I *heart* Jamie

I am lovin Jamie's 30 minute meals. I think he has some fantastic simple ideas and I can't praise him enough. I haven't tried an entire Jamie's 30 minute meals yet, as they usually contain a meat/fish main course, but I have made four sides. The sweet potato mash, baked mushrooms, beetroot salad and the french peas. So here are the recipes for the last two. I made them both last night, and found it very quick and easy, and something that you can so easily put together even if you're totally knackered after a days work.

Beetroot salad

Ingredients

1 bag of cooked vacuum packed Beetroot ( I chose ones which were not in vinegar)
1/4 of a block of feta cheese
a good handful of flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon of olive oil (Jamie uses two tablespoons)
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
squeeze of lemon juice.

Method

In a food processor coarsely grate the beetroot, then add the salt and pepper. Beetroot are like tomatoes, they love salt it really brings out the flavour in them. Then add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice. Give it a stir or as Jamie says 'move it around a bit'. Then cut the parsley and add that. Check and adjust the seasoning. Spoon it all on a plate and crumble some feta cheese on top.

Jamie's French peas

OK so this is Jamies' version of a French classic. All I know is that it is really tasty and another quick and easy side dish to make.

Ingredients.

1 bag of frozen peas
2 bunches of gem lettuce
6-8 leaves of mint
1 tablespoon of flour
a knob of butter
300ml of vegetable stock (Jamie uses chicken stock)
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Method

Wash and chop the lettuce. Add the butter and the flour to a pan and then add the vegetable stock. Whisk this so there are no lumpy bits left, and it becomes a smooth bubbling sauce. Then add the mint leaves and the bag of peas. Next add the chopped lettuce and put the lid on for 5 minutes. Finally add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

I will make an entire 30 minute meal and blog on it, but for now I hope you enjoy these sides as much as I have. These recipes are from Jamie's 30 minute meals. 

Figs, mozzarella and basil salad.

Earlier this year my lovely friends and neighbours Pat & Viv got me the River Cafe Cook Book Green for my birthday. And on Friday night we finally managed to get together so I could cook them dinner with recipes from the book.

I love Italian food. It's so different from Indian food, and I love them both equally. Indian food is full of many different spices and done well, you can taste the layers of spices in the food. The earthy cumin, to the spicy chilli powder, to the fragrant coriander. Italian food I feel is the opposite, no spices but simple and good quality ingredients.

Now because the quality of the ingredients is vital in Italian cooking, instead of popping down my local supermarket to pick up my groceries I went to Whole Foods.

For starters I made a figs, mozzarella and basil salad with a lemon and olive oil dressing. It was simple and glorious. Usually when I cook from a recipe, I sometimes adapt it and make it my own, but I felt I had to commit to the recipes in this book because they are quite precise. And I (and my guests) were glad I did. Now I know there isn't much to adapt in this particular recipe, but I'm just saying that committing to a recipe is worth it.

This is a great starter. Light, tasty, and oh so delicious. I highly recommend buying good quality ingredients for this, it really pays off. So here it is for you to try.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

8 figs. (They should be slightly soft, so they give to pressure)
A big ball of good Mozzarella
A big handful of fresh basil
Maldon sea salt and pepper
Juice of 2 lemons
Extra virgin olive oil

Method

Wash the figs and cut the top of the stem. Cut each fig through its stem in half and then into quarters. Pick the basil leaves off the stalks and then wash and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Tear the mozzarella into halves and then quarters.

Place the figs and mozzarella pieces on to individual serving plates. Scatter the basil leaves over and season with salt and pepper.

Mix the lemon juice with three times its volume of extra virgin olive oil. Season. Pour over each plate and serve immediately.

Seriously good stuff.

This recipe is taken from River Cafe Cook Book Green, by Rose Gray and Ruth Rodgers.

Curly Kale Risotto

The season's are changing and I'm beginning to make hearty warm autumnal food. Food that warms you up from the inside. Risotto is one of these dishes. I absolutely love a good risotto with a large glass of red wine. Magnifique!

Now I first learned how to make risotto form Giuseppe. An Italian who knows his food (mind you what Italian doesn't?). He owns this fantastic little gem of a wine bar in Notting Hill called Negozia Classica. It serves all things Italian and is the best place to go for a good glass of wine. You can sit by the fireplace or in the window seat and watch the streets of Notting Hill go by whilst consuming some delicious wine. I highly recommend you give it a visit.

Anyway one year on his wife's birthday (my very good friend Goldy) he showed me how to make mushroom risotto like the Italians do. It was so good, I had never tasted risotto quite like it. It was so creamy and heavenly, every mouthful took me directly to the streets of Rome.

Now this isn't Giuseppe's recipe but I have stuck to his structure.

Ingredients

300 grams Arborio rice.
2-3 shallots, peeled and sliced
200 grams of curly kale (sliced, or buy already sliced)
1 litre of vegetable stock
some olive oil
a knob of butter
some Parmesan
black pepper.
a glass of white wine (optional)

Method

First prepare your curly kale. Wash the kale and heat some butter in a large frying pan, then add the kale and saute it for about 5 mins until it has all wilted. Set aside. Then make your vegetable stock according to the packet instructions. I use Marigolds Swiss Vegetable Bouillon. Its the best vegetable stock out there. I heat a litre of stock on the hob and have it ready for the risotto.

Then in a big pan heat some olive oil and saute the onions until they become translucent (approximately 5-8 minutes), then add the rice. Its very important that the rice becomes covered by the oil. So mix this up really well for a few minutes until you see the rice become slightly translucent. Now if you're using white wine, this is when to add it in. So add the wine and cook until all the wine has been absorbed by the rice.

Now add the vegetable stock, one ladle at a time. Turn the heat down to a simmer and keep adding the stock one ladle at a time and continuously stir the risotto. Its very important that you keep stirring the rice as this is what brings out the creamy starchiness of the rice and why risotto looks creamy. Only add the next ladle once the previous ladle of stock has been absorbed by the rice. Keep adding the stock and stirring the rice for approximately 20-25 minutes until the rice is cooked. The rice should be soft with a slight bite.

Now at around 18 minutes into the stirring add the wilted curly kale, leave a handful aside to garnish the finished product. Keep stirring the rice and if you find that you run out of stock before the rice is cooked then just add some boiling water.

Once the rice is cooked take off the heat, and let it sit for 2 minutes with the lid on before serving. Once on the plate season with some black pepper, some grated Parmesan and garnish with some extra wilted curly kale.

Added extras: If you want to give your risotto a creamy buttery taste, then once you take it off the heat stir in some grated Parmesan and some butter. This is completely personal preference but I guarantee you will love it!!!

Buon appetito.

Pizza and a Movie?

Home made pizza is such a joy. I really enjoy making pizza. I find it quite therapeutic. Making the dough, preparing all the toppings and then placing them on the pizza to your own taste.

I usually make roasted vegetable pizza, and I use passata to make the pizza sauce. I find passata makes a lovely thick sauce as it has very little water in it, as opposed to a can of tomatoes. I have to say the last one I made was really tasty. Now in this recipe I haven't made the pizza dough from scratch. I used a 'just add water' mix. I think that is fine and I still categorise this has being home made.

So here is my recipe for you to try:

Ingredients

3/4 carton of Passata
1 clove of garlic (made into a paste)
Good handful of basil leaves (torn)
1 pack of pizza base
some water

Toppings

1 large aubergine
2 courgette
2 red or green peppers
1/2 red onion (sauteed)
Sweetcorn kernels (boiled if cut from cob)
Pineapple chunks (optional..American Vegetarian loves pineapple on pizza)
Jalapeno peppers (chopped)
Mozzarella
Some olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Method

Pre heat oven to 190 C. Cut the aubergine into discs, the courgettes in half and then sliced length ways, and the peppers deseeded and cut into quarters. Put them in a bowl and season with salt and pepper and olive oil. Then layer them on a baking try and roast for about 30-40 minutes, turning half way.

While this is happening, you can make your pizza sauce. Peel and chop the garlic then with the back of a knife just keep crushing the garlic so it becomes paste like. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and the torn basil leaves and fry for about 1 minute then add the passata sauce. Cook on a medium heat for about 20 minutes until the sauce has become the consistency you require. In another pan heat some olive oil and fry off the onion for about 8 minutes until they become soft and translucent, then set aside.

Now make the pizza base according to the packet instructions. Usually you just add 4fl oz of water, and make into a soft dough then need for about 5 minutes. Then roll out the pizza base in either a traditional circle or as I did a rectangle. You get a bigger pizza plus it fits my baking tray perfectly.

Once you have all your other toppings prepared. Spread the pizza sauce on the pizza base and then get the aubergine, courgette and peppers and tear them and place evenly on the pizza, then add the sweetcorn, onions, jalapenos, pineapple (optional), and finally tear the mozzarella and dot around the pizza. Cook in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the pizza is cooked.

Some handy tips; if you find the pizza base not as crispy as you would like, then before you put the toppings on just bake the base for about 5 min's beforehand. I didn't have to do this, as the baking tray I used had holes in it, so the base was nice and crispy.

Grab a mate or partner, a DVD and bottle of wine and enjoy a great Friday night in!