs. Spud. Love you!

Categories
caster sugar chocolate cream food peanut butter

chocolate mousse peanut butter pie

Let’s read that title again. “Chocolate mousse peanut butter pie“. You already know if you want this recipe in your life or not.

This cake is pure indulgence and definitely one for the dessert lovers. Soft, light cream, dense chocolate mousse, crunchy peanuts, smooth peanut butter cream and a crisp Oreo base. There’s so much to enjoy!

If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving this would be a great one to serve, because what do you need after an enormous roast dinner but cake that’s about a billion calories per slice?

Don’t make the mistake I did and serve up whopping great 45° wedges, it’s far too rich and sickly! Serve a slim slice however and your guests will be cooing with delight. Make it for a special occasion and you’ll be very popular.

There’s a few stages involved and you need to put some time aside to do all the bits and pieces. Be prepared for bain maries, multiple mixing bowls and plenty of whisking so bring your whipping arm.

This recipe is based on one from an issue of the Jamie Oliver magazine.

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chocolate mousse peanut butter pie

Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

For the base:

  • 250 g Oreo biscuits crushed
  • 75 g melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour

For the peanut butter cream:

  • 250 g peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon icing sugar
  • 50 g melted butter
  • 50 g salted peanuts chopped

For the chocolate mousse:

  • 175 g chocolate milk or dark as you wish
  • 2 eggs separated
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 3 g gelatine snipped into stamp-sized pieces
  • 200 ml double cream whipped to soft peaks

For the cream topping:

  • 300 ml double cream
  • 2 tablespoons icing sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180C. Combine the crushed biscuits with the butter and the flour and press into the base and sides of a 20cm cake dish. Freeze for 10 minutes, and then bake in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp off. Turn the oven off and return the dish to the fridge until needed.
  • For the peanut butter cream, beat the peanut butter, icing sugar and butter together until smooth. Pour over the crushed biscuits and pop back in the fridge.
  • For the chocolate mousse, soak the gelatine in cold water while you get on with everything else. Set a bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate. When completely melted pop the bowl to one side to cool. Get another bowl on the saucepan but this time with the egg whites and sugar. Whisk constantly until doubled in size.
  • Mix the egg yolks into the chocolate, and then add the gelatine. Fold in the egg whites, followed by the cream. Spread this over the peanut butter goop and again return to the fridge.
  • For the cream topping, whip the cream and sugar together until stiff and top the cake with it. Shave or grate the remaining chocolate over the top. You could eat it straight away but it’s best to leave it for an hour in the fridge.

More pie recipes?

Try Sarah’s pumpkin crostata

Or my pumpkin pie

Or this evergreen key lime pie

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