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.)

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bacon courgettes cream egg food pancetta pasta

courgette carbonara

courgette carbonara

I am utterly aghast that I have not blogged this before. I must’ve made it half a dozen times and it never fails to delight, yet somehow it fell through the cracks. I was chatting with a colleague that I was having this for dinner and she asked if it was on my blog. “Of course,” I said, “I’ve cooked it loads of times.” And yet there it wasn’t.

This is a great twist on carbonara. It always nags at me that these delicious pasta dishes don’t have a veg component which means cooking something else on the side. You can’t fault the Italians; it’s the way they eat but I prefer to have everything together. I find peas a little too harsh against the creaminess but the addition of courgette is a great one. It’s an idea I’ve lifted from Jamie at Home and it’s really worth trying. I’m also a big fan of dishes where the sauce is cooked in the same time as the pasta so can be up and on the table in under 15 minutes. Brill.

Courgette carbonara (serves 2):

1 large courgette

6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces

Leaves from a sprig of thyme

150ml double cream

A large handful of grated parmesan

250g penne

2 egg yolks

  1. Get a large pan of salted water on the boil and a big frying pan on a high heat.
  2. Slice your courgette in half, then use a spoon to scoop out the fluffy seeds and discard. Slice the courgette on an angle so you end up with pieces about the same size as the pasta.
  3. Chuck the pasta in to boil and keep checking for when it’s al dente. In your frying pan add a splash of oil and toss in the bacon. Keep frying until crisp on once side, then add the courgette and thyme and give everything a good toss to coat in bacony goodness. Meanwhile in a jug stir together the cream, parmesan and egg yolks and grind over loads of black pepper – it really helps cut through the cream. Toss your courgettes every now and then.
  4. Get a mug and scoop out some of the pasta cooking water to slacken your sauce in a minute. When the pasta is cooked drain, and when the courgettes are starting to go tender turn the heat off of the pan (this is important to avoid scrambling the eggs) and add your creamy mix. Keep stirring it to stop the egg clumping and add a dash of the reserved water. Toss with the pasta, check for seasoning and add a little more water if you need a bit more liquid in your sauce. Serve immediately with a dash more parmesan, this dish doesn’t hang around!
Categories
asparagus cottage cheese food lasagne parmesan pasta peas spring greens spring onion

summer veg lasagne

I always mean to try interesting lasagna recipes – ones that aren’t classic lasagne al forno that is – but when I come to cook it I can’t resist meaty, tomatoey rich ragu topped with creamy bechamel. It takes Jamie Oliver to convince me to try it another way.

This Summer veg lasagne is inspired by one from his 30 Minute Meals book. It’s perfect for the Summer months and ideal for clearing out the fridge! I grabbed a bunch of things that needed using up for here and it came out lovely.

Summer veg lasagne (serves 4):

A bunch of spring onions

3 cloves of garlic

300g asparagus

Large handful frozen peas

Large handful spring greens

Large bunch of basil

150ml single cream

150ml veg stock

250g cottage cheese

250g fresh lasagne sheets

Parmesan

  1. Get the kettle on to boil, get a large frying pan on a high heat and add a splash of oil. Put the oven on 180°C.
  2. Slice up the spring onions and add to the pan. Crush in the garlic and toss well to prevent sticking. Snap off the woody bits of the asparagus then slice up the stems, but leave the tips intact and keep to one side for now. Add the chopped stems to the pan with a splash of boiled water.
  3. Add the peas and greens and keep stirring. Chop the basil and add to the pan with the cream and add plenty of seasoning. Cover with stock and bring to the boil.
  4. Get a roasting tray and start to layer up lasagne sheets and veg mix until you have used everything up. Finish with pasta. Add a splash of boiled water to the cottage cheese to slacken and then spread over your pasta. Scatter the asparagus on top of the cottage cheese and grate over plenty of parmesan. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden and crunchy. Serve with panzanella.
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chickpeas chorizo food soup spinach

chorizo and chickpea soup

I read this post on the Word Magazine website. It was a Jamie recipe for a really corking-sounding soup which I was surprised I hadn’t come across before. I was even more surprised to discover it was in a book I’ve owned for years, Jamie’s Dinners!

It was as gutsy as it promised – nice, meaty chorizo with hearty chickpeas. If I did it again I’d add a little less liquid to make it a bit thicker, and perhaps add a dash of paprika to amp up the chorizo flavours. I have to say I’m not convinced by the grated egg either, did nothing for me at all. That aside it’s warming and frugal* – perfect for this time of year!

*if you ignore Jamie’s addition of pata negra – PATA NEGRA! – and use boring old sandwich ham like me. His version is here.

Chorizo and chickpea soup (serves 4 – 6):

200g chorizo sausage

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

8 fresh tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 x 410g tin chickpeas, drained

1.3 litres chicken stock

6 chunks frozen spinach

2 slices ham, shredded

1 hard-boiled egg

  1. Finely chop 150g of the chorizo and fry in a large casserole dish until the orangey oil leaks out, then add the onion. Cook gently for a five minutes then add the garlic.
  2. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and stock and bring to the boil. Add the spinach and simmer for 30 minutes until everything is tender and adjust the seasoning.
  3. As the 30 minutes comes to the end get another frying pan very hot. Slice the remaining chorizo and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper while you finish the soup.
  4. Whizz the soup up a bit with a hand blender (not too much!), and stir through the ham. Serve, garnishing with egg and sliced chorizo. Make sure there’s bread to hand!
Categories
food mushroom pie stock turkey

turkey and mushroom pie

What’s that you say? You have leftovers from Christmas Day? Unheard of.

Previously I’ve made Jamie’s sweet leek pie with leftover poultry and it’s brill. Using that as an inspiration I made a mushroom version and it’s just as good.

Turkey and mushroom pie (serves 4 – 6):

1 onion, diced

1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked and chopped

300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

Christmas dinner leftovers, about 800g (I had turkey and stuffing)

500ml stock (ideally turkey stock made from the carcass, but chicken would be fine)

300ml creme fraiche

A sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

  1. Heat a little oil in a large casserole dish, then add the onions, rosemary and mushrooms. Stir fry a little and cover with a lid to sweat for about ten minutes. Add the turkey leftovers, stock and creme fraiche and simmer for ten further minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Pop a sieve over a saucepan and tip the turkey mix into the sieve. When the creamy gravy has all strained off transfer the mushroomy meat to a baking dish and cover with the pastry. Brush with the beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve with the creamy gravy that has been warmed through over the hob.
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